Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 98 Part 1.djvu/1227

 PUBLIC LAW 98-369—JULY 18, 1984

98 STAT. 1179

"(C) develop specifications in such manner as is necessary to obtain full and open competition with due regard to the nature of the property or services to be acquired. "(2) Each solicitation under this title shall include specifications which— "(A) consistent with the provisions of this title, permit full and open competition; "(B) include restrictive provisions or conditions only to the extent necessary to satisfy the needs of the executive agency or as authorized by law. "(3) For the purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2), the type of specification included in a solicitation shall depend on the nature of the needs of the executive agency and the market available to satisfy such needs. Subject to such needs, specifications may be stated in terms of— "(A) function, so that a variety of products or services may qualify; "(B) performance, including specifications of the range of acceptable characteristics or of the minimum acceptable standards; or "(C) design requirements. "(b) In addition to the specifications described in subsection (a), each solicitation for sealed bids or competitive proposals (other than for small purchases) shall at a minimum include— "(1) a statement of— "(A) all significant factors (including price) which the executive agency reasonably expects to consider in evaluating sealed bids or competitive proposals; and "(B) the relative importance assigned to each of those factors; and "(2)(A) in the case of sealed bids— "(i) a statement that sealed bids will be evaluated without discussions with the bidders; and "(ii) the time and place for the opening of the sealed bids; or "(B) in the case of competitive proposals— "(i) a statement that the proposals are intended to be evaluated with, and awards made after, discussions with the offerors, but might be evaluated and awarded without discussions with the offerors; and "(ii) the time and place for submission of proposals. "EVALUATION AND AWARD

"SEC. 303B. (a) An executive agency shall evaluate sealed bids and 4i use 253b. competitive proposals based solely on the factors specified in the solicitation. "(b) All sealed bids or competitive proposals received in response to a solicitation may be rejected if the agency head determines that such action is in the public interest. "(c) Sealed bids shall be opened publicly at the time and place stated in the solicitation. The executive agency shall evaluate the bids without discussions with the bidders and, except as provided in subsection (b), shall award a contract with reasonable promptness to the responsible source whose bid conforms to the solicitation and is most advantageous to the United States, considering only price and the other price-related factors included in the solicitation. The

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