Chapter Adm 21

Adm 21.03(3)(a) (a) An advertisement for proposals may be placed in trade publications, or newspapers within the locale of the project, which would have the potential of reaching prospective bidders.

Adm 21.03(3)(b) (b) An advertisement for proposal may be mailed directly to potential bidders, if such measure is deemed necessary to encourage adequate competition in bidding.

Adm 21.03 History History: Cr. Register, March, 1979, No. 279, eff. 4-1-79; CR 08-025: am. (2) and (3) (intro.) Register August 2010 No. 656, eff. 9-1-10.

Adm 21.04 Adm 21.04 Issuance of addenda.

Adm 21.04(1) (1) The department may issue addenda during the bidding period to correct, alter, or to provide clarification of the drawings and specifications for the project being bid or to extend the bidding period. No oral correction, alteration or clarification of said documents shall be considered valid.

Adm 21.04(2) (2) Each addendum issued shall be identified by project number and title, date of addenda, and assigned an addendum number which will indicate consecutive issue.

Adm 21.04(3) (3) Addenda shall be distributed to every recipient of drawings and specifications for the project being bid including all locations where drawings and specifications are available for public inspection.

Adm 21.04(4) (4) No addenda shall be issued during the last 7 calendar days prior to the published bid opening date, unless such addenda include an extension of the bid opening date for a minimum of 7 additional calendar days.

Adm 21.04 History History: Cr. Register, March, 1979, No. 279, eff. 4-1-79; am. (4), Register, October, 1983, No. 334, eff. 11-1-83; CR 08-025: am. (1) Register August 2010 No. 656, eff. 9-1-10.

Adm 21.05 Adm 21.05 Submittal and receipt of bids.

Adm 21.05(1) (1) All bids shall be submitted electronically or in sealed envelopes.

Adm 21.05(1)(a) (a) Electronic bids received by the department shall be submitted via a secured, authorized electronic transfer that provides for time and date verification as well as proper security in the transfer of data and information. Bids shall conform to project specification bid forms and include all information required by the specification as well as this section. The bidder shall submit all supporting and original documentation requested by the department within 3 calendar days of the request.

Adm 21.05(1)(b) (b) Sealed envelope bids shall be enclosed in distinctly marked special envelopes provided by the department. Should the bidder not possess the special envelope provided by the department, the bidder shall place all of the following information on the face of the outermost envelope containing the bidder’s proposal:

Adm 21.05(1)(b)1. 1. This envelope contains a sealed bid.

Adm 21.05(1)(b)2. 2. Project name.

Adm 21.05(1)(b)3. 3. Project number.

Adm 21.05(1)(b)4. 4. Location of project.

Adm 21.05(1)(b)5. 5. Division(s) of work being bid.

Adm 21.05(1)(b)6. 6. Bid date.

Adm 21.05(1)(b)7. 7. Name and address of bidder.

Adm 21.05(2) (2) The bidder is responsible for the bid described in sub. (1) (a) or (b) being delivered to the place designated in the published advertisement for proposals, on or before the date and time specified.

Adm 21.05(3) (3) All bids received by the department shall be stamped electronically or upon the face of the envelope indicating the date and time the bid was received.

Adm 21.05(4) (4) Bids received by the department after the date and time designated in the advertisement for proposal shall be returned to the bidder unopened.

Adm 21.05(5) (5) The department shall determine bids that conform with this section in the best interests of the state.

Adm 21.05 History History: Cr. Register, March, 1979, No. 279, eff. 4-1-79; CR 05-069: am. (2) and (5) Register May 2006 No. 605, eff. 6-1-06; CR 08-025: r. and recr. Register August 2010 No. 656, eff. 9-1-10.

Adm 21.06 Adm 21.06 Withdrawal of bids.

Adm 21.06(1) (1) At any time prior to the date and time of bid opening, a bidder or the bidder’s representative may withdraw the bid without prejudice to the right of the bidder to submit a new bid. Withdrawal of a bid may be accomplished in one of the following methods:

Adm 21.06(1)(a) (a) A written request submitted by the bidder on the bidder’s letterhead stationery.

Adm 21.06(1)(b) (b) Personal appearance of the bidder or the bidder’s authorized representative, whereby the identity and authority of the person may be ascertained by the department. After authority and identity is established, the individual shall be required to sign a receipt for the withdrawn bid.

Adm 21.06 History History: Cr. Register, March, 1979, No. 279, eff. 4-1-79; CR 08-025: am. (1) (b) Register August 2010 No. 656, eff. 9-1-10.

Adm 21.07 Adm 21.07 Bid opening.

Adm 21.07(1) (1) A representative of the department shall preside at the bid opening as the bidding officer. At the date and time for bid opening, the bidding officer shall announce the following to those in attendance:

Adm 21.07(1)(a) (a) Bidding is officially closed and public opening and reading of bids will commence.

Adm 21.07(1)(b) (b) The following rules will be observed when reading the bids:

Adm 21.07(1)(b)1. 1. Following identification of each bid to be read, it shall be publicly stated whether bid guarantee has or has not accompanied the bid. If bid guarantee has not accompanied the bid, the remainder of the bid contents shall not be read.

Adm 21.07(2) (2) The bidding officer shall identify the project title for which the bid shall be read and the category of work being bid, prior to the reading of bids grouped under each category of work.

Adm 21.07(3) (3) The following bid information shall be publicly read aloud by the bidding officer and recorded in the official bid tabulation form as bids are read:

Adm 21.07(3)(a) (a) The name of bidder whose bid is being read.

Adm 21.07(3)(b) (b) State whether a bid guarantee has or has not accompanied the bid. If the bid guarantee has not accompanied the bid, the remainder of the bid shall not be read.

Adm 21.07(3)(c) (c) The price quotation for the base bid and alternate bid(s).

Adm 21.07(3)(d) (d) If offered, the price quotation of a combined bid and identification of the base bids which constitute the work proposed under the combined bid submitted.

Adm 21.07(4) (4) Upon completing the public reading of bids, the bidding officer shall announce that the bid opening for the specific project is officially closed and the results of the bid opening will be available at a later date after bidding information has been checked and validated. The disposition of any informalities, omissions, errors or mistakes shall be resolved during the validation of bids. Refer to s. Adm 21.02 for definition.

Adm 21.07 History History: Cr. Register, March, 1979, No. 279, eff. 4-1-79; r. (5), Register, October, 1983, No. 334, eff. 11-1-83; CR 08-025: am. (1) (intro.), (3) (c) and (d), r. (1) (b) 2. Register August 2010 No. 656, eff. 9-1-10.

Adm 21.08 Adm 21.08 Rejection of bids.

Adm 21.08(1) (1) The department shall reject any bid which evidences any of the following conditions:

Adm 21.08(1)(a) (a) The base bid amount(s) and alternate bid(s) amounts as requested in the specifications have not been entered on the bid form.

Adm 21.08(1)(b) (b) The bid form has not been signed by the bidder.

Adm 21.08(1)(c) (c) The bid guarantee has not accompanied the bid form.

Adm 21.08(1)(d) (d) Receipt of an addendum applicable to the award of contract has not been acknowledged on the bid form.

Adm 21.08(1)(e) (e) The bid form has been altered or changed in such a way that it incorporates unsolicited material, either directly or by reference, which would alter any essential provision of the contract documents or require consideration of the unsolicited material in determining the award of contract.

Adm 21.08(1)(f) (f) The bid is submitted by a bidder who, through investigation, is found not to be qualified or responsible within the definition of these rules, s. Adm 21.02 (8) (b) and (c).

Adm 21.08(2) (2) The department may reject any bid if the included documents have any of the following informalities, unless such informalities are waived by the department and corrected by the bidder within 3 working days from date and time of bidder notification:

Adm 21.08(2)(a) (a) Submittal of bid bond on a form other than that contained in the specification volume.

Adm 21.08(2)(b) (b) No power of attorney submitted with bid bond.

Adm 21.08(2)(c) (c) Date of power of attorney precedes date of bid bond.

Adm 21.08(2)(d) (d) Bonding company is not licensed to do business in Wisconsin.

Adm 21.08(2)(e) (e) Failure to submit an affidavit, affirming that bidder is not guilty of collusion or fraud with regard to bid submittal.

Adm 21.08(2)(f) (f) Failure to submit any other document which is specifically requested in the specifications to be submitted with the bid form, acceptance of which would not constitute a correction or alteration of the bid.

Adm 21.08(3) (3) The department may reject all low bids constituting the total lowest construction cost when such amount exceeds the authorized funds available.

Adm 21.08(4) (4) The department reserves the right to reject any or all bids, if in the opinion of the department the best interest of the state will be served.

Adm 21.08(5) (5) Rejection of either a combined bid or the separate bids which correspond to the combined bid, as submitted by the bidder, shall not invalidate the other.

Adm 21.08(6) (6) The reason(s) for rejection of a bid, if due to any of the conditions stated in this section, shall be sent to the bidder in writing within 30 calendar days after the date of bid opening.

Adm 21.08(7) (7) The department, with the approval of the attorney general, may settle or dispose of cases or issues arising out of errors, omissions, or mistakes contained in a bid which result in the bidder giving written notice of the bidder’s intent not to execute the contract. However, if no such settlement is obtained, the bidder is not entitled to recover the bid guarantee unless the bidder proves in circuit court for Dane county that in making the mistake, error or omission the bidder was free from negligence.

Adm 21.08 History History: Cr. Register, March, 1979, No. 279, eff. 4-1-79; CR 08-025: am. (1) (intro.), (f), (2) (intro.), (3), (4) and (7) Register August 2010 No. 656, eff. 9-1-10.

Adm 21.09 Adm 21.09 Award of contracts.

Adm 21.09(1) (1) The department will award contracts to the lowest qualified responsible bidder or bidders that result in the lowest total construction cost for the project and such amount does not exceed the available funds authorized for the project. Final determination as to which bidders are the lowest qualified responsible bidders is vested with the department.

Adm 21.09(2) (2) In cases where the bidding documents provide a formula for evaluation analysis in conjunction with the base bid or alternate bid(s), the department will award to the lowest qualified responsible bidder(s) whose bid(s) produce the lowest bid when combined with the dollar value derived from the formula for converting evaluation factors. (See s. Adm 21.02 (8) (a).)

Adm 21.09(3) (3) Factors which may be the subject of evaluation include, but are not limited to the following:

Adm 21.09(3)(a) (a) Low net annual operating cost.

Adm 21.09(3)(b) (b) Low unit cost of capacity.

Adm 21.09(3)(c) (c) Highest performance per unit or cost.

Adm 21.09(3)(d) (d) Annual maintenance and service costs.

Adm 21.09(4) (4) Should the total of the proposals submitted by the lowest qualified responsible bidder(s) exceed the limits imposed by authorized funds, the department may negotiate deductive changes in the lowest qualified bid for each contract to bring the bids within funding limits.

Adm 21.09(5) (5) The department may consider any unsolicited material accompanying the bid of the lowest qualified responsible bidder only after contracts have been awarded on the basis of the information contained in the bid form. Such consideration may be given to unsolicited material only if it is in the best interest of the state to do so, and does not warrant rejection due to any of the conditions stated in s. Adm 21.08 (1) (e).

Adm 21.09(6) (6) Award of a contract will not be finalized until the required performance payment bond and certificate of insurance have been received and approved by the department.

Adm 21.09(7) (7) Any contractor or subcontractor who enters into a contract on a state construction project shall assume an obligation to take whatever affirmative action is necessary to assure equal employment opportunity in all aspects of employment, irrespective of age, race, religion, color, disability, sex, physical condition, developmental disability as defined in s. 51.01 (5), Stats., or national origin. It is expected that all contractors and subcontractors will carry out that part of their contract pertaining to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action with the same amount of thought and diligence as with any other part of the contract.

Adm 21.09 Note Note: See Adm 21.02 (8) (c) 5. and 21.08 (1) (f).

Adm 21.09 History History: Cr. Register, March, 1979, No. 279, eff. 4-1-79; am. (6) and (7), Register, October, 1983, No. 334, eff. 11-1-83; CR 05-069: am. (4) Register May 2006 No. 605, eff. 6-1-06; CR 08-025: am. (1), (2), (4), (5) and (6) Register August 2010 No. 656, eff. 9-1-10; CR 21-110: am. (7) Register June 2022 No. 798, eff. 7-1-22.