Following receipt of a protest filed as prescribed by these regulations, the department shall determine whether the protest is to be resolved by written submission of material or by public hearing. In the event a public hearing is to be held, the department shall set a date, time and place for the hearing and shall so notify all interested parties not less than 5 calendar days in advance of the hearing. The department may, in its discretion upon notice to all interested parties, change the date of, postpone or continue the hearing at the request of an interested party upon a showing of good cause or upon its own motion.
The location of the hearing shall be at the discretion of the hearing officer and situated for the convenience of all parties.
In the event the protest is to be determined through written submissions, notice shall be sent to all interested parties, each of whom may submit written argument in support of its position in accordance with the deadline established by the hearing officer. The determination that the protest hall be determined through written submission shall be made upon the hearing officer’s evaluation that oral or additional testimony would be unnecessary to a full understanding of the issues.
Any written submission to the department including that submitted for purposes of the hearing shall be in an original and two copies, together with proof of service of a copy to each interested party.
At any time the department finds that a protest is clearly insufficient on its face, entirely without merit, or outside the scope of the jurisdiction of the department, it may make final disposition of the protest forthwith.

Responsive bid- A bid that meets the specifications and other requirements contained in the IFB or RFP.

“Responsible bidder,” as used in this part, means a bidder who has demonstrated the attribute of trustworthiness, as well as quality, fitness, capacity, and experience to satisfactorily perform the public works contract.
The Legislature finds and declares that this section is declaratory of existing law.

(a) Presentation of a claim pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 900) of Division 3.6 of Title 1 of the Government Code is not required to commence a legal action or arbitration proceeding for money or damages on a contract with the state, but any action or proceeding shall be commenced not later than six months after either of the following:
(1) The contracting agency’s final written decision under contract claim provisions.
(2) The accrual of the cause of action, if there are no contract claim provisions.
(b) This section shall not apply to a claim that is subject to the provisions of Section 10240.1.

F. When an evaluation committee is appointed:
1. The voting members used in the selection process shall be from the agency soliciting the proposals or awarding the contract.
2. Private consultants may not be voting members of the committee and may only be used to provide clarification or subject matter expertise to the committee members.
3. If the contract is awarded by a State board or commission, the recommendations of an evaluation committee shall be considered advisory in nature, and the board or commission must make the ultimate decision unless statute expressly permits the board or commission to delegate that responsibility.

(a) The department shall delegate purchasing authority, as specified in Section 10332, to any state agency that does all of the following:
(1) Designates an agency officer as responsible and directly accountable for the agency’s purchasing program.
(2) Establishes written policies and procedures, including procedures for ensuring and documenting competitive purchasing, complying with purchasing standards established pursuant to Section 10307, inspecting acquired products for compliance with specifications, reporting contractor failures to deliver products as specified in contracts, ensuring that agency contracting personnel are free from conflict of interest, and complying with other provisions of law as the department may require.
(3) Establishes procedures for complying with the provisions of the Small Business Procurement and Contract Act. The procedures shall include procedures for meeting the goals for the extent of participation of small businesses in state contracting as established by the department pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 14838 of the Government Code.
(4) Establishes policies for training personnel in purchasing law and procedures, controlling and reviewing purchasing practices, auditing purchasing activities, and delegating purchasing authority within the agency.
(5) Reports the data to the office that the department may require.
(b) The department shall conduct an audit of each state agency to which purchasing authority has been delegated at least once in each three-year period. The authority to acquire goods may be withdrawn by the department at any time that the department finds that the state agency to which authority has been delegated is not in compliance with the requirements of this section.

(a) Public notice of a project shall be given by publication once a week for at least two consecutive weeks or once a week for more than two consecutive weeks if the longer period of advertising is deemed necessary by the department.
5.75 ADVERTISING STATE-CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES (Rev 1/18) A. Contracts of $10,000 or more must be advertised in the CSCR for at least 10 working days, unless exempt from bidding. Agencies cannot release solicitations prior to publication in the CSCR.

§ 10290.3. Reverse auctions
(a) Notwithstanding the bidding provisions of this chapter, reverse auctions may be utilized for the acquisition of goods and services. The reverse auction process shall include a specification of an opening date and time when real-time electronic bids may be accepted, and provide that the procedure shall remain open until the designated closing date and time.
(b) All bids on reverse auctions shall be posted electronically on the Internet, updated on a real-time basis, and shall allow registered bidders to lower the price of their bid below the lowest bid posted on the Internet.
(c) The Department of General Services shall require vendors to register before the reverse auction opening date and time, and as part of the registration, agree to any terms and conditions and other requirements of the solicitation.
The Department of General Services may require vendors to be prequalified prior to placing bids in a reverse auction.
(d) For purposes of this section, “reverse auction” means a competitive online solicitation process for fungible goods or services in which vendors compete against each other online in real time in an open and interactive environment.
(e) The reverse auction process may not be used for bidding on any construction contract that is subject to Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 10100).