1. (a) Delivery. The bidder shall place each completed proposal form in a sealed envelope marked to show its contents. When submitted by mail, this envelope shall be placed in another envelope which shall be sealed and addressed as indicated in the notice. Bids must be received on or before the hour and date set for the receipt and opening of bids and must be in the hands of the department letting official by that time.

2. (b) Proposal content. The bidder shall submit the proposal on the form furnished by the department and in compliance with the following requirements.

   1. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection and subsection (c) of this section, the blank spaces for each item as required in the proposal form shall be filled in by writing in words in ink.
   2. (2) The bidder shall submit a unit price for each item for which a bid is requested (including a zero if appropriate), except in the case of a regular bid item that has an alternate bid item. In such case, prices must be submitted for the base bid or with the set of items of one or more of the alternates.
   3. (3) The proposal shall be executed with ink in the complete and correct name of the bidder making the proposal and be signed by the person or persons authorized to bind the bidder.
   4. (4) Except in the case of regular bid item that has an alternate bid item, unit prices shall be stated in dollars and/or cents for each bid item listed in the proposal.

3. (c) Computer printouts.

   1. (1) In lieu of writing in words in ink, a bidder may submit an original computer printout sheet bearing the authorized signature for the bidder. The unit prices shown on acceptable printouts will be the official unit prices used to tabulate the official total bid amount and used in the contract if awarded by the commission.
   2. (2) Computer printouts are not acceptable on building contracts.

4. (d) Proposal guaranty. A bidder must submit a proposal guaranty with the proposal form.

   1. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the proposal guaranty must be in the amount specified by the proposal form, made payable to the order of the commission, and in the form of a cashier's check, money order, or teller's check drawn by or on a state or national bank, savings and loan association, or a state or federally chartered credit union (collectively referred to as a "bank"). The check must be payable at or through the institution issuing the instrument, or must be drawn by a bank on a bank, or by a bank and payable at or through a bank. The form of the instrument must be identified on the instrument's face.
   2. (2) A bidder may submit a bid bond, in lieu of providing the guaranty required in paragraph (1) of this subsection. The bid bond shall be on the form and in the amount specified by the department. A bid bond will only be accepted from a surety company authorized to execute a bond under and in accordance with state law. The bond must bear the impressed seal of the surety company and be signed by the bidder and an authorized representative of the surety company. Powers of attorney must be attached to the bid bond. The bid bond amount required by the department must be within the surety company's authorized bonding limit.

   3. (3) The department will not accept as a proposal guaranty:

      1. (A) personal checks or certified checks;
      2. (B) other types of money orders; or
      3. (C) checks or money orders more than 90 days old.
   4. (4) The commission will establish by order proposal guaranty and bid bond amounts. The commission may require a greater amount for a bid bond in order to compensate for increased administrative costs associated with bid bonds.

Source Note:The provisions of this §9.14 adopted to be effective November 23, 1994, 19 TexReg 8867; amended to be effective November 25, 1996, 21 TexReg 11627; amended to be effective December 12, 1999, 24 TexReg 10901; amended to be effective January 4, 2001, 25 TexReg 13007; amended to be effective October 21, 2001, 26 TexReg 8195.