Chapter 08. Mandatory Written Solicitation Requirements
Regulation .01 Public Information Act Notice.LinkCopy Citation
A public information act notice is a mandatory provision for all requests for proposals. The following notice is preferred:
“Offerors should give specific attention to the identification of those portions of their proposals that they deem to be confidential, proprietary information or trade secrets and provide any justification why such materials, upon request, should not be disclosed by the State under the Access to Public Records Act, State Government Article, Title 10, Subtitle 6, Annotated Code of Maryland.”
Regulation .02 Bid Bond Notice.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Solicitations for construction contracts reasonably expected by the procurement officer to exceed $100,000 shall contain notice of bid security requirements (See COMAR 21.06.07).
B.
Solicitations for all other contracts reasonably expected by the procurement officer to exceed $50,000 and for which the procurement officer wishes to require bid security shall contain notice of the bid security requirements.
C.
Notwithstanding §§A and B of this regulation, notice of bid security is required if a federal law or a condition of federal assistance for the contract requires it.
Regulation .03 Minority Business Enterprise Notice.LinkCopy Citation
A minority business enterprise notification is a mandatory provision for all solicitations as follows:
“Minority business enterprises are encouraged to respond to this solicitation”.
Regulation .04 Minority Business Enterprise Subcontract Participation Goal.LinkCopy Citation
Any solicitation containing an MBE subcontract participation goal, except small procurements made under COMAR 21.05.07, shall include a clause the same as or similar to the following:
A.
"An overall MBE subcontract participation goal of _____ percent of the total contract dollar amount, including all renewal option terms, if any, has been established for this procurement. By submitting a response to this solicitation, the bidder or offeror acknowledges the overall MBE subcontractor participation goal, and commits to achieving the goal by utilizing certified minority business enterprises or requests a full or partial waiver of the goal.”; or
B.
"An overall MBE subcontract participation goal of _____ percent of the total contract dollar amount, including all renewal option terms, if any, has been established for this procurement. The overall MBE subcontract participation goal includes the following subgoals, which have been established for this procurement:
Regulation .05 Nonvisual Access Clause.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Except as provided in §B of this regulation, the following clause is a mandatory provision for each invitation for bid under COMAR 21.05.02 or request for proposals under COMAR 21.05.03 for the purchase of new or upgraded information and communication technology:
B.
The nonvisual access clause is not required if the procurement officer makes a determination that:
(1)
The information and communication technology is not available with nonvisual access because the essential elements of the information and communication technology are visual and nonvisual equivalence cannot be developed; or
(2)
The cost of modifying the information and communication technology for compatibility with software and hardware used for nonvisual access would increase the cost of the procurement by more than 15 percent.
C.
The procurement officer may request such documentation as is reasonably necessary to implement this regulation.
Regulation .06 Arrearages.LinkCopy Citation
An arrearages clause is a mandatory provision for all solicitations. The language may be varied but shall contain the following information:
“By submitting a response to this solicitation, a vendor shall be deemed to represent that it is not in arrears in the payment of any obligation due and owing the State of Maryland, including the payment of taxes and employee benefits, and that it shall not become so in arrears during the term of the contract if selected for contract award.”
Regulation .07 Bid/Proposal Affidavit.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Each solicitation shall provide notice that the affidavit in §B of this regulation shall be completed and submitted to the procurement agency with the vendor's bid or offer.
B.
Mandatory Solicitation Addendum. The solicitation addendum shall be in substantially the same form as follows and include all certification language required by the State Finance and Procurement Article, Annotated Code of Maryland:
Regulation .08 Conflict of Interest.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Definitions.
(1)
In this regulation, the following terms have the meanings indicated.
(2)
Terms Defined.
(a)
“Conflict of interest” means that, because of other activities or relationships with other persons:
(i)
A person is unable or potentially unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the State;
(ii)
The person's objectivity in performing the contract work is or might be otherwise impaired; or
(iii)
A person has an unfair competitive advantage.
(b)
Person.
(i)
“Person” has the meaning stated in COMAR 21.01.02.01B(64).
(ii)
“Person” includes a bidder, offeror, contractor, consultant, or subcontractor or subconsultant at any tier, and also includes an employee or agent or any of them if the employee or agent has or will have the authority to control or supervise all or a portion of the work for which a bid or offer is made.
B.
A solicitation that will result in the selection of a contractor who will assist a unit in the formation, evaluation, selection, award, or execution of a State contract shall provide notice of the requirements of State Finance and Procurement Article, §13-212.1, Annotated Code of Maryland, and this regulation.
C.
If the procurement officer makes a determination before award that facts or circumstances exist giving rise or which could in the future give rise to a conflict of interest, the procurement officer may reject a bid or offer under COMAR 21.06.02.03B.
D.
Termination.
(1)
After award, the State may terminate the contract, in whole or in part, if it considers termination necessary to avoid an actual or potential conflict of interest.
(2)
If the contractor knew or reasonably could have been expected to know of an actual or potential conflict of interest before or after award and did not disclose it or misrepresented relevant information to the procurement officer, the State may terminate the contract for default, institute proceedings to debar the contractor from further State contracts, or pursue other remedies as may be permitted by law or the contract.
E.
A conflict of interest may be waived if the procurement officer, with approval of the agency head, determines that waiver is in the best interest of the State. The determination shall state the reasons for the waiver and any controls that avoid, mitigate, or neutralize the conflict of interest.
F.
A bidder or offeror responding to a solicitation that will result in the selection of a contractor who will assist a unit in the formation, evaluation, selection, award, or execution of another State contract shall provide the affidavit and disclosures set forth in §G of this regulation to the procurement officer with the bid or offer and at other times as may be required by the procurement officer.
G.
The affidavits and disclosures required by §F of this regulation shall be in substantially the same form as follows:
Regulation .09 Mercury Content.LinkCopy Citation
A.
Mercury Content. If required under COMAR 21.11.07, a price preference not exceeding 5 percent shall be applied in the evaluation of bids or proposals in favor of products that are mercury free or if stated elsewhere in the solicitation, to products containing the least amount of mercury. The following mercury affidavit shall be completed and returned with the bid or proposal.
B.
Mercury Affidavit.
Regulation .10 Janitorial Services.LinkCopy Citation
A.
A bid or proposal submitted in response to a solicitation for janitorial services shall include at a minimum:
(1)
Labor costs;
(2)
Cost of cleaning supplies; and
(3)
Projected labor hours to satisfactorily complete the work.
B.
This regulation does not apply to procurements governed by State Finance and Procurement Article, Title 14, Subtitle 1, Annotated Code of Maryland.
Chapter annotations
Authority: : Election Law Article, §§14-101—14-108; State Finance and Procurement Article, §§3-412, 3.5-311, 11-206, 12-101, 13-207, 13-218, 13-221, 14-303, 14-308, 14-406, 16-102, 16-202, 16-203, 17-401—17-402, and Title 19; Annotated Code of Maryland; Ch. 293, Acts of 2009
History: Effective date: July 1, 1981 (8:13 Md. R. II-5)
History: Regulation .05 amended as an emergency provision effective March 17, 1982 (9:6 Md. R. 612); emergency status expired June 30, 1982; adopted permanently effective July 5, 1982 (9:13 Md. R. 1354)
History: Regulations .05A and B amended effective May 6, 1985 (12:9 Md. R. 816)
History: Regulations .06 and .07 adopted effective June 4, 1984 (11:11 Md. R. 963)
History: Regulations .01—.07 repealed and new Regulations .01—.07 adopted effective January 9, 1989 (15:27 Md. R. 3138)
History: Regulation .02A amended and C adopted effective May 20, 1996 (23:10 Md. R. 733)
History: Regulation .04 amended effective March 18, 2002 (29:5 Md. R. 505); January 2, 2017 (43:26 Md. R. 1449)
History: Regulation .05 amended effective August 2, 1993 (20:15 Md. R. 1221)
History: Regulation .05 repealed effective November 20, 1994 (21:23 Md. R. 1936)
History: Regulation .05 adopted effective March 8, 1999 (26:5 Md. R. 393)
History: Regulation .05A, B amended September 18, 2023 (50:18 Md. R. 800); April 29, 2024 (51:8 Md. R. 369)
History: Regulation .07 amended effective March 16, 2015 (42:5 Md. R. 488)
History: Regulation .07B amended effective October 1, 1990 (17:19 Md. R. 2322); August 2, 1993 (20:15 Md. R. 1221); November 20, 1994 (21:23 Md. R. 1936); January 26, 1998 (25:2 Md. R. 79); November 7, 2005 (32:22 Md. R. 1759); March 12, 2007 (34:5 Md. R. 562); April 7, 2008 (35:7 Md. R. 751); May 31, 2010 (37:11 Md. R. 766); August 8, 2011 (38:16 Md. R. 946); July 23, 2012 (39:14 Md. R. 839); May 13, 2013 (40:9 Md. R. 789); January 2, 2017 (43:26 Md. R. 1449); March 3, 2025 (52:4 Md. R. 221)
History: Regulation .08 adopted as an emergency provision effective August 8, 1997 (24:18 Md. R. 1294); emergency status rescinded effective October 16, 1997 (24:23 Md. R. 1608)
History: Regulation .08 adopted effective July 9, 2001 (28:13 Md. R. 1216)
History: Regulation .08B amended effective January 2, 2017 (43:26 Md. R. 1449)
History: Regulation .08B, E amended effective April 7, 2008 (35:7 Md. R. 751)
History: Regulation .09 adopted effective May 26, 2003 (30:10 Md. R. 668)
History: Regulation .10 adopted effective March 5, 2012 (39:4 Md. R. 338)