Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 149A, § 6 – Selection committee; request for proposals; price and technical components; ranking of proposals; non-fee negotiations

(a) Before issuing a request for proposals, hereinafter referred to as RFP, the public agency shall establish a selection committee for the purpose of reviewing and evaluating responses submitted to the RFP issued pursuant to subsection (b). The selection committee shall be comprised of 1 representative of the designer, the owner's project manager, and at least 2 representatives of the public agency. Nothing herein shall prohibit the public agency from appointing the same individuals who served as the prequalification committee to serve as the selection committee.
(b) The public agency shall issue an RFP to each construction management at risk firm that has been prequalified to receive an RFP pursuant to this section. The RFP shall include each of the elements of the RFQ identified in subsection (c) of section 5 and further shall include:
1. (1) the date, time and place for submission of proposals;
2. (2) a clear description of the submission requirements including separate price and technical components;
3. (3) detailed information concerning the project scope including any preliminary design information, geotechnical reports, existing condition surveys and specifications;
4. (4) specific information on the project schedule including design deliverables, site availability and occupancy expectations;
5. (5) a detailed description of the scope of work and deliverables expected from the construction management at risk firm during the preconstruction phase;
6. (6) the minority business enterprise and women business enterprise inclusion goals and workforce inclusion goals for the building project;
7. (7) a clear description of the communication guidelines to be followed during the procurement process including any measures to assure that the selection process will be open and fair;
8. (8) the form of contract and general and supplemental conditions including any incentive provisions allowable under this statute and any damages for delay provisions;
9. (9) the budget for the project;
10. (10) a fully developed schedule of cost items listing the public agency's determination of what will be considered fee, cost of the work, and general condition items;
11. (11) specific information on the evaluation criteria including any point scale or measurement system;
12. (12) the timetable and process for establishing a guaranteed maximum price including status of design and limitations on the amount and use of contingency; and
13. (13) a list of the trade contractor classes of work to be required in the trade contractor prequalification plan.
(c) The RFP shall require the submission of separate price and technical components as part of the proposal submitted in response to the RFP.
1. (1) The price component shall include (i) the fee for preconstruction services with appropriate detail, (ii) the fee for construction services with explanation of the basis, and (iii) the estimated cost of general conditions with appropriate detail.
2. (2) The technical component shall include:
(i) a detailed project approach, including preconstruction services, (ii) supplemental relevant project references, (iii) the project team members with position descriptions and relevant time commitments of said team members during the project, (iv) the construction management plan indicating approach to control of cost, schedule, quality, documents and claims;
(v) preliminary definition of trade contractor and subcontractor bid packages and scopes of work, (vi) affidavit of prevailing wage compliance pursuant to sections 26 and 27 of chapter 149;
(vii) a commitment letter from a surety company licensed to do business in the commonwealth and whose name appears on United States Treasury Department Circular 570 stating the surety's willingness to bond the building project in the full sum of the contract at 110 per cent of the budget for the building project, (viii) a technical challenges and solutions plan, and (ix) any qualifications or exceptions to the terms of the form of contract or supplemental conditions as included in the RFP.
(d) Upon receipt of the proposals to the RFP issued pursuant to subsection (b), the selection committee shall evaluate all proposals in accordance with the criteria included in the RFP; but, if the selection committee elects to conduct an interview with a construction management at risk firm who submits a proposal in response to the RFP, then the selection committee shall conduct interviews with each construction management at risk firm that submits a proposal to said RFP. Based upon the evaluations of each proposal submitted by each construction management at risk firm, the selection committee shall rank the proposals submitted by the construction management at risk firms. The decision of the selection committee shall be final and not subject to appeal except on the grounds of fraud or collusion.
(e) The selection committee shall commence non-fee negotiations with the highest ranked construction management at risk firm. If the selection committee determines that negotiations with the highest ranked construction management at risk firm will not result in a contract acceptable to the public agency, the selection committee shall terminate negotiations with the highest ranked construction management at risk firm and shall commence negotiations with the next highest ranked construction management at risk firm. The process shall continue until the selection committee has reached an acceptable contract with one of the prequalified construction management at risk firms. The list and ranking of proposed construction management at risk firms shall be certified by the public agency and made available as a public record after the contract award.