74 O.S. § 85.45j. Sole Source or Sole Brand Acquisition

1. Purchase of recycled products. Each state public entity shall procure products which are manufactured with recycled materials, and products which are recyclable and/or durable, to meet or exceed the legislative intent, requirements, and goals of the Act. 
2. Reporting of purchases of recycled products. Each state public entity shall submit a report to the Director by December 31 of each year. This report shall describe the results of its procurement of recycled paper products and other products manufactured with recycled materials over the past fiscal year. The report shall be in a format determined by the Office. 
3. Assistance in procurement objectives. The Office shall provide assistance to state public entities in the achievement of procurement objectives in their recycling programs. 
4. Procurement specifications for recycled materials. Each state public entity shall use procurement specifications to require, to the greatest extent practicable, that a product and its packaging or container contain recycled materials and that the product and its packaging or container be recyclable. 
   1. Product and packaging specifications shall require the use of post-consumer materials to the greatest extent practicable without jeopardizing the intended end use of the product. 
   2. In writing specifications and selecting products for procurement, life cycle costs shall be part of the evaluation criteria when the costs of waste disposal or the durability and reusability of a product may be significant. 
   3. A state public entity may determine that, for technical reasons, and for a particular end use, a product containing recycled materials will not meet reasonable performance standards, and may therefore declare the purchase of a product manufactured with recycled materials to be unpracticable. Such a determination shall be documented and based solely upon technical performance information related to a specific item, and not to a grade or type of product. This documentation may be requested for review by the Office. 
   4. Each state public entity shall reduce the generation of solid waste at its source, whenever practicable, by minimizing the purchase of single-use, disposable products and requiring the purchase of durable products which can be reused. 
   5. Each state public entity shall, whenever practicable, purchase only office paper, photocopier paper, printer paper, and printed paper products which are not coated with plastic, clay, or other material used to create a glossy finish. 
   6. Each state public entity shall take reasonable steps to minimize the procurement of colored paper products. If color is necessary for a particular use, full consideration shall be given to the use of white paper printed with colored, soy- based ink. 
5. Declaration of vendors of percentage of recycled materials in products. State public entities shall require vendors to declare the minimum, if not exact, percentage of recycled materials content in the products offered, including both the post-consumer and total recycled materials content, regardless of whether the product meets the percentage of recycled materials specified for that product. 
6. Certification by vendor of recycled content claim. The vendor of any product for which a recycled content claim is made must both possess and rely upon a reasonable basis for the claim and must be able, upon request by the Office, to certify and demonstrate this claim. Any fraud or deception in the representation of recycled materials content may result in cancellation of the contract and the removal or suspension of the vendor from the bidders list pursuant to OAC 260:115-3-21. 
7. Preferences for recycled materials. If several products manufactured with recycled materials are being considered for purchase, and if all cost and quality considerations are comparable, preference shall be given to the product with the highest content of post- consumer material. If this measure fails to identify the more preferable product, the award shall go to the product with the highest content of total recycled materials. 
8. Preferences by public entities. Each state public entity responsible for the maintenance of public lands in this state shall, to the greatest extent practicable and consistent with sound environmental practices, give preference to the use of compost materials in land maintenance activities which are to be paid for by public funds. 
9. Provisions for Oklahoma Department of Transportation and Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. The Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority shall review and modify all bid and paving material specifications: 
   1. To provide that the specifications encourage the maximum purchase, when practicable, of recyclable asphalt pavement and paving materials utilizing recycled materials, including but not limited to: 
      1. crushed concrete sub base; 
      2. fly ash; 
      3. glass and glassy aggregates; and 
      4. asphalt material containing ground tire rubber. 
   2. Life cycle cost analysis shall be used in determining practicability. 
10. Provisions for public entities using motor vehicles. Each state public entity which owns or maintains motor vehicles is encouraged, to the greatest extent practicable to: 
    1. Equip such vehicles with retreaded tires. 
       1. Efforts should first be made to procure retreading services for the entity's own waste tire casings. 
       2. If the services in 260:85-1-4(j)(1)(A) are not practicable, retreaded tires should be procured for use as replacements. 
       3. Emergency vehicles defined in 47 O.S. 1991 § 1-103 (Highway Safety Code) are exempt from this recommendation. 
    2. Procure re-refined oils for all practicable uses, including, but not limited to, such uses as: 
       1. engine lubricating oils; 
       2. gear oils; and, 
       3. hydraulic fluids. 
11. Price preference on bids. When accepting bids for purchases of supplies, equipment and materials, the Central Purchasing Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and each state public entity shall extend price preferences to products manufactured with recycled materials whenever the Director determines that such products are unable to be price competitive with products of comparable grade and quality manufactured from virgin materials. 
    1. Those products manufactured with at least the minimum content level of recycled materials as established by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shall receive a price preference not to exceed a five percent differential. 
    2. A copy of the EPA specified content requirements and a list of products meeting the requirements will be maintained as a public record by the Office. 
    3. A product which contains recycled materials but falls short of the EPA minimum requirements may receive a price preference if no other product is bid or offered which meets the EPA requirements. 
    4. Price preferences allowed pursuant to this section shall not be combined with other price preferences or differentials. 
    5. In response to product market conditions, the Director may temporarily increase, reduce, or eliminate any recycled product price preference. 
12. Exemptions. No state public entity may be exempted from complying with the legislative intent, requirements, and goals of the Act; however, the Director may grant temporary exemptions from compliance with the rules in 260:85-1-4 due to lack of market availability or economic feasibility. All requests for exemption must be made in writing and must be accompanied by documentation supporting the need for such an exemption. Any exemption granted shall be in effect for no longer than one year. 

In addition to terms defined in 74 O.S., §85.2, the following words or terms, when used in this Chapter shall have the following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Acceptable Electronic Signature Technology" means technology that is capable of creating a signature that is unique to the person using it; is capable of verification, is under the sole control of the person using it, and is linked to the data in such a manner that if the data is changed, the electronic signature is invalidated."Acquisition authority" means the dollar amount within which a state agency is approved to make acquisitions without submitting a requisition to the State Purchasing Director."Addendum" means a written modification to a contract."All or none bid" means a bid in which the bidder states only an award for all items or services included in the solicitation will be accepted."All or none solicitation" means a solicitation in which the state indicates it will award a contract to a single supplier for all items or service included in the solicitation."Alteration" means a modification a bidder makes to a solicitation response prior to the response due date."Alternate bid" or "alternative bid" means a bid or proposal, which contains an intentional substantive variation to a basic provision, specification, term or condition of the solicitation."Amendment" means a written change, addition, correction, or revision to a solicitation made by the state agency responsible for making the acquisition."Authorized signature" means a manual, electronic or digital signature or other identifier uniquely linked to a person authorized to sign documents the supplier submits to the State Purchasing Director."Best and Final Offer" or "BAFO" means a final offer submitted in writing by a bidder based on the outcome of negotiations."Bid bond", "performance bond" or "surety" means a form of surety or guaranty that the State Purchasing Director may require bidders to submit with a bid."Bidder" means an individual or business entity that submits a bid or proposal in response to an invitation to bid or a request for proposal. [74 O.S. §85.2] When used in this Chapter, bidder is synonymous with a “supplier” or “supplier” responding to a solicitation."Business days" means Monday through Friday and is exclusive of weekends and Oklahoma state holidays."Central Purchasing Division" means the Central Purchasing Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services."Certified Procurement Officer" or "CPO" means a state agency procurement official certified as a procurement officer or analyst by the State Purchasing Director under the provisions of the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act."Chief Information Officer" means the chief administrative officer of the Information Services Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services."Clarification" means a bidder’s explanation of all or part of a bid that does not change, alter or supplement the bid."Closing date/time" means the date and Central Time a solicitation specifies responses are due."Commodity classification" means numeric designations the State Purchasing Director assigns to classify goods and services into similar categories."Competitive solicitation" means a process for acquiring goods or services wherein bidders submit bids to the Central Purchasing Division or a state agency pursuant to terms, conditions and other requirements of a solicitation. The competitive solicitation process may be electronic when the terms of the solicitation expressly permit electronic submission and the requirements of applicable statutes and rules are met."Days" means calendar days unless otherwise specified."Debar" or "debarment" means action taken by the State Purchasing Director to exclude any business entity from inclusion on the Supplier List, bidding, offering to bid, receiving an award of contract with the State of Oklahoma for acquisitions by state agencies or a contract the Office of Management and Enterprise Services awards or administers and may also result in cancellation of existing contracts with the State of Oklahoma."Director" or "OMES Director" means the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services or his designee."Electronic Signature" means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record. Unless otherwise provided by this Chapter or law, an electronic signature may be used to sign a document and shall have the same force and effect as a written signature."Emergency acquisition" means an acquisition made by the State Purchasing Director or a state agency without seeking competitive bids to relieve an unforeseen condition believed to place human life or safety in imminent danger or threaten significant property interests with imminent destruction; or, is a condition certified by the Governor as a serious environmental situation. [Reference 74 O.S. §85.7]"Firm bid" means an offer by a bidder which contains no conditions which may prevent acceptance and which, by its terms, remains open and binding until the State Purchasing Director accepts or rejects the bid."Fiscal year" means the period of time from July 1 of a calendar year through June 30 of the succeeding calendar year."Forms" means documents the OMES Director prescribes and requires suppliers and state agencies to use to provide information to OMES."Indefinite quantity contract" means a contract the State Purchasing Director, CIO, or a state agency establishes based on historical usage of a service or product rather than a specified quantity of said service or product and which does not obligate the State to purchase any certain amount."Information Services Division" means the Information Services Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services."Information technology" or "IT" means any electronic information equipment or interconnected system that is used in the acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information, including audio, graphic, and text. [62 O.S. §34.29]"Invitation to bid" or "ITB" means a type of solicitation a state agency or the State Purchasing Director sends to suppliers to request submission of bids by suppliers for acquisitions."Invoice" refers to a proper invoice as defined by the State Comptroller."Material deficiency" or "material deviation" means a supplier’s failure to provide information necessary to evaluate a solicitation."Minor deficiency" or "minor informality" means an immaterial defect in a bid or variation in a bid from the exact requirements of a solicitation that may be corrected or waived without prejudice to other bidders. A minor deficiency or informality does not affect the price, quantity, quality, delivery or conformance to specifications and is negligible in comparison to the total cost or scope of the acquisition."Multi-award" means the award of a contract to two or more suppliers to furnish an indefinite quantity or category of item, where more than one supplier is needed to meet the contract requirements for quantity, delivery, service or product compatibility."Non-collusion certification" means a certification submitted by a supplier with any competitive bid or contract executed by the state for goods or services in accordance with 74 O.S. §85.22."Non-responsive" means a bid or proposal that has been determined not to conform to essential requirements of a solicitation."Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act" means 74 O.S. §§85.1 et seq."Oklahoma Correctional Industries" or "OCI" means a program of the State Department of Corrections for utilization of inmate labor for the manufacture or production of items or products for use by state agencies."Oklahoma Information Technology Accessibility Standards" or "IT Accessibility Standards" means the accessibility standards adopted by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, to address all technical standard categories of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220, August 7, 1998) to be used by each state agency in the procurement of information technology, and in the development and implementation of custom-designed information technology systems, web sites, and other emerging information technology systems."Office of Management and Enterprise Services" or "Office" or "OMES" means the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services."Online Bidding" means an electronic procurement process in which state agencies receive bids from suppliers for goods, services, construction, or information services over the Internet or other electronic medium in a real-time, competitive bidding event."Procurement" means buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise acquiring any goods or services. The term also means all functions that pertain to the obtaining of any goods or services, including, but not limited to, the description of requirements, selection, and solicitation of sources, preparation and award of contracts, and all phases of contract administration."Ratification of an unauthorized commitment" means the act of approving an unauthorized commitment made by a state agency and the written agreement documenting the approval."Reciprocity" means a preference, which the State Purchasing Director or state agency shall apply against the price submitted for an acquisition by an out-of-state bidder whose home state applies a similar preference against Oklahoma bidders."Registered supplier" means a supplier that registers with the Central Purchasing Division pursuant to 74 O.S. §85.33."Remedy" means to cure, alter, correct or change."Request for information" or "RFI" means a non-binding procurement practice used to obtain information, comments, and feedback from interested parties or potential suppliers prior to issuing a solicitation."Request for proposal" or "RFP" means a type of solicitation a state agency or the State Purchasing Director provides to suppliers requesting submission of proposals for acquisitions. "Request for quotation" or "RFQ" means a simplified written or oral solicitation a state agency or the State Purchasing Director provides to suppliers requesting submission of a quote for acquisitions."Requisition number" means an identifier the state agency or OMES assigns to a requisition."Requisitioning unit" means the unit in a state agency responsible for making acquisitions."Responsible supplier" means a supplier who demonstrates capabilities in all respects to fully perform the requirements of a contract that may include, but may not be limited to, finances, credit history, experience, integrity, perseverance, reliability, capacity, facilities and equipment, and performance history which will ensure good faith performance."Responsive" means a bid or proposal that has been determined to conform to the essential requirements of a solicitation."Reverse Auctioning" means a procurement method wherein pre-qualified bidders are invited to bid on specified goods or services through real-time electronic bidding, with the award being made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. During the bidding process, bidders’ price positions are revealed and bidders shall have the opportunity to modify their bid prices for the duration of the time period established by the solicitation."Scheduled acquisition" means a recurring acquisition that consolidates multiple state agency requirements for a given commodity or group of commodities."State official" means a person that works for a department, state agency, trusteeship, authority, school district, fair board, advisory group, task force or study group supported in whole or in part by public funds or administering or operating public property."State Purchasing Director" means the director of the Central Purchasing Division of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services appointed by the OMES Director; and, includes any employee or agent of the State Purchasing Director, acting within the scope of delegated authority. [74 O.S. §85.2] Unless otherwise stated, the term includes employees of the Central Purchasing Division and state agency purchasing officials certified by the State Purchasing Director to which the State Purchasing Director has lawfully delegated authority to act on his or her behalf. In regards to the procurement of information technology or telecommunications, the term means the Chief Information Officer of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services."State Use Committee" means the statutory Committee that certifies severely disabled individuals and sheltered workshops as qualified organizations to contract with the state to provide products and services, which are designated in the State Use Committee procurement schedule for state agency acquisitions pursuant to 74 O.S. §§ 3001 et seq."Statement of Work" means a detailed description of the work which a state agency requires a contractor or supplier to perform or accomplish."Supplier" or "supplier" means an individual or business entity that sells or desires to sell acquisitions to state agencies [74 O.S. §85.2]."Supplier performance evaluation" means information a state agency or OMES Procurement provides to the State Purchasing Director, in a manner the OMES Director prescribes, that documents the quality of service or products provided by a supplier."Supplier registration" means a process a supplier uses to register with the Central Purchasing Division to automatically receive solicitations based on a commodity class for a specified period of time."Supplier List" means a list of individuals or business entities that have registered with the Central Purchasing Division in order to receive notification of solicitations for commodities specified in their registration application."Suspension" means an action by the State Purchasing Director to suspend a supplier’s authority to be included on the Supplier List, be eligible to submit bids to state agencies and be awarded a contract by a state agency subject to the Central Purchasing Act."Utility service" or "utilities" means a public service furnishing electricity, natural gas, water, or sewage.

1. Waiver request. A state agency may request a waiver from requirements of the rules of this chapter from the Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, if:
   1. the state agency reasonably believes that it would be unable to perform a necessary function due to the inability to make an acquisition pursuant to rules of this Chapter; or,
   2. a court order directs the state agency to make an acquisition from a specified supplier or provider.
2. Approval of waiver request. After the request is reviewed, the OMES Director shall notify the state agency of the approval, conditional approval or denial of the waiver request.

1. Standard of conduct. The Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act, State Ethics Commission rules1 and other state laws contain regulations, prohibitions and penalties governing procurement ethics. Transactions relating to the public expenditure of funds require the highest degree of public trust and impeccable standards of conduct. 
2. One year limitation for certain contracts. Unless otherwise provided by law, a state agency is prohibited from entering into a sole source contract, a professional service contract or a contract for the services of any person, who has terminated employment with or who has been terminated by that agency for one (1) year after the termination date of the employee from the agency. [Reference 74 O.S. §85.42(A)] An agency may enter into a sole source contract or a contract for professional services at any time with a person who is a qualified interpreter for the deaf. [Reference 74 O.S. §85.42(D)]. 
3. Supplier gratuities. The State Purchasing Director and any state employee or agent of the State Purchasing Director, acting within the scope of delegated authority, or any member of their immediate family, under the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act shall not accept any gift, donation, or gratuity for himself or any member of his immediate family from any supplier or prospective supplier of any acquisition covered by the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act. This subsection shall not apply to exceptions to the definition of “anything of value” established in rules promulgated by the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. [Reference 74 O.S. §85.13] 

• 1. See Annotated Ethics Rules for applicable State Ethics Commission rules and statute

State agencies shall make acquisitions using a method of acquisition in this section. 

1. State Use Committee. State agencies shall make acquisitions from suppliers on the State Use Committee procurement schedule at the fair market price if the supplier’s delivery date meets state agency requirements. State Use Committee contracts are mandatory contracts to the extent a fair market value has been established. State agencies shall utilize the State Use Committee procurement schedule to ensure all acquisitions are made pursuant to 74 O.S. §§ 3001 et seq. If an acquisition is available from both the State Use Committee procurement schedule and the Oklahoma Correctional Industries, the state agency shall make the acquisition from the State Use Committee procurement schedule. 
2. Oklahoma Correctional Industries. If an acquisition is not available from the State Use Committee within the time period required by the purchasing state agency or if it does not have an established fair market value, state agencies shall make acquisitions from the Oklahoma Correctional Industries pursuant to 57 O.S. §549.1 or statewide contracts as follows: 
   1. If a state agency determines in the acquisition of a product or service within the agency’s acquisition authority, the product or service is available from OCI and is the lowest and best offer, the agency may place a direct order with OCI without competitive bidding. If an acquisition is competitively bid, the award shall be made to OCI upon determination that OCI is lowest and best. 
   2. For an acquisition exceeding an agency’s procurement authority, the agency may place a direct order with OCI or submit a requisition to OMES for issuance of a solicitation to include OCI as a supplier. The award shall be made to OCI if such product or service is the lowest and best bid. 
   3. If Oklahoma Correctional Industries is unable to meet state agency requirements for an acquisition, Oklahoma Correctional Industries shall certify to the State Purchasing Director that it is not able to provide products. 
   4. If the State Purchasing Director determines that a product or service the Oklahoma Correctional Industries produces does not meet the reasonable state agency requirements, the State Purchasing Director shall notify Oklahoma Correctional Industries. 
   5. If Oklahoma Correctional Industries disagrees with the State Purchasing Director, the OMES Director shall resolve the issue. 
3. Statewide Contracts. The State Purchasing Director shall designate statewide contracts as mandatory or non-mandatory.
   1. Mandatory statewide contract. The State Purchasing Director may designate a statewide contract for mandatory use. State agencies shall make acquisitions from mandatory statewide contracts regardless of the acquisition purchase price. A state agency may submit a written request to the State Purchasing Director to waive requirements for a state agency’s use of a mandatory statewide contract for acquisitions. The State Purchasing Director shall grant exceptions prior to a state agency making the acquisition from another supplier.
   2. Non-mandatory statewide contracts. State agencies are encouraged to use non- mandatory statewide contracts. Whenever a state agency acquires a product or service from an alternate source, the acquisition shall be made in accordance with the Central Purchasing Act, the rules of this chapter and any other laws and rules applicable to the acquisition.
4. Open Market Acquisitions. State agencies may make acquisitions within their approved acquisition authority limit, pursuant to provisions of the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act, rules of this Chapter, any other applicable laws or rules, and the agency’s approved internal purchasing procedures. The most common types of acquisitions include: 
   1. Contract for definite quantity. If a state agency is able to establish a definite quantity of items or services for an acquisition, the State Purchasing Director or the state agency may establish a contract for acquisition by the state agency. 
   2. Contract for indefinite quantities. If an agency is unable to establish a definite quantity of items or services for an acquisition, the State Purchasing Director or the state agency may establish a contract for an indefinite quantity of items or services. 
   3. Contract for scheduled acquisitions. When a state agency’s needs for certain items are compiled (aggregated) and purchased in bulk at predetermined intervals, the State Purchasing Director or the state agency may establish a contract for scheduled acquisitions. The intervals shall be established in accordance with market characteristics or using agency consumption patterns, with consideration of seasonal factors and warehousing facilities. A schedule shall be developed for particular commodities monthly, quarterly, or annually. If a contract for scheduled acquisitions is established for a state agency, the state agency shall not make open market purchases for the same commodity or group of commodities. 
5. Sole source and sole brand acquisitions. 
   1. State agencies with a CPO and approved internal purchasing procedures meeting the requirements of 260:115-5-3 and 260:115-5-7, may make a sole source or sole brand acquisition within the agency’s acquisition authority. [Reference: 74 O.S. §85.45j] 
   2. The chief administrative officer of any state agency not utilizing the State’s financial and information system for acquisitions shall submit to the State Purchasing Director a monthly listing of all sole source and sole brand acquisitions exceeding Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) executed by the state agency in the preceding month pursuant to the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act. The monthly list shall be submitted on a form prescribed and approved by the State Purchasing Director. 
   3. If the sole source or sole brand acquisition amount exceeds the agency’s acquisition authority, the agency shall submit the requisition to the State Purchasing Director. 
6. Emergency acquisition. State agencies with a CPO and approved internal purchasing procedures meeting the requirements of 260:115-5-3 and 260:115-5-7, may make an emergency acquisition in accordance with 74 O.S. §85.7. 
7. Acquisitions from other governmental agencies. A state agency may contract with any other department of state government or institution pursuant to 74 O.S. §581 or §1001 through §1008. A state agency may contract with any “public agency” pursuant to 74 O.S.§1001 through §1008, which includes a political subdivision of this state or another state, and any agency of this state or of the United States. Acquisitions shall not be made for the purpose of evading competitive bidding requirements, provisions of the Oklahoma Central Purchasing Act, rules of the Purchasing Division or provisions related to the State Use Committee. 
8. Acquisition pursuant to waiver. If the OMES Director approves a state agency’s request for a waiver pursuant to 260:115-1-6, a state agency with a CPO and approved internal purchasing procedures meeting the requirements of 260:115-5-3 and 260:115-5-7 may make the acquisition for which the waiver was approved, within their approved purchasing authority limit. 

1. Procurement. 
   1. To ensure accessibility of information technology for individuals with disabilities pursuant to 62 O.S. §34.28, procurement of information technology shall be subject to the Oklahoma Information Technology Accessibility Standards prescribed by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and maintained by the Information Services Division. These standards apply to all information technology purchased after the effective date of these rules, providing the solicitation process was not initiated prior to the effective date. 
   2. When developing, procuring, maintaining or using information technology, or when administering contracts or grants that include the procurement, development upgrading, or replacement of information technology each state agency shall ensure, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency, that the information technology allows employees, program participants, and members of the general public access to use of information and data that is comparable to the access by individuals without disabilities. [62 O.S. §34.28(B)] When used in this section, "state agency" includes all agencies defined in 62 O.S. §34.29. 
   3. Unless an exception applies, an agency must procure a product or service that best meets the business needs of the agency and the applicable IT Accessibility Standards. 
      1. Accessibility determination must be conducted as part of the acquisition evaluation. 
      2. Accessibility must be considered among the general, technical and functional requirements of the procurement specifications. At a minimum, it must be accomplished through review of supplier provided information submitted in the form of a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) or comparable document with judgments made regarding degree of conformance to the IT Accessibility Standards. 
      3. The relative accessibility weighting may be adjusted for due cause based on the specific procurement. 
      4. When acquiring a product, an agency shall acquire products that comply with applicable IT Accessibility Standards when such products are available in the commercial marketplace or when such products are developed in response to an agency solicitation. Agencies cannot claim a product, as a whole is not commercially available by stating no product in the marketplace meets all of the IT Accessibility Standards. Instead, an agency must identify commercial, off-the-shelf products that best meet the general, technical and functional requirements as defined by the agency. Once those products have been identified, the agency should purchase the product that is the most accessibility compliant. 
2. Contract clauses. 
   1. All solicitations and contracts for information technology shall include the accessibility clause adopted by the Information Services Division pursuant to 62 O.S. §34.28. 
   2. The IT Accessibility Standards shall be published on the OMES website. 
   3. A supplier shall provide a written certification, signed by an authorized officer of the supplier, describing the extent to which the product or service complies with applicable IT Accessibility standards required by such contracts or solicitations prior to the expenditure of state funds. An agency may also utilize a VPAT published on a supplier’s primary website. A VPAT obtained from a supplier website shall be good for a one-year period. 
3. Exceptions. Exceptions to compliance with IT Accessibility Standards include: 
   1. information technology operated by state departments or agencies, the function, operation or use of which involves intelligence activities, crypto logic activities related to public safety, command and control of law enforcement, equipment that is an integral part of a weapon or weapons system or systems which are critical to the direct fulfillment of public safety or intelligence missions. Systems which are critical to the direct fulfillment of public safety or intelligence missions do not include a system that is to be used for routine administrative and business applications (including payroll, finance, logistics and personnel management applications); 
   2. information technology acquired by a contractor or grantee incidental to a contract or grant, provided the technology does not become State property upon the completion of the contract; 
   3. information technology located in spaces frequented only by service personnel for maintenance, repair or occasional monitoring of equipment; 
   4. information technology requiring a fundamental alteration in the nature of a product or its components to achieve accessibility; 
   5. Except as required to comply with the IT Accessibility Standards, state departments and agencies are not required to install specific accessibility-related software or attach an assistive technology device to information technology products unless required by other applicable State or Federal laws; 
   6. When state agencies provide public access to information or data through information technology, agencies are not required to make products owned by the agency available for access and use by individuals with disabilities at a location other than where the information technology is provided to the public, or to purchase products for access and use by individuals with disabilities at a location other than where the information technology is provided to the public; 
   7. information technology that would impose an undue burden on the agency. 
4. Documentation of exceptions. Whenever an agency determines that an acquisition exceeding $5,000.00 meets the criteria of a general exception or undue burden, the agency shall document the explanation of why, and to what extent, compliance with applicable IT Accessibility Standards meets an exception or creates an undue burden on the agency. Agencies are encouraged but not required to maintain documentation for commercial off-the- shelf acquisitions of $5,000.00 or less unless the purchase is part of an existing contract or affects a larger EIT system where accessibility is critical. 
   1. The explanation shall be documented on a form prescribed by the Information Services Division and signed by the chief administrative officer of the agency or an employee of the agency to which responsibility for accessibility compliance has been delegated. 
   2. The documentation shall be retained in the acquisition file to support the procurement. 
5. Alternative means of access. When compliance with IT Accessibility Standards imposes an undue burden, agencies shall provide individuals with disabilities the information and data involved by an alternative means of access that allows an individual to use the information and data in accordance with other applicable State and Federal laws such as Title I and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. 

1. Delivery. A supplier shall deliver acquisitions to a state agency within time periods the contract specifies. 
2. Inspection. Unless otherwise provided in the contract documents, the state agency shall inspect acquisitions from the supplier within a reasonable time after supplier delivery. 
3. Rejection. The state agency shall reject acquisitions from the supplier that do not meet specifications or other terms and conditions of the contract. The supplier shall pay costs to retrieve and replace acquisitions that do not meet specifications with a conforming item or service. 
4. Acquisition title. Title to acquisitions shall not pass from the supplier to the state agency until the state agency receives, inspects and accepts the items. The state agency shall document, at a minimum, the date of delivery, the name and address of the supplier, a description of the goods received, and the signature of the receiving agency employee. 
5. Subcontractor performance. A supplier shall be responsible for the performance of subcontractors. The supplier shall provide a single point of contact for the state agency when the supplier uses subcontractors. The supplier shall notify the state agency and the Central Purchasing Division if the supplier uses a subcontractor the supplier did not disclose in the supplier’s bid. 
6. Contract changes. If a supplier determines a requested change to the contract or performance exceeds the original scope of the solicitation, the supplier shall notify the State Purchasing Director or the state agency. No changes shall be made prior to the approval of a change order in accordance with Section 260:115-9-3. 
7. Contract assignment. A supplier shall not assign or subcontract a contract to another supplier, individual, business entity or organization unless otherwise specified in the solicitation. 
8. Performance evaluation. 
   1. State agencies shall develop a process to consistently assess and document the quality of products and/or services acquired from a supplier. 
   2. State agencies shall retain written documentation of evaluation of the performance of services provided pursuant to a professional services contract with the acquisition file. If the evaluation indicates deficiencies with the supplier’s work, the state agency shall submit a Professional Service Evaluation to the State Purchasing Director. [Reference 74 O.S. §85.41] 

1. Supplier invoice submission. Following transfer of title of an acquisition to a state agency, the supplier shall submit invoices to the state agency. 
2. Advance payment for acquisitions. The state agency shall not pay for acquisitions a supplier has yet to deliver, unless otherwise authorized by law. 
3. Payment and state agency acceptance. State agency payment to a supplier for an acquisition may not constitute final acceptance of the acquisition by the state agency. If subsequent state agency inspection affirms that the acquisition does not meet or exceed the specifications of the contract, or that the acquisition has latent defects, the state agency shall notify the supplier. The supplier shall retrieve and replace the acquisition at the supplier’s expense, or the state agency shall request a refund from the supplier if the supplier is unable to replace the acquisition. 

Regarding a sole source acquisition, a requisitioning agency has the authority to submit detailed specifications to the Purchasing Division and the Division is required to comply strictly with the specifications set out in the requisition.  See 74 O.S. §§85.45j and 85.45j.1.

An agency’s authority when submitting a requisition to the Purchasing Division is limited to quantitative needs and the general class or nature of the acquisition and is subject to the State Purchasing Director’s exclusive and specific authority to determine the particular brand, model or specific classification of an item. The State Purchasing Director is not restricted to exact specifications in an agency’s requisition other than a sole source acquisition. See also 74 O.S. §§85.4, 85.5 and 85.45j.