PURPOSE: This rule prescribes procedures for offerors to protest or appeal departmental actions taken under this chapter.

1. (1) An aggrieved offeror or provider may protest the solicitation process used in issuing a request for a proposal (RFP), appeal an award of a contractual agreement with a provider, or protest or appeal any other decision of the department. The aggrieved offeror or provider shall protest or appeal, in writing, to the director of the division for which the services are to be purchased (that is, directors of the Division of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Division of Comprehensive Psychiatric Services or Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse) within ten (10) working days of the receipt of any department determination, RFP, award or contractual agreement of which aggrieved, except that in the case of award of contractual agreements for alcohol and drug abuse services, appeals shall be directed to the department director within five (5) working days of notification of the award. A notice of award for alcohol and drug abuse services shall be sent to the successful and unsuccessful offerors by registered mail.
2. (2) Upon receipt of a protest prior to award, the decision to award shall be suspended until the protest is resolved. If an appeal of an award decision is received by the department and the appeal results in a cancellation of the prior award decision and the issuance of a new award, the department shall give notice of cancellation to the holder of the original award by the terms of the contract and the new award shall be effective upon the termination of the original award contract.
3. (3) The division director shall consult with the deputy director of administration (mental health) within ten (10) working days of receipt of the protest or appeal and shall issue a decision, in writing, to the involved parties. Within five (5) working days of receipt of a protest or appeal of an alcohol and drug abuse services contract award, the department director shall issue a decision in writing to the involved parties which shall be final.
4. (4) Any offeror or provider protesting or appealing under this rule shall include the name and address of the provider or offeror aggrieved, the RFP number, the complaint of the department action and (if awarded) the number of the contractual agreement. The offeror or provider shall state the grounds for the protest or appeal, include any supporting 9 CSR 25-2

documentation to substantiate any claims made and specify the relief requested from the division/department director. If the documentation has not been provided to the aggrieved provider or offeror in time to protest or appeal as set out in this rule, the aggrieved offeror or provider shall indicate the expected availability date for providing the documentation.

1. (5) Within ten (10) working days of receipt of the appeal of the division director’s decision, the department director shall issue a decision which shall be final.
2. (6) If the provider or offeror finds the decision to be unacceptable, the provider or offeror may appeal the division director’s decision to the department director within ten (10) working days after receiving the division director’s decision.
3. (7) If an aggrieved offeror or provider appeals the division director’s decision, the aggrieved offeror or provider shall state the reasons why the division director’s decision was not acceptable and why the aggrieved offeror or provider is appealing the division director’s decision to the department director.
4. (8) At each step of the protest or appeal procedure in this rule, the element of time shall be measured by date stamp (or date plus initials, if no stamp) for date of receipt and postmark on envelope for date of issuance.

AUTHORITY: sections 34.100, 630.050 and 630.405, RSMo 1986.* Original rule filed Oct. 16, 1986, effective July 13, 1987. Emergency amendment filed May 15, 1990, effective May 25, 1990, expired Sept. 21, 1990. Amended: Filed Aug. 14, 1990, effective March 14, 1991. *Original authority: 34.100, RSMo 1945, amended 1983; 630.050, RSMo 1980; and 630.405, RSMo 1980.