What does the law mean when it refers to “request for proposals” (RFP)?
RFP’s are a form of public bidding. In context of the law, RFP means any procedure a contracting agency is legally obligated to follow, usually involving a formal, publicly advertised request for businesses to submit proposals to provide goods or services where the value is above the agency’s bid threshold. It does NOT refer to informal requests for quotations. An RFP does not include requests for quotations, proposals for items that are not subject to public bidding, or solicitations of proposals for Extraordinary Unspecifiable Services contracts. The Local Public Contracts and the Public School Contracts Laws refer to the competitive contracting process. Here, RFPs are treated the same way as bids: i.e., as with a bid, a competitive contracting RFP requires the BRC to be submitted with the proposal.
