Contract documents for water district construction projects shall be prepared in general conformance with those adopted and recommended by the Texas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (latest revision). The following specific requirements must apply, unless otherwise provided by a district's special law.
  (1) All contract documents shall be prepared in such a manner as to promote competitive bidding and to ensure that all bids are prepared on a common basis.
  (2) The instruction to bidders section of the contract documents shall give special attention to the following items.
    (A) The basis of award shall be clearly defined. If alternate proposals are to be considered, the instructions to bidders shall clearly state in which order the alternates will be considered in determining the most advantageous bid. If two or more contracts are to be awarded, the instructions to bidders shall clearly indicate if combined bids, or tied bids, will be allowed, or if each contract will be awarded separately.
    (B) The contract should clearly provide that alternate bids will not be considered, unless specifically allowed by instructions to bidders and requested in the proposal form.
    (C) Specific notice shall be given that qualifying statements or accompanying qualifying letters will be cause for rejection of the bid.
    (D) Provision shall be made for prospective bidders to request additional information, explanations, or interpretations regarding contract documents prior to the bid opening. All requests and answers to all such requests shall be given in writing. Answers will be in addendum form to all prospective bidders.
  (3) The district shall require the bidder to whom the district proposes to award the contract to submit a statement of qualifications. The statement shall include such data as the district may reasonably require to determine whether the contractor is responsible and capable of completing the proposed project.
  (4) For contracts over $50,000, the district shall require bidders to submit certified or cashier's checks or a bid bond issued by a surety legally authorized to do business in this state in an amount of at least 2.0% of the total amount of the bid. For a contract greater than $250,000, the district must accept a bid bond if it meets all requirements. If cashier's checks are required, the checks for all bidders except the three most qualified bidders shall be returned within three days of the bid opening.
  (5) The district shall require that bidders submit, along with the bid, the name of the person, firm, or corporation that will execute payment and performance bonds.
  (6) The district may establish criteria for acceptability of the surety company issuing payment and performance bonds including, but not limited to:
    (A) authorization to do business in Texas; and
    (B) authorization to issue payment and performance bonds in the amount required for the contract and:
      (i) a rating of at least B from Best's Key Rating Guide; or
      (ii) if the surety company does not have any such rating due to the length of time it has been a surety company, the surety company must demonstrate eligibility to participate in the surety bond guarantee program of the United States Small Business Administration and must be an approved surety company listed in the current United States Department of Treasury Circular 570. Such performance and payment bonds shall meet the criteria contained in the rules and regulations promulgated by the United States Department of Treasury with respect to performance and payment bonds for federal jobs, including specifically the rules related to the underwriting limitation. The district shall satisfy itself that such surety company and bonds meet such criteria.
  (7) The district shall satisfy itself that all persons executing the bonds are duly authorized by the laws of the State of Texas and the surety company to do so.
  (8) For contracts over $75,000, a district's board shall advertise the project once a week for two consecutive weeks. For contracts over $25,000 but not more than $75,000, a district's board shall solicit written competitive bids on the project from at least three bidders. For contracts not more than $25,000, a district's board is not required to advertise or seek competitive bids.
  (9) A board of a special law district may elect to contract in accordance with the requirements in Texas Water Code, §49.273, even if those requirements conflict with provisions in the district's special law.
  (10) A district with a population of more than 100,000 may utilize the design-build procedure for limited projects as provided in Local Government Code, Chapter 271, Subchapter J.

Source Note: The provisions of this §293.63 adopted to be effective September 5, 1986, 11 TexReg 3745; amended to be effective August 5, 1988, 13 TexReg 3638; amended to be effective October 22, 1996, 21 TexReg 9905; amended to be effective July 31, 2008, 33 TexReg 5936; amended to be effective November 13, 2014, 39 TexReg 8730