Pa. Associated Builders and Contractors

Pa. Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. v. Dep’t of Gen. Servs
2007 Pa. LEXIS 2175 (Oct. 17, 2007)
On October 17, 2007 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that a lower court decision misinterpreted the state’s Procurement Code and that the Commonwealth Department of General Services (DGS) should be allowed to use a sealed proposal process to procure construction contracts.
In April, 2005, DGS initiated the use of the request for proposal (RFP) process to award construction contracts on larger projects (exceeding $5 million). In October 2005, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a trade association of contractors and subcontractors, filed suit in the Commonwealth Court to enjoin DGS from using the RFP process for construction contracts, asserting that by statute construction work could only be awarded by competitive bidding requiring an award to the lowest competitive bidder. The Commonwealth Court held that the Procurement Code does not extend the RFP process to construction contracts, and, accordingly, enjoined DGS from utilizing the competitive sealed proposal bidding/RFP process on any future construction project under its policy determination. DGS appealed the Commonwealth Court’s decision.
Continue Reading Pennsylvania Supreme Court Reverses Commonwealth Court Ruling Barring Use of RFP Process for Procurement of Construction Work