PDT2022

1. CABQ RFP Class
May 18, 2022
Susan Inman, Training & Development Specialist
State Purchasing Division
General Services Department
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Request for Proposals
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2. Purposes of the
Procurement Code
§13-1-29
(C)“The purposes of the Procurement Code are to…
[1] provide for the fair and equitable treatment of all persons
involved in public procurement,
[2] maximize the purchasing value of public funds and
[3] provide safeguards for maintaining a procurement system
of quality and integrity.”
§13-1-29 Purposes. — The Procurement Code protects against
the evils of favoritism, nepotism, patronage, collusion, fraud,
and corruption in the award of public contracts. Planning &
Design Solutions v. City of Santa Fe, 1994-NMSC-112, 118 N.M.
707, 885 P.2d 628 2 2

3. What is an RFP?
• Qualification-based competitive procurement
o Qualifications valued over lowest cost (best value)
• Interview on paper. What do you need potential Offerors to
provide to demonstrate they are the most qualified for the
job?
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4. Professional Services
vs. [General] Services
• §13-1-76 "Professional services" means the services of
architects, archeologists, engineers, surveyors, landscape
architects, medical arts practitioners, scientists, management
and systems analysts, certified public accountants, registered
public accountants, lawyers, psychologists, planners,
researchers, construction managers and other persons or
businesses providing similar professional services, which may
be designated as such by a determination issued by the state
purchasing agent or a central purchasing office.
• §13-1-87 "Services" means the furnishing of labor, time or effort
by a contractor not involving the delivery of a specific end
product other than reports and other materials which are
merely incidental to the required performance. "Services"
includes the furnishing of insurance but does not include
construction or the services of employees of a state agency or
a local public body. 4 4

5. When to do an RFP…
• For Professional Service or Design-Build projects over
$60,000
• When you want to evaluate vendor experience,
expertise and knowledge
• When you have a complex Scope of Work
• When you want to be able to negotiate scope of
services, deliverables and/or cost
• When awarding a contract to the most qualified
vendor is more important than awarding to the vendor
with the lowest cost
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6. RFP Process
o Establish Procurement File
o Create the RFP
o Publish/Post
o Establish Evaluation Committee
o Release the RFP
o Create Scoresheets
o Pre-Proposal Conference
o Q&A
o RFP Amendments
o Proposals submitted
o Proposal Evaluation
o Oral Presentations/Best and Final Offers (BAFO)
o Evaluation Committee Report (ECR)
o Tentative Awards
o Contract Negotiation/Award
o Protests
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7. RFPs in the Procurement Code
§13-1-111(A)
• Required for professional services and design-build
projects over $60k, or
• Other goods or services (requires a determination)
Keep in mind:
§13-1-125(D) – Can’t artificially divide a procurement to
make it a small purchase.
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8. §13-1-112(A) Requirements
1) Specifications/SOW
2) All contractual terms & conditions
3) Campaign contribution disclosure form (§13-1-191.1)
4) Location, date & time where proposals are to be received
5) Requirements for in-state preference (§§13-1-21 & 13-1-22)
§13-1-113 Public notice/advertising (=> §13-1-104)
o A minimum of 10 days prior to the submission deadline.
o At least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the area
where your central purchasing office is located.
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RFPs in the Procurement Code

9. • §13-1-114 Relative weight given to evaluation factors
must be stated in the RFP
• We evaluate Offeror proposals based on the
requirements in the RFP.
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RFPs in the Procurement Code

10. Case Law
§13-1-114/105/131 Evaluation of proposals. — All the acts in question by the
city - introducing a locality requirement after the bids were opened,
awarding the contract to the fourth-ranked bidder, and rejecting the
proposals after making a contract award - were arbitrary and capricious.
Had the city simply rejected all proposals at any point before making an
award, this matter would not be before the court. Planning & Design Solutions
v. City of Santa Fe, 1994-NMSC-112, 118 N.M. 707, 885 P.2d 628.
§13-1-29 Duty of fair and equitable treatment. — The duty of good faith and
fair dealing in the bidding process required that the city abide by the
strictures of the Procurement Code and the purchasing manual. Specifically,
the criteria provided by the city were an implied contract that if any bids
were accepted, the acceptance would be based on these criteria and no
others. Planning & Design Solutions v. City of Santa Fe, 1994-NMSC-112, 118
N.M. 707, 885 P.2d 628.
§13-1-29 Breach of implied contract to follow Procurement Code. By
unlawfully introducing, considering, and relying on a criterion not listed in the
request, the city breached an informal contract that it would follow the
Procurement Code and the purchasing manual in considering each bid.
Thus, though no formal contract was ever concluded between the parties,
the city's conduct was a breach of an implied contract for which damages
will lie. Planning & Design Solutions v. City of Santa Fe, 1994-NMSC-112, 118
N.M. 707, 885 P.2d 628.
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11. Responsive Offer vs.
Responsible Offeror
• §13-1-85 “Responsive offer" means an offer which conforms in
all material respects to the requirements set forth in the
request for proposals. Material respects of a request for a
proposal include, but are not limited to, price, quality,
quantity or delivery requirements.
• §13-1-83 “Responsible offeror" means an offeror who submits
a responsive proposal and who has furnished, when required,
information and data to prove that his financial resources,
production or service facilities, personnel, service reputation
and experience are adequate to make satisfactory delivery
of the services or items of tangible personal property
described in the proposal.
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12. • §13-1-116 Proposal contents not to be disclosed during
negotiations
o “The contents of any proposal shall not be disclosed so as to be
available to competing offerors during the negotiation process.”
State Ethics Commission Opinion:
“The Procurement Code prohibits public discussion of proposals from the time of submission
of proposals until the award of the contract. — A school board member who, during a
public hearing to discuss a local school district's chief procurement officer's (CPO)
recommendation to contract with an offeror following the CPO's issuance of a request for
proposals (RFP) for cleaning services, asked the CPO to provide copies of the RFPs and the
names of all vendors who received notice, and after receiving this information, contacted
local vendors to discuss the cost of the cleaning services requested and asked whether
they had received notice of the RFPs, violated the Procurement Code, because 13-1-116
NMSA 1978's duty of confidentiality applies during the "negotiation process," that is, from the
time of submission of proposals until the procuring entity awards a contract.” 2020 Op.
Ethics Comm'n No. 2020-04.
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RFPs in the Procurement Code

13. • §13-1-117 Award based on most advantageous
o Must take into consideration the evaluation factors in the RFP.
• §13-1-117 .1 Professional services award
o (A) Legislative branch and local public bodies must “adopt regulations
regarding selection and award of professional service contracts.”
o (B) “Award shall be made” to the most advantageous Offeror(s), must
take into consideration the evaluation factors in the RFP.
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RFPs in the Procurement Code

14. NM Resident Preferences
• §13-1-21 Application of preferences (changing
July 1, 2022 - SB 39)
o NM Resident Business/Contractor 5%
o NM Resident Veteran Business/Contractor 10%
o 13-1-21 (D & E) % of total points in RFP
o 13-1-21(H) Cannot apply both
o 13-1-21(J) Do not apply if expenditure involves
federal funds
• Recommendation: If (J) applies to your procurement, put
a statement in your solicitation referencing this statute
(§13-1-21(J) NMSA 1978) letting potential Bidders know
that the NM Resident Preferences do not apply because
the expenditure involves federal funds.
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15. • Applying the NM Resident Preference to an RFP
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Request for Proposals
Available
Points
Offeror A
(Bus Pref)
Offeror B
(Vet Pref)
RFP Total 1,000 874 850
NM Bus.
Pref. (5%)
1,000 x .05 =
50
924 N/A
NM Vet.
Pref. (10%)
1,000 x .10 =
100
N/A 950

16. NM Resident Preferences
• SB39
o Effective July 1, 2022
o Changes NM Resident Business/Contractor Preference
from 5% to 8%
o Renewed NM Resident Veteran Business/Contractor
• Increased annual gross revenue limit from $3M to
$6M
o Adds Native American eligibility
• Adds definitions Native American Resident Business
and Resident Veteran Business (§§13-1-2(A)(4) & (5))
• Adds Native American Resident Business/Contractor
and Native American Resident Veteran
Business/Contractor
• Adds Native American application requirements
(§§13-1-22(F) & (G))
• Additional changes to §13-4-2 & §62-16B-7
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17. Hints and Tips
• Start the RFP process well before you need your contract in place.
• Procurement Manager should know the RFP document in detail.
• Have someone, not familiar with your program, review your RFP.
• Make sure each Specification has a corresponding Evaluation Factor
that includes a Pass/Fail or points.
• Don’t use “perceived validity” in the Evaluation Factors.
o Other descriptive words: relevant/relevancy, extent/extensive, comprehensive, suitable,
applicable, well-thought-out, thorough/thoroughness, clear/clarity, etc.
• Give the Offerors at least a week, better two, between the Q&A
posting and the submission deadline.
• Don’t be afraid to do an amendment prior to the RFP submission
deadline.
• Give potential Offerors plenty of time to respond to the RFP, the Q&A,
or any amendments.
• Ensure all of the comments in the Evaluation Committee Report can
be tied-back to the RFP requirements.
• Adhere to the requirements in your RFP document!
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18. SPD Website
• State Purchasing Division
o Website:
• Search: gsdspd (General Services Department State Purchasing Division)
o https://www.generalservices.state.nm.us/state-purchasing/
• Resources and Information: https://www.generalservices.state.nm.us/state-
purchasing/resources-and-information/
o Templates (RFP, Draft Service Agreement, etc.)
o State Purchasing Agent Memos
o Link to the Procurement Code
o Link to the NMAC Rules
o Main Phone:
• (505) 827-0472
o Training schedule available under:
• Training => Training Schedule & Registration
o Classes Offered:
• Procurement Code Overview (aka Procurement 101)
o One day
• RFP Class
o Three days
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19. Questions?
E-mail: susan.inman@state.nm.us
Phone: (505) 795-5551
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