South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED)

STATE HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT PROGRAM

PROCUREM ENT PROCEDURES

The following procedures support federal guidelines dealing with procurement and apply to contracts and leased, as well as purchased, equipment and other items. compliance with these procedures will reduce the overall time and effort involved in the procurement approval process at the State Administrative Agency (SAA), S.C. Law Enforcement Division, and the federal funding agency, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Federal, stateand loca I j urisdiction procedureswill be followed preciselyforall procurement. ln anycase, selection of other than the lowest bidder must always be fully justified. All procurement transactions, whether negotiated or competitively bid and without regard to dollar value, will be conducted in a manner so as to provide moximum open and free competition. Be advised that brand names and "no substitution" can be used in bid reouests.

The grantor/subrecipient will be alert to organizational conflicts of interest or noncompetitive practices among contractors which may restrict or eliminate competition or otherwise restrain trade. Contractors who develop or draft specifications, requirements, statements of work and/or Requests for Proposal (RFP) for a proposed procurement y4llbg excluded from bidding or submitting a proposal to compete for the award of such procurement.

The following procedures adhere to instructions contained in the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB)"super

Circula/', recipient Title 2, Part 200 of the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R), the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for FederalAwards ("Super Circula/' or "omni Circular'')and the Grant Terms and Condltions.

Bidding Requirementsi The subrecipient must comply with proper competitive bidding procedures (NSGP recipients see footnote below)1 as required by the applicable above-referenced federal rule.

Items purchased through the Division of General Services (state surplus) are exempted from any additional bidding process. (Exemption s35)

FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ONLY: lf an item(s) is purchased through a state term contract, no additional bidding is required; therefore, no prior approval from the SAA on the bidding process is necessary. The state contract number must be on the invoice when submitting for reimbursement. Forinformation on items that are on state contract, call Materials Management Office at (803) 737-0600 or check the MMO web page at www.state.sc.us/mmo (N/A for NsGP grants).

Items may be purchased under a GSA contract with no additional bidding if an agency is authorized to purchase under the GSA program. The GSA contract number should be included on copies of invoices for documentation with the request for reimbursement (N/A for NSGP grants).

1. Develop Request for Proposa ls ' The orsanization first needs to orovide a reeuestfor prooosals (RFP) or bid invitation in writins to all potential bidders to initiate the process. The RFP should detail all requirements including specifications, deadlines, outcomes for the project, etc, lt should also include the requirements for what the bidder must submit to the organization.

Bid Preparation -After the RFP is provided to those that are interested in lulfilling it (minimum of 3 companies, etc.), the contractor or company prepares details how they will fulfill the requirements in the RFP with the associated costs, all in writing. Once allthe information has been compiled it is provided to the requesting organization.

Bid Selection - After all bids have been submitted and reviewed by the requesting organization, the lowest most responsive bid (meeting allcriteria) is selected.

After the best bid document is chosen, the associated contractor, company or vendor is selected and informed of the approved price. Additional details can be worked out at this time regarding payment and deliverable schedules and the associated contract (as applicable) is signed by the parties.

I The Basic Eidding Process for Homeland Security Grants:

PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES

Sole Source Procurement; Use of sole source procurement is discouraged. lf, after completion of the competitive bidding process, only one responsive bid is received (less than two complete competitive bids received), then this is a sole source procurement (based on the Office of Management and Budget, 2 CFR, Part 200.320,sfl. Sole source procu rement will be awarded onlv u nder exceptional circu mstances a nd must follow precisely the procedure set forth in the South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code and the federal requirements as outlined below:

{!! sole source procurement requires the explicit ptigl written approval of the State Administrative Agency (SAA)-SLED. This approval ca n be obtained by com pleting a nd submitting the Sole Source Procurement Form provided by Homeland Security Grants Administration.

NOTE: "ln the Aggregate" means that more than one item (i.e., a group of items) is purchased from the same vendor at the same time. Purchases not in excess of S25,000.00 may be accomplished without receiving prior approval from the SAA as long as municipal, county or state (whichever is applicable) procurement procedures are followed. Records with respect to all procu rem ent covered by the grant sha ll be made available for audit a nd inspection by SLED and/or any of its duly authorized representatives.

Purchases not ln excess of $10,000: No competition is required as long as the price is determined to be fair and reasonable. The subgrantee's purchasing office must annotate the purchase requisition: "Price is fair and reasonable" and sign.

Purchases from 910,OO0.01to S25,000.00: Bids/Qu otes do not have to be submitted to the SAA for prior approval on any items, including those bid in the aggregate, for small purchases whose total cost is no more than S25,000.00. However, proper municipal, county or state (whichever is applicable; NSGp recipients see footnote on previous page) bidding procedures must be followed and adequate bidding documentation must be maintained in the subgrantee's files showing that written quotes have been obtained from a minimum of three qualified sources ofsupply. All bidding information must be made available to the SAA or any of its duly authorized representatives upon request for auditing purposes. The award will be made to the lowest responsive and responsible source.

3. Purchases from S25,000.01 to S100,000.00: Procurements of either commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) products or construction in this range must follow proper municipal, county or state (whichever is applicable) bidding procedures and adequate bidding documentation must be maintained in the subgrantee's files showing that written quotes have been obtained from a minimum of three qualified sources of supply. Otherwise, the procu rement req uires a written solicitation of bids/quotes (returned in writing). The procurement will also be advertised at least once in the South Coro lino Eusiness Oppoftunities (SCBO) publication (N/A for NSGP grants). The award will be made to the lowest responsive and responsible 50urce.

Submit to the SAA (see paragraph B for mailing address) with Request for Reimbursement Documentation:

a. Copy of written solicitation for written bids/quotes, including the specifications (criteria) provided to each vendor;

b. List of all vendors solicited;

c. Copy of advertisement (with date shown) placed in SCBO (N/A for NSGP grants);

d. Copy of orrwritten vendor responses, including those that send a "no bid" response;

e. The bid/quote selected and the name of the line item(s) as it is listed in the grant application; and,

f. Criteria used for bid/quote selection. lf other than low bid/quote is selected, provide sufficient justification/rationale.

r

PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES

4. Purchases above S100,000.00, or above S25,000 if not COTS or construction: Competitive Sealed Bidding

Procedures must be followed when procurement amounts are 5100,000.00 or more or when purchases are

525,000 or more if they are not COTS or construction:

a. A written invitation for bids m ust be issued to at least three q ua lified vendors. lnclude in this invitation a copyofthe bid specifications applicabletothe procurement. lf there are not three qualified sources, invitations for bids must be issued to all qualified sources that are available. lfthree qualified sources are not available, documentation must be submitted to the SLED Homeland Security Grants Administration Office indicating the reason(s) for the unavailability of three sources;

b. A notice must be placed in the South Cotolino Business Opportunities publication (N/A for NSGP grants);

c. The invitation for bids must include the date the bids are due and the date and time the written bids will be opened;

d. All bids received prior to the time of opening must be kept secure and unopened; and,

e. The bids must be opened publicly in the presence of one or more witnesses at the time and place designated in the invitation for bids.

Submit to the SAA (see paragraph B for mailing address) for approval prior to oblisation or purchase:

a. Copy of written solicitation for written bids/quotes, including the specifications (criteria) provided to each vendor;

b. List of all vendors solicited;

c. copy of advertisement (with date shown) placed in SCSO (N/A for NSGP grants);

d. Copy of o/, written vendor responses, including those that send a "no bid" response;

e. The bid selected and the name of the line item(s) as it is listed in the grant application; and,

f. Criteria used for bid selection. lf other than low bid is selected, provide sufficient justifi cation/rationale.

B. Send all required procurement correspondence to the following address

S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED)

Homeland Security Grants Program Office Post Office Box 21398

Columbia, SC 29221-1398

For inquiries regarding procurement, please feel free to contact the following SLED Homeland Security Grants Administration Staff:

Ms, Donna Strange

Senior Accountant (803)896-7089 dstrange@ded.sc.gqv

Dr. Bob Connell Program Manager

(803) 896-7021 rconnell@sled.sc.qov