1. (a) Notice.

   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 or RFP 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 listed as a category in §9.43 of this title (relating to Qualification Requirements by Work Group); and
      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.

   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 or RFP 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;
      5. (E) the location of the electronic bulletin board that contains more information;
      6. (F) the type of work needed and its minimum qualifications, if the work category is not listed in §9.43 of this title (relating to Qualification Requirements by Work Group); and
      7. (G) the department's determination as to whether to waive 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.
   3. (3) Organizations. The department will publish quarterly a statewide list of projected contracts for consulting engineering, architectural, and surveying services and will provide upon request, or make available on the department's Web site, a copy of each list to community, business, and professional organizations for dissemination to their membership.

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 letter of interest will be limited in length to three pages, unless stated otherwise in the notice. 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 listed in §9.43 of this title (relating to Qualification Requirements by Work Group);
      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 outlined in §9.43 (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 in §9.43(b) of this title (relating to Qualification Requirements by Work Group) 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 in §9.43(b) of this title (relating to Qualification Requirements by Work Group) 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 is 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 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 or RFP number;

      2. (B) an organizational chart containing:

         1. (i) names of the prime provider's and any subprovider's key personnel proposed for the team and their contract responsibilities by work category; and
         2. (ii) the prime provider's project manager (who may not be changed during the selection and the award process);
      3. (C) team capabilities;
      4. (D) evidence of compliance with the assigned DBE/HUB goal through the prime provider or 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 that is not already included in the precertification database; and
      6. (F) 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.