1. (a) The procurement officer shall evaluate bids based on the requirements set out in the invitation to bid, which may include criteria to determine acceptability such as inspection, testing, quality, delivery, and suitability for a particular purpose. An evaluation of product acceptability may be conducted to determine whether a bidder's offering is acceptable as set out in the invitation to bid. A bid that does not meet the acceptability requirements shall be rejected as nonresponsive.

2. (b) The procurement officer shall evaluate bids to determine which bid offers the lowest price to the authority in accordance with the evaluation criteria set out in the invitation to bid. The criteria that will affect the bid price and be considered in evaluation for award must be objectively measurable, such as discounts, transportation costs, and total or life cycle costs. Evaluation factors need not be precise predictors of actual future costs, but to the extent possible the evaluation factors must

   1. (1) be reasonable estimates based upon information the procurement officer has available concerning future use; and
   2. (2) treat all bids equitably.
3. (c) Criteria may not be used in bid evaluation if they are not set out in the invitation to bid.
4. (d) Nothing in this section permits contract award to a bidder submitting a higher quality item than that designated in the invitation for bids if the bidder is not also the lowest bidder as determined under (b) of this section.
5. (e) An alternate or conditioned bid submitted by a bidder that requires a change to a material term of the solicitation is nonresponsive unless a response to a specific condition or alternative is requested and authorized in the invitation to bid.
6. (f) Negotiations are not permitted under this section except that after opening bids a procurement officer may request bidders extend the time during which the authority may accept a bid.

(Eff. 7/10/2015, Register 215)

Authority: AS 44.83.080