20155.3. A county shall proceed in accordance with the following when awarding best value contracts under this article:
(a) The county shall not select a bidder on the basis of the best value to a county unless, after evaluating at a public meeting the alternative of awarding the contract on the basis of the lowest bid price, the county makes a written finding that awarding the contract on the basis of best value, for the specific project under consideration, will accomplish one or more of the following objectives: reducing project costs, expediting the completion of the project, or providing features not achievable through awarding the contract on the basis of the lowest bid price.
(b) The county shall prepare a solicitation for bids and give notice pursuant to Section 20125. A county may identify specific types of subcontractors that are required to be included in the bids. A county shall comply with Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 4100) of Part 1 with regard to construction subcontractors identified in the bid.
(c) The county shall establish a procedure to prequalify bidders pursuant to Section 20101. The information required pursuant to this section shall be verified under oath by the bidder in the manner in which civil pleadings in civil actions are verified. Information submitted by the bidder as part of the evaluation process shall not be open to public inspection to the extent that information is exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).
(d) Each solicitation for bids shall do all of the following:
(1) Invite prequalified bidders to submit sealed bids in the manner prescribed by this article.
(2) Include a section identifying and describing the following:
(A) Criteria that the county will consider in evaluating bids.
(B) The methodology and rating or weighting system that will be used by the county in evaluating bids.
(C) The relative importance or weight assigned to the criteria identified in the request for bids.
(e) Final evaluation of the best value contractor shall be done in a manner that prevents cost or price information from being revealed to the committee evaluating the qualifications of the bidders prior to completion and announcement of that committee’s decision.
(Amended by Stats. 2021, Ch. 615, Sec. 362. (AB 474) Effective January 1, 2022. Operative January 1, 2023, pursuant to Sec. 463 of Stats. 2021, Ch. 615. Repealed as of January 1, 2025, pursuant to Section 20155.9.)