1. (a) Notice of Intent (NOI).

   1. (1) Electronic notice. Not less than 21 days before the letter of interest due date, the department will post on an electronic bulletin board a notice identifying:

      1. (A) the proposed contract number;
      2. (B) work category codes;
      3. (C) type of selection in accordance with §9.39 of this title (relating to Selection Types);
      4. (D) the general description of the project and work to be done;
      5. (E) the due date for providers to send letters of interest to the department;
      6. (F) qualification information if the work type is not an approved category according to §9.43 of this title (relating to Precertification Requirements);
      7. (G) whether the department has waived the precertification requirement of §9.41 of this title (relating to Precertification) when the total contract fee for professional services is anticipated to be less than $250,000 on an individual contract;
      8. (H) selection criteria to be used to determine the short list; and
      9. (I) the assigned HUB or DBE participation goal for the contract(s) (The department may assign individual contract DBE or HUB goals pursuant to 49 CFR Part 26 or 1 TAC §111.13, respectively.).

   2. (2) Newspaper notice. Not less than 21 days before the letter of interest due date, the department will publish a notice in a local newspaper within the geographical area of the district, division, or office in which the work will be performed. If the newspaper fails to print the notice, the department will consider the notice posted. The notice will contain:

      1. (A) the proposed contract number;
      2. (B) the general description of the project and work to be done;
      3. (C) the due date for providers to send letters of interest to the department;
      4. (D) the contact person; and
      5. (E) the location of the electronic bulletin board that contains more information.

2. (b) Letter of interest (LOI).

   1. (1) The provider shall send a letter of interest to the department notifying the department of the provider's interest in the contract not later than the deadline published in the notice.
   2. (2) The following requirements apply unless otherwise specified in the LOI. The letter of interest will consist of a minimum of three and a maximum of five pages plus attachments. The maximum page length will be stated in the notice. Attachments will be restricted to precertification information required in subsection (b)(3) of this section. The department will accept a letter of interest by electronic facsimile.

   3. (3) To be considered:

      1. (A) a prime provider or a subprovider, that will be performing work in any individual work category which is 5.0% or more of the contract, must be precertified by the deadline for receiving the letter of interest in accordance with §9.41 of this title (relating to Precertification) unless the work category is not approved according to §9.43 of this title (relating to Precertification Requirements);
      2. (B) a prime provider or subprovider must demonstrate in an attachment to the LOI how it meets the minimum qualifications for work that does not fall within any work category approved according to §9.43 of this title (The attachment may be in addition to the maximum pages allowed for the LOI.);
      3. (C) if the work in any individual work category as shown in the notice is less than 5.0% of the contract, a provider or subprovider that is not precertified must demonstrate in an attachment to the LOI how it meets the minimum requirements specified for the work category on the department's web site or how it possesses the knowledge and skill to perform the work in those categories (The attachment may be in addition to the maximum pages allowed for the LOI.);

      4. (D) if the total contract fee for professional services is anticipated to be less than $250,000 on an individual contract and the department has waived the precertification requirement of §9.41 of this title (relating to Precertification), then a provider or subprovider that:

         1. (i) is not precertified must submit an attachment with the LOI which describes how the firm meets the minimum requirements specified for the work category approved according to §9.43(b) of this title or how it possesses the knowledge and skill to perform the work in those categories (The attachment may be in addition to the maximum pages allowed for the LOI.); or
         2. (ii) is precertified must submit a LOI, but is not required to submit an attachment describing its qualifications in precertified categories (If the firm proposes to do work in categories in which it has not been precertified, then it must submit an attachment describing how the firm meets the minimum requirements or how it possesses the knowledge and skill to perform the work in those categories.); and
      5. (E) the proposed team must demonstrate that they have a professional engineer, architect, or surveyor registered or licensed in Texas who will sign and/or seal the work to be performed on the contract.

   4. (4) The letter of interest shall include;

      1. (A) the contract number;

      2. (B) an organizational chart containing:

         1. (i) the prime provider's project manager (who may be replaced during the selection process and before contract execution only by another person proposed for the prime provider's team and approved by the director of the Design Division); and
         2. (ii) names of the prime provider's and any subprovider's key personnel (who may be replaced during the selection process and before contract execution only by another person from the prime provider's or subprovider's team proposed in the LOI and approved by the CST);
      3. (C) information addressing the criteria stated in the notice;
      4. (D) evidence of compliance with the assigned DBE/HUB goal through the prime provider and subproviders identified on the team, or a written commitment to make a good faith effort to meet the assigned goal;
      5. (E) similar project related experience;
      6. (F) name and contact information for references from the department or other entities; and
      7. (G) other pertinent information addressed in the notice.

Source Note:The provisions of this §9.33 adopted to be effective April 1, 1997, 22 TexReg 64; amended to be effective June 21, 1998, 23 TexReg 6258; amended to be effective March 21, 1999, 24 TexReg 1821; amended to be effective March 15, 2001, 26 TexReg 2053; amended to be effective January 9, 2003, 28 TexReg 363; amended to be effective February 17, 2005, 30 TexReg 725.