Chapter 13. Master Contracting

“Designated procurement unit” means:

“Master contract” means a set of master contractor agreement awards in which only those master contractors with awards in that set may compete for secondary competition awards for a specific type of service, supply, or commodity.

“Master contracting” means a streamlined procurement method that provides for the qualification of bidders and offerors for the procurement of services, supplies, or commodities, that is subject to secondary competition for the awarding of work.

“Master contractor” means a person awarded a master contractor agreement and qualified to compete to provide categories of services, supplies, or commodities under secondary competition.

“Master contractor agreement” means an executed standard contract for a specified period of time between the State and a person approved as a master contractor that is subject to secondary competition for the awarding of work.

“Secondary competition” means a procurement process in which only approved master contractors may compete to provide the services, supplies, or commodities under the procurement.

The categories of services, supplies, or commodities in which an offeror may submit a proposal for qualification;

Information concerning proposal submission requirements, including the date, time, and place for the receipt of proposals;

A statement that discussions may be conducted with those responsible offerors that submit proposals initially judged by the procurement officer to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award. However, if the request for proposals so notifies all offerors, discussions need not be conducted:

The mandatory solicitation requirements set forth in COMAR 21.05.08;

All required contract terms and conditions; and

A summary of the factors used to determine the expected degree of minority business enterprise participation, including subcontracting opportunities identified for the project, any applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes linked to the subcontracting opportunities, and the number of certified minority business enterprises in those industries.

Distribution. Solicitations or notices of the availability of solicitations shall be mailed or otherwise furnished to a sufficient number of vendors for the purpose of securing competition. Notices of availability shall indicate where, when, and for how long solicitations may be obtained, generally describe the service, supply, or commodity desired, and may contain other appropriate information.

Publication. Notice of solicitations for which the proposal is reasonably expected to exceed $50,000 shall be published in eMaryland Marketplace unless the resulting master contractor agreement is reasonably expected to be performed entirely outside this State or the District of Columbia. Publication shall be at least 20 days before the proposal submission date. Publication of notice less than 20 days before proposal submission is defective unless notice of the project is not required by State law.

Pre-proposal conferences may be conducted by the procurement officer or designee to explain the procurement requirements.

If a pre-proposal conference is held, it shall be announced to all prospective offerors who were sent a solicitation or who are known by the procurement officer to have obtained the solicitation documents.

Any pre-proposal conference should be held long enough after the solicitation has been issued to allow prospective offerors to become familiar with it, but sufficiently before proposal opening to allow consideration of the pre-proposal conference results in the preparation of proposals.

Attendance at a pre-proposal conference may be encouraged, but may not be made mandatory except to the extent required under COMAR 21.11.03.09C(2)(e). Nothing stated at the pre-proposal conference may change the solicitation unless a change is made by the procurement officer by written amendment.

Pre-Proposal Conference Records.

Electronic Pre-Proposal Conferences.

Form. Each amendment to a solicitation shall be identified as such and shall require that the offeror acknowledge its receipt. The amendment shall reference the portion of the solicitation it amends. The procurement officer shall authorize the issuance of an amendment.

Distribution. Amendments shall be sent to all prospective offerors who were sent a solicitation or who are known to the procurement officer to have obtained the solicitation documents.

Timeliness. Amendments shall be distributed within a reasonable time to allow prospective offerors to consider them in preparing their proposals. If the time and date for receipt of proposals does not permit preparation, the time shall be increased to the extent possible in the amendment or, if necessary, by electronic communication or telephone and confirmed in the amendment.

Policy. Any proposal received at the place designated in the solicitation after the time and date set for receipt of proposal is late. Any request for withdrawal or request for modification received at the place designated in the solicitation after the time and date set for receipt of proposals is late.

Treatment. A late proposal, late request for modification, or late request for withdrawal may not be considered. Upon the written approval of the Office of the Attorney General, exceptions may be made when a late proposal, withdrawal, or modification is received before master contractor agreement award, and the proposal, modification, or withdrawal would have been timely but for the action or inaction of State personnel directing the procurement activity or their employees. A late modification of a successful proposal that makes its terms more favorable to the State shall be considered at any time it is received and may be accepted upon the written approval of the Office of the Attorney General.

Records. A record shall be made of each request for late proposal acceptance, modification, or withdrawal which shall be retained in the appropriate procurement file.

Proposals and modifications shall be held in a secure place until the established due date. Proposals may not be opened publicly but shall be opened in the presence of at least two State employees. After the established due date, a register of proposals shall be prepared that identifies each offeror.

The identity of an offeror and the register of proposals may not be disclosed before the procurement officer makes a determination recommending the award of the master contractor agreement pursuant to Regulation .04B of this chapter. After master contractor agreement award, proposals shall be open to public inspection subject to the provisions of the Public Information Act, General Provisions Article, Title 4, Annotated Code of Maryland.

When a master contractor agreement is to be awarded on some basis other than price alone, unsuccessful offerors may submit a written request for a debriefing to the procurement officer within a reasonable time. Debriefing shall be provided at the earliest feasible time after the procurement officer receives a request for a debriefing and before the master contractor agreement award is presented to the agency head or designee or the Board for approval. The debriefing shall be conducted by a procurement official familiar with the rationale for the selection decision and master contractor agreement award.

Debriefing shall:

Debriefing may not include discussion or dissemination of the thoughts, notes, or rankings of individual members of an evaluation committee, but may include a summary of the procurement officer’s rationale for the selection decision and recommended master contractor agreement award.

A summary of the debriefing shall be made a part of the master contractor agreement file.

If the unit of the Executive Branch expects the total cost of the services, supplies, or commodities in the secondary competition to exceed $100,000, the unit shall issue the secondary competition solicitation to all master contractors in the appropriate category in the master contract established by the designated procurement unit; or

If the unit of the Executive Branch expects the total cost of the services, supplies, or commodities in the secondary competition to be $100,000 or less, the unit shall issue the secondary competition solicitation to a minimum of six master contractors or all master contractors, whichever is less, in the appropriate category in the master contract established by the designated procurement unit. If the total number of master contractors available to be solicited exceeds six, the procurement officer shall make a written determination including the reasons why the particular master contractors were selected to be solicited.

Task Order Request for Proposals (TORFP):

Purchase Order Request for Proposals (PORFP):

Request for Resumes (RFR):