(a) A Customer and Supplier Advocate shall be established in the department as a resource to state agencies and departments, and suppliers seeking information regarding the state process, procedures, and regulations for bidding on state contracts, and as a resource to bidders seeking to file a protest on award in accordance with this chapter. The advocate shall, at a minimum, provide the following services to the protesting bidder:

1. (1) Assistance to customer departments and agencies regarding contracting rules and regulations, and acquisition resource options.
2. (2) Assistance to the bidder in assessing the validity of the bidder’s proposed grounds of filing the protest in accordance with the terms of the solicitation, as well as statutory or regulatory guidelines governing the solicitation in question.
3. (3) Provision of information to the protesting bidder regarding avenues and options available to the bidder to proceed with a formal protest of the award.