Public Contracting - General Provisions

ORS 279A.157
State contracting agency use of contract form, contract template or solicitation template

  • exceptions and exemptions
  • rules

(1)

As used in this section:

(a)

(A) “Contract form” means a document with terms and conditions that the Attorney General and the Oregon Department of Administrative Services develop, approve and make available for state contracting agencies to use without alteration, except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, as the terms and conditions of a public contract.

(B)

“Contract form” does not include specifications for a procurement, a scope of work, pricing information, information that identifies parties to the public contract or similar or related portions of a public contract that a state contracting agency necessarily develops or must alter, with approval from the Attorney General or the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, as a means of achieving the results the state contracting agency intends for the procurement.

(b)

(A) “Contract template” means a document with terms and conditions that the Attorney General and the department develop, approve and make available for state contracting agencies to use, with appropriate alterations, as the basis for the terms and conditions of a public contract.

(B)

“Contract template” does not include specifications for a procurement, a scope of work, pricing information, information that identifies parties to the public contract or similar or related portions of a public contract that a state contracting agency necessarily develops or must alter as a means of achieving the results the state contracting agency intends for the procurement.

(c)

“Solicitation template” means a request for information, a request for a quotation, an invitation to bid, a request for proposals or other document for soliciting a procurement under the Public Contracting Code in which the Attorney General and the department develop, approve and make available standardized language that a state contracting agency must use, with appropriate alterations, for a solicitation.

(2)

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this subsection, a state contracting agency shall use a solicitation template in advertising and soliciting all procurements under the Public Contracting Code and, as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, shall use a contract form or a contract template, as appropriate, as the basis for all public contracts into which the state contracting agency enters. A state contracting agency, in accordance with the Public Contracting Code, may negotiate the terms and conditions set forth in a contract form or contract template but may not vary the terms and conditions without the advice of the Attorney General or legal counsel that the Attorney General approves if the state contracting agency anticipates that the contract form or contract template will be the basis for a public contract with a contract price that exceeds $150,000.

(b)

A state contracting agency shall use a contract form or contract template for all price agreements, cooperative procurements or procurements for which the Attorney General or the Director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services determines that the specifications for goods or services, the terms and conditions, the scope of work or other aspects of a procurement or a class of procurements do not vary significantly among state contracting agencies, or for procurements or classes of procurements in which the Attorney General or the director determines that using a contract form or contract template is necessary for the state contracting agency to avoid unreasonable liabilities or other risks or would promote best practices in public contracting. A state contracting agency, in accordance with the Public Contracting Code, may negotiate the terms and conditions set forth in a contract form or contract template but may not vary the terms and conditions without the advice of the Attorney General or legal counsel that the Attorney General approves if the state contracting agency anticipates that the contract form or contract template will be the basis for a public contract with a contract price that exceeds $150,000.

(c)

A state contracting agency may base a public contract on terms and conditions other than the terms and conditions set forth in a contract form or contract template only if:

(A)

The state contracting agency receives approval from the Attorney General or, if the state contracting agency is subject to ORS 279A.140 (State procurement of goods and services), from the Director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, unless the state contracting agency determines that the contract price for the public contract is unlikely to exceed $150,000;

(B)

The nature of the procurement is unique and the public contract requires specific terms and conditions to accommodate the unique nature of the procurement or the state contracting agency, in accordance with provisions in the solicitation documents for the procurement, negotiated terms and conditions for the public contract that differ from the terms and conditions in a contract form or contract template;

(C)

The state contracting agency consults the Attorney General, or legal counsel that the Attorney General approves, to develop appropriate terms and conditions for the public contract and for legal advice during all phases of the procurement for which the Attorney General determines that legal advice is necessary and relevant; and

(D)

The state contracting agency submits the public contract to the Attorney General for approval for legal sufficiency, if the provisions of ORS 291.047 (Public contract approval by Attorney General) require the submission.

(d)

This subsection does not apply to a procurement that a state contracting agency conducts under ORS 279B.065 (Small procurements), 279B.080 (Emergency procurements) or 279C.110 (Selection procedures for consultants to provide services) (11).

(3)

Notwithstanding provisions of this section that require a state contracting agency to use a solicitation template, contract form or contract template that the Attorney General and the department develop, the office of the Secretary of State and the office of the State Treasurer shall use standardized forms and templates that each office develops for each office’s own use in conducting procurements or entering into public contracts. The Secretary of State and the State Treasurer may elect to use solicitation templates, contract forms or contract templates that the Attorney General and the department develop.

(4)

The Attorney General and the Director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services shall cooperate to:

(a)

Develop and make available solicitation templates, contract forms and contract templates for procurements or classes of procurements that state contracting agencies require; and

(b)

Adopt rules under ORS 279A.065 (Model rules generally) to implement the provisions of this section. [2015 c.646 §2; 2019 c.55 §2]
Source

Last accessed
Jun. 26, 2021

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