S.C. Code Ann. § 11-35-1520 – Competitive sealed bidding

(1) Condition for Use. Contracts amounting to twenty-five thousand dollars or more shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding except as otherwise provided in Section 11-35-1510.
(2) Invitation for Bids. An invitation for bids shall be issued in an efficient and economical manner and shall include specifications and all contractual terms and conditions applicable to the procurement.
(3) Notice. Adequate notice of the invitation for bids shall be given at a reasonable time prior to the date set forth therein for the opening of bids. Such notice shall include publications in a newspaper of general circulation in the State such as "South Carolina Business Opportunities" or through a means of central electronic advertising as approved by the Office of General Services.
(4) Receipt and Safeguarding of Bids. All bids (including modifications) received prior to the time of opening shall be kept secure and unopened, except as provided for by regulation of the board.
(5) Bid Opening. Bids shall be opened publicly in the presence of one or more witnesses at the time and place designated in the invitation for bids and in the manner prescribed by regulation of the board. The amount of each bid, and such other relevant information as may be specified by regulation, together with the name of each bidder, shall be tabulated. The tabulation shall be open to the public inspection at that time.
(6) Bid Acceptance and Bid Evaluation. Bids shall be accepted unconditionally without alteration or correction, except as otherwise authorized in this code. The invitation for bids shall set forth the evaluation criteria to be used. No criteria may be used in bid evaluation that are not set forth in the invitation for bids. Bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids and in accordance with the regulations of the board.
(7) Correction or Withdrawal of Bids; Cancellation of Awards. Correction or withdrawal of inadvertently erroneous bids before bid opening, withdrawal of inadvertently erroneous bids after award, or cancellation and reward of awards or contracts, after award but prior to performance may be permitted in accordance with regulations promulgated by the board. After bid opening no changes in bid prices or other provisions of bids prejudicial to the interest of the State or fair competition shall be permitted. Except as otherwise provided by regulation, all decisions to permit the correction or withdrawal of bids, or to cancel awards, or contracts, after award but prior to performance shall be supported by a written determination of appropriateness made by the chief procurement officers or head of a purchasing agency.
(8) Discussion with Bidders. As provided in the invitation for bids, discussions may be conducted with apparent responsive bidders for the purpose of clarification to assure full understanding of the requirements of the invitation for bids. All bids, in the procuring agency's sole judgment, needing clarification shall be accorded such an opportunity. Clarification of any bidder's bid must be documented in writing by the procurement officer and shall be included with the bid. Documentation concerning the clarification shall be subject to disclosure upon request as required by Section 11-35-410.
(9) Tie Bids. If two or more bidders are tied in price while otherwise meeting all of the required conditions, awards are determined as follows:
1. (a) If there is a South Carolina firm tied with an out-of-state firm, the award must be made automatically to the South Carolina firm.
2. (b) Tie bids involving South Carolina produced or manufactured products, when known, and items produced or manufactured out of the State must be resolved in favor of the South Carolina commodity.
3. (c) Tie bids involving South Carolina firms must be resolved in favor of the South Carolina firm located in the same taxing jurisdiction as the governmental body's consuming location.
4. (d) Tie bids involving South Carolina firms in the same taxing jurisdiction as the governmental body's consuming location must be resolved by the flip of a coin in the office of the chief procurement officer or the head of a purchasing agency or either officer's designee witnessed by all interested parties.
5. (e) In all other situations where bids are tied, the award will be made by the purchasing agency to the tied bidder offering the quickest delivery time, or if the tied bidders have offered the same delivery time, the tie shall be resolved by the flip of a coin in the office of the chief procurement officer or the head of a purchasing agency or either officer's designee witnessed by all interested parties.
(10) Award. Unless there is a compelling reason to reject bids as prescribed by regulation of the board, notice of an intended award of a contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidders whose bid meets the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids shall be given by posting such notice at a location specified in the invitation for bids. Prior to the posting of the award, the procuring agency may negotiate with the lowest responsive and responsible bidder to lower his bid within the scope of the invitation for bids. The invitation for bids and the posted notice must contain a statement of a bidder's right to protest under Section 11-35-4210(1) and the date and location of posting must be announced at bid opening. When a contract has a total or potential value in excess of fifty thousand dollars, in addition to the posted notice, notice of an intended award must be given to all bidders responding to the solicitation, except when only one response is received. Such notice must contain a statement of the bidder's right to protest under Section 11-35-4210(1).
When a contract has a total or potential value in excess of fifty thousand dollars, sixteen days after notice is given the agency may enter a contract with the bidder named in the notice in accordance with the provisions of this code and of the bid solicited. When only one response is received, the notice of intended award and the sixteen-day delay of award may be waived. A determination of responsibility must be made before award in accordance with Section 11-35-1810.
(11) Request for Qualifications. Prior to soliciting bids, the procuring agency, acting through the authorized procurement officer, may issue a request for qualifications from prospective bidders. Such request shall contain at a minimum a description of the goods or services to be solicited by the invitation for bids, the general scope of the work, the deadline for submission of information, and how prospective bidders may apply for consideration. The request shall require information concerning the prospective bidders' product specifications, qualifications, experience, and ability to perform the requirements of the contract. Adequate public notice of the request for qualifications shall be given in the manner provided in Section 11-35-1520(3). The use of the request for qualifications is subject to the approval of the Office of General Services.
After receipt of the responses to the request for qualifications from prospective bidders, the prospective bidders shall be ranked from most qualified to least qualified on the basis of the information provided. Bids shall then be solicited from at least the top two prospective bidders by means of an invitation for bids. The failure of a prospective bidder to be selected to receive the invitation for bids shall not be grounds for protest under Section 11-35-4210.
(12) Provisions Not to Apply. The provisions of this section shall not apply to maintenance services for aircraft of the Division of Aeronautics of the Department of Commerce.
(13) Minor Informalities and Irregularities in Bids. A minor informality or irregularity is one which is merely a matter of form or is some immaterial variation from the exact requirements of the invitation for bids having no effect or merely a trivial or negligible effect on total bid price, quality, quantity, or delivery of the supplies or performance of the contract, and the correction or waiver of which would not be prejudicial to bidders. The procurement officer shall either give the bidder an opportunity to cure any deficiency resulting from a minor informality or irregularity in a bid or waive any such deficiency when it is to the advantage of the State. Such communication or determination shall be in writing. Examples of minor informalities or irregularities include, but are not limited to:
1. (a) failure of a bidder to return the number of copies of signed bids required by the solicitation;
2. (b) failure of a bidder to furnish the required information concerning the number of the bidder's employees or failure to make a representation concerning its size;
3. (c) failure of a bidder to sign its bid, but only if the firm submitting the bid has formally adopted or authorized the execution of documents by typewritten, printed, or rubber stamped signature and submits evidence of such authorization, and the bid carries such a signature or the unsigned bid is accompanied by other material indicating the bidder's intention to be bound by the unsigned document, such as the submission of a bid guarantee with the bid or a letter signed by the bidder with the bid referring to and identifying the bid itself;
4. (d) failure of a bidder to acknowledge receipt of an amendment to a solicitation, but only if:
  1. (i) the bid received indicates in some way that the bidder received the amendment, such as where the amendment added another item to the solicitation and the bidder submitted a bid, thereon, provided that the bidder states under oath that it received the amendment prior to bidding and that the bidder will stand by its bid price or,
  2. (ii) the amendment has no effect on price or quantity or merely a trivial or negligible effect on quality or delivery, and is not prejudicial to bidders, such as an amendment correcting a typographical mistake in the name of the governmental body;
5. (e) failure of a bidder to furnish an affidavit concerning affiliates;
6. (f) failure of a bidder to execute the certifications with respect to Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Programs;
7. (g) failure of a bidder to furnish cut sheets or product literature;
8. (h) failure of a bidder to furnish certificates of insurance;
9. (i) failure of a bidder to furnish financial statements;
10. (j) failure of a bidder to furnish references;
11. (k) failure of a bidder to furnish its bidder number; and
12. (l) notwithstanding Section 40-11-180, the failure of a bidder to indicate his contractor's license number or other evidence of licensure, provided that no contract shall be awarded to the bidder unless and until the bidder is properly licensed under the laws of South Carolina.