Sec. 250.0. Operating principles, purpose, intent and applicability  


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  • (a) Operating principles.
    The objective of State procurement is to facilitate each State agency's mission while protecting the interests of the State and its taxpayers and promoting fairness in contracting with the business community. The State's procurement process shall be guided by the following principles:
    (1) To promote purchasing from responsive and responsible offerors, including small businesses.
    (2) To be based on clearly articulated procedures which require a clear statement of product specifications, requirements or work to be performed; a documentable process for soliciting bids, proposals or other offers; a balanced and fair method, established in advance of the receipt of offers, for evaluating offers and awarding contracts; contract terms and conditions that protect the State's interests and promote fairness in contracting with the business community; and a regular monitoring of vendor performance.
    (3) To encourage the investment of the private and not-for-profit sectors in New York State by making reasonable efforts to ensure that offerors are apprised of procurement opportunities by specifying the elements of a responsive bid and disclosing the process for awarding contracts including, if applicable, the relative importance and/or weight of cost and the overall technical criteria for evaluating offers, and by ensuring the procurement is conducted accordingly.
    (4) To ensure that contracts are awarded consistent with the best interests of the State.
    (5) To ensure that officers and employees of State entities do not benefit financially or otherwise from the award of State contracts.
    (6) To ensure regular and critical review of the efficiency, integrity and effectiveness of the overall process.
    (b) Purpose, intent and applicability.
    The purpose of this Part is to establish continuing standards and procedures to govern State procurements pursuant to sections 200 and 202 of the Executive Law and, based upon the recommendations of the State Procurement Council, pursuant to section 161 of the State Finance Law. These rules are designed to ensure that citizens, the private sector, businesses, State agencies, local governments and not-for-profit entities may proceed in confidence and good faith to effectively utilize public procurement processes. This Part sets forth requirements, procedures and processes relative to purchasing and contracting for commodities, services and technology by State agencies utilizing differing methods of procurement available to meet their needs, as well as those of local governments and other authorized purchasers under State contracts. The public procurement process ensures adequate supplies of commodities, services and technology on an economic and efficient basis in pursuance of the missions of State agencies and those of other authorized purchasers. This Part is necessary to preserve stability and integrity of such procurement system and to avoid confusion and fiscal uncertainties in the business community relative to existing purchases and contracts and ongoing and future procurements. The consistent application of long standing effective purchasing and contracting practices serves the best interests of the State and its citizens. This Part is applicable to State agency procurement practices, to the methodologies employed in public procurement and to the participation in State procurement contracts by other authorized purchasers.