Section 20216.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any contract by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, the Southern California Rapid Transit District, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board, the North San Diego County Transit Development Board, a county transportation commission that is subject to the competitive negotiation provisions of Section 20229.1, 20231.5, or 20916.3 of this code, or Section 120224.4, 125228, or 130238 of the Public Utilities Code, a transit district, city, county, city and county, or transportation agency, that is subject to the competitive negotiation provisions of Section 20217, and any other transportation agency that is authorized to use comparable competitive negotiation provisions after July 1, 1992, shall comply with the requirements of this section.

(b) Other than proprietary information, the content of any request for proposal, any proposal received, and any other communications between a transportation agency and a potential bidder on a contract that is subject to subdivision (a) shall be made available to the public no later than the same time that a recommendation for awarding a contract is made to the governing board or persons responsible for approving the award of a contract to a bidder, except that the price proposed in any bidder's initial proposal shall be available upon the opening of the bid by the agency requesting the proposal.

(c) No person may participate in the evaluation of any proposal for the award of a contract that is subject to subdivision (a) if any of the following conditions apply:

(1) The person has a financial interest in the outcome of the evaluation or the contract.

(2) The person has received a gift of over two hundred fifty dollars ($250) during the previous 12 months from a bidder directly, or indirectly through an intermediary, if it is known to the person that the gift was in whole or in part funded by the bidder.

(d) The agency board or any person responsible for awarding a contract under this article shall not have any ex parte communication with a bidder or any representative of the bidder except in writing and if the communication is made public.

(e) A contract may not be awarded until 15 days after the staff recommendation has been made available to the public.

(f) An agency using the competitive negotiation process shall maintain in writing, and make available upon request, a complete description of the process and the policies and procedures used by the agency in doing so, including all standards, criteria, public protest procedures, and method of contract award. The agency shall also keep a complete record of its actions on each procurement.

(g) For purposes of this section and Sections 20217, 20229.1, 20231.5, and 20916.3 of this code and Sections 120224.4 and 130238 of the Public Utilities Code, "competitive negotiation" means a procurement process used by an agency in lieu of a competitive sealed bid process when conditions are not appropriate for the use of sealed bids, and that permits the consideration of price, technical experience, past performance, management, or other factors in selecting the most cost-effective proposal for the manufacture and delivery of specified goods, transit vehicles, or equipment. The process includes negotiations with manufacturers or providers after the receipt of initial proposals during which performance or technical standards and other criteria may be revised in order to secure proposals most advantageous to the purchasing agency or to cure any deficiencies contained in the original proposals.

(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 341, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2003.)