Legal Corner: Public Bids – Part 1

The road to getting a project usually starts with a firm preparing a bid package in response to the Owner’s invitation to bid. It is important to remember that you cannot bid to perform a contract that requires a license without having the license.

In general contracts are divided into two categories, public contracts and private contracts. This segment will be limited to talking about bids for public contracts

Public contracts include contracts with states, counties, or other public agencies. The method these contracts are procured is usually set in a statute, but such contracts are generally secured through competitive bidding.

Competitive Bidding

In Florida’s public contract competitive bidding, the awarding agency is generally under an obligation to award the contract to the lowest, responsible, responsive bidder, in order to ensure that public funds are used responsibly. However, the public entity retains wide discretion in its determination of who is the lowest, responsible, responsive bidder, as long as that determination is not arbitrary or capricious.

Florida’s Public Bid Disclosure Act

Generally, an invitation to bid defines what the bid should include, as well as the time and manner of bid submission.

Additionally, the Florida legislature enacted the Public Bid Disclosure Act which requires local government issuing bidding documents to disclose all permits or fees that the contractor will be required to pay before or during construction at least 10 days prior to submission of final fixed price for the project, and any undisclosed fees shall not be collected. Furthermore, in case of a change order requiring permits or fees, the entity must disclose these permits or fees before the contractor is required to submit a price for the change order.

Next time we will take about bid terms, the responsible responsive bidder, and bid protests.

Disclaimer: We are not lawyers, as such any Legal Information provided is not Legal Advice. For legal advice we urge you to speak with a lawyer.

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Posted by: Eddie Ismail