Section 30-2099. DEFINITIONS

 

2099.1The definitions set forth in the portions of Title 27 DCMR incorporated by reference in this chapter shall apply to the terms and phrases used in this chapter and the applicable Title 27 DCMR provisions, except where those definitions are superseded by the provisions of this chapter or are inconsistent with this title.

 

2099.2When used in Chapters 20 through 25 of this title, the following terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed:

 

Acquisition - the obtaining by contract of property, supplies, and services by and for the Agency through purchase or lease, whether the supplies or services are already in existence or must be developed, demonstrated, and evaluated, and includes establishment of needs, a description of requirements to satisfy needs, the solicitation of sources, award of contracts, contract financing, contract administration and performance, and those technical and management functions directly related to the process of fulfilling Agency needs by contract.

 

Apparent clerical mistake - clerical or typographical mistake apparent on the face of a bid or proposal.

 

Best interests of the Agency - courses of action that result in the most favorable position within the market for goods and services, or will maximize the achievement of other policies of the Board as expressed in the rules and policies of the Board or other existing laws.

 

Bid bond - a form of security assuring that the bidder will not withdraw a bid within the period specified for acceptance and will execute a written contract within the time specified in the bid.

 

Bid sample - an example of a product furnished by a bidder to show the characteristics of the product offered in a bid.

 

Blanket purchase agreement - a pre-contractual agreement with a vendor that establishes a charge account for supplies or services which allows the Agency to make small purchases without the issuance of a purchase order for each individual purchase. Payments are made on a monthly basis.

 

Board - see §2000.2 of this chapter.

 

Bond - a written instrument executed by a contractor (principal) and a second party (surety or sureties) to assure the fulfillment of the contractor's obligations to a third party (an obligee or the Agency). If the principal's obligations are not met, the bond assures payment, to the extent stipulated, of any loss sustained by the obligee.

 

Business - any corporation, partnership, individual, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture, or any other legal entity through which business is conducted.

 

Certified minority business - any firm certified in accordance with the provisions of the Minority Contracting Act of 1976, effective March 29, 1977, D.C. Law 1-95, D.C. Code §1-1141 et seq. (1992 Repl. Vol.).

 

Clarification -. communication with an offeror for the sole purpose of eliminating minor irregularities, informalities, or apparent clerical mistakes in the proposal. It is achieved by explanation or substantiation, either in response to Agency inquiry or as initiated by the offeror.

 

Competitive bid basis - as this term is used in D.C. Code §2-2536 (1994 Repl. Vol.), and implemented in this title, the solicitation and award of contracts by using competitive sealed bidding or competitive sealed proposals, in accordance with the provisions of Chapters 22 and 23 of this title.

 

Competitive bidding - the offer of prices by individuals or firms competing for a contract, privilege, or right to supply any specified services or materials.

 

Competitive sealed proposals - a process which includes the submission of sealed written technical and price proposals from two (2) or more sources and a written evaluation of each proposal in accordance with evaluation criteria which consider price, quality of the items, performance, and other relevant factors. The contract award is made on the basis of the evaluations, or on the basis of evaluations followed by negotiations.

 

Contract - all types of mutually binding agreements covered by this chapter, which, except as authorized, are in writing.

 

Contract modification - a written alteration in the specifications, delivery point, rate of delivery, contract period, price, quantity, or other contract provisions of any existing contract, whether accomplished by unilateral action in accordance with a contract provision, or by mutual action of the parties to the contract. The term "contract modification" includes actions such as change orders, administrative changes, notices of termination, and notices of the exercise of a contract option.

 

Contracting officer - the Executive Director, Director of Procurement, or any other Agency official who is vested with the authority to execute contracts on behalf of the Agency.

 

Contractor - any person that enters into a contract with the Agency.

 

Contribution - a concept, suggestion, or idea presented to the Agency for its use with no indication that the source intends to devote any further effort to it on the Agency's behalf.

 

Conviction of a felony - includes entering a plea of guilt to a felony charge, as well as conviction by a jury or court.

 

Cooperative purchasing - procurement conducted by the Agency with, or on behalf of, a neighboring jurisdiction.

 

Cost analysis - the review and evaluation of the separate cost elements and proposed profit of an offeror's or contractor's cost or pricing data and the judgmental factors applied in projecting from the data to estimated costs, in order to form an opinion on the degree to which the proposed costs represent what the contract should cost, assuming reasonable economy and efficiency.

 

Cost or pricing data - all facts as of the time or price agreement that prudent buyers and sellers would reasonably expect to affect price negotiations significantly. Cost or pricing data are factual, not judgmental, and are therefore verifiable. While they do not indicate the accuracy of the prospective contractor's judgment about estimated future costs or projections, they do include the data forming the basis for that judgment. Cost or pricing data are more than historical accounting data; they are all the facts that can be reasonably expected to contribute to the soundness of estimates of future costs and to the validity of determinations of costs already incurred. They also include factors such as vendor quotations; nonrecurring costs; information on changes in production methods or purchasing volume; data supporting projections of business prospects and objectives and related operational costs; and unit cost trends, such as those associated with labor efficiency, make-or-buy decisions, estimated resources to attain business goals, and information on management decisions that could have a significant bearing on cost.

 

Cost-plus-incentive-fee contract - a type of contract that specifies a target cost, a target fee, minimum and maximum fees, and a fee adjustment formula.

 

Cost-reimbursement contract - a contract under which the Agency reimburses the contractor for those contract costs, within a stated ceiling, which are recognized as allowable and allocated in accordance with cost principles, and a fee, if any.

 

Data - recorded information, regardless of form or characteristics.

 

Deficiency - any part of a proposal that fails to satisfy the Agency's requirement.

 

Descriptive literature - information (such as cuts, illustrations, drawings, and brochures) which shows the characteristics or construction of a product or explains its operation.

 

Designee - a duly authorized representative of a person holding a superior position. Director - the Director of Procurement of the Agency.

 

Director, DAS - the Director of the Department of Administrative Services, established by Mayor's Order 84-52, dated March 2, 1984.

 

Discussion - any oral or written communication between the Agency and an offeror (other than communications conducted for the purpose of minor clarification), whether or not initiated by the Agency, that involves information essential for determining the acceptability of a proposal or provides the offeror an opportunity to revise or modify its proposal.

 

Employee - an individual receiving a salary from the Agency or a nonsalaried individual performing personal services for the Agency, other than an independent contractor.

 

Established catalogue price - the price included in the most current catalogue, price list, schedule, or other form that is regularly maintained by the manufacturer or supplier of an item; is either published or available for inspection by customers; states prices at which sales are currently or were last made to a significant number of buyers constituting the general public for that item; and states discontinued prices at which sales are currently or were last made to state, local, or federal agencies.

 

Evaluated bid price - the dollar amount of a bid after bid price adjustments are made under objective criteria, set forth in the IFB, which affect the economy and effectiveness in the operation or use of the product, such as reliability, maintainability, useful life, and residual value.

 

Excess supplies - any supplies other than expendable supplies having a remaining useful life but which are no longer required by the using agency.

 

Expendable supplies - all tangible supplies other than nonexpendable supplies.

 

Fixed-price contract - a contract where the price is not subject to any adjustment on the basis of the contractor's cost experience in the performance of the contract.

 

Fixed-price-incentive contract - a contract that provides for adjusting profit and establishes the final contract price by a formula based on the relationship of final negotiated price to total target cost. The final price is subject to a target ceiling that is negotiated at the outset.

 

Gambling form - a lottery, numbers game, or any other game of chance which is operated directly by the Agency or under a contract for operation awarded by the Agency. For purposes of this title, the tern "gambling form" does not include charitable games operated under a license issued by the Agency.

 

Imprest fund - a cash fund of a fixed amount established by an advance of funds, without charge to an appropriation, from an agency finance or disbursing officer to a duly appointed cashier, for disbursement as needed from time-to-time in making payment in cash for very small purchases.

 

Invitation for bids (IFB) - all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting bids using the competitive sealed bid method of procurement pursuant to Chapter 22.

 

Local trading area - the Greater Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area as defined by the Greater Washington Research Center or any successor entity recognized by the Director of Procurement.

 

Lowest evaluated bid price - the lowest bid price after considering all price related factors, including but not limited to, trade discounts and price penalty for businesses having business interests in the Republic of South Africa or Namibia.

 

Master subcontracting plan - a subcontracting plan containing the elements specified in §2008.3 of this chapter, except percentage goals.

 

Minor informality or irregularity - some immaterial defect in a bid or proposal or a variation of a bid or proposal from the exact requirements of the IFB or RFP that can be corrected or waived without being prejudicial to other bidders or offerors. The defect or variation is immaterial when the effect on price, quantity, quality, or delivery is negligible when contrasted with the total cost or scope of the requirement.

 

Negotiation - contracting by the competitive sealed proposals method set forth in Chapter 23.

 

Nonexpendable supplies - all tangible supplies having an original acquisition cost of over one hundred dollars ($100) per unit and a probable useful life of two (2) years or more.

 

Payment bond - a bond to assure payment to all persons supplying labor or material in the performance of the work provided in the contract.

 

Performance bond - a bond to secure performance and fulfillment of the contractor's obligations under the contract.

 

Person - any business entity, individual, union, committee, club, or other organization or group of individuals.

 

Postmark - a printed, stamped, or otherwise placed impression (exclusive of a postage meter machine impression) that is readily identifiable without further action as having been supplied and affixed on the date of mailing by employees of the U.S. or Canadian Postal Service.

 

Price - cost plus any fee or profit applicable to the contract type.

 

Price analysis - the process of examining and evaluating a proposed price without evaluating its separate cost elements and proposed profit.

 

Price history - a chronological record of prices previously paid for a particular supply, service, or construction item.

 

Principal office - the primary office, based upon the totality of the business activities, in which routine and essential business functions occur, to include at least three (3) of the following:

 

(a) Bookkeeping and other record keeping;

 

(b) Payroll maintenance;

 

(c) Receipt of business telephone calls;

 

(d) Storage of books and records; or

 

(e) Directing, controlling, and coordinating of activities and policies by officers, principals, and managers.

 

Procurement - acquisition.

 

Procurement request - a document which requests that a contract be obtained for a specified need, and may include, but is not limited to, the technical description of the requested items, delivery schedule, transportation criteria for evaluation of solicitees, suggested sources of supply, and information supplied for the making of any required written determination and finding.

 

Purchase order - an offer by the Agency to buy certain supplies services, or other items from commercial sources upon specified terms and conditions, the aggregate amount of which does not exceed the small purchase limit.

 

Quotation - a citation of price and delivery terms or a period of performance by a contractor in response to a contracting officer's request on procurements of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or less.

 

Receiving report - written documentation of supplies delivered or services performed as noted by the contracting officer.

 

Request for proposals (RFP) - all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting proposals pursuant to Chapter 23.

 

Responsible bidder or offeror - a person who has the capability in all respects to perform fully the contract requirements, and the integrity and reliability which will assure good faith performance.

 

Responsive bid or offer - a bid or offer that conforms in all material respects to the invitation for bids or request for proposals.

 

Responsive bidder or offeror - a person who has submitted a bid or offer which conforms in all material respects to the invitation for bids or request for proposals.

 

Services - the rendering, by a contractor, of its time and effort rather than the furnishing of a specific product other than reports which are merely incidental to the required performance of services.

 

Sheltered market procurement- a process by which contracts or subcontracts are designated, before solicitation of bias or proposals, for competition among minority business enterprises on the basis of competitive sealed bids or competitive sealed proposals.

 

Small purchase - a procurement of supplies, services, or other items in an aggregate amount not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

 

Sole source - where a single source in a competitive marketplace can fulfill the specifications of a contract or is found, for a justifiable reason, to be most advantageous to the Agency for the purpose of contract award.

 

Solicitation - any attempt, verbal or in writing, to obtain a proposal or bid from one (1) or more contractors.

 

Specification - any description of physical or functional characteristics, or of the nature of a supply, service, or other item. The term "specification" may include a description of any requirement for inspecting, testing, or preparing a supply, service, or other item for delivery.

 

Supplemental agreement - any contract modification which is accomplished by the mutual action of the parties.

 

Supplies - all property subject to this chapter.

 

Surety - a business legally liable for the debt, default, or failure of a principal to satisfy a contractual obligation.

 

Technical analysis - the examination and evaluation by personnel having specialized knowledge, skills, experience, or capability in engineering, science, or management of proposed quantities and kinds of materials, labor, processes, special tooling, facilities, and associated factors set forth in a proposal.

 

Telegraphic bid - a bid or amendment to a bid furnished by telegraph or mailgram.

 

Term contract - a contract established for a period of time for bulk purchase of certain common-use items.

 

Trade discount - a price allowance or deduction, usually as a percentage, allowed to different classes of customers.

 

Two-step sealed bidding - a method of contracting designed to obtain the benefits of competitive sealed bidding when adequate specifications are not available.

 

Unpriced purchase order - an order for supplies, services, or other items, the price of which is not established at the time of issuance of the order.

 

Unsolicited proposal - a written proposal that is submitted to the Agency on the initiative of the submitter for the purpose of obtaining a contract with the Agency and that is not in response to a solicitation.

 

source

Final Rulemaking published at 36 DCR 6681, 6701 (September 22, 1989)