R33-7-705. Evaluation Committee Members Required to Exercise Independent Judgment

  (1)(a) Evaluators are required to exercise independent judgment in a manner that is not dependent on anyone else's opinions or wishes.

  (b) Evaluators must not allow their scoring to be inappropriately influenced by another person's wishes that additional or fewer points be awarded to a particular offeror.

  (c) Evaluators may seek to increase their knowledge before scoring by asking questions and seeking appropriate information from the conducting procurement unit or issuing procurement unit. Otherwise, evaluators should not discuss proposals or the scoring of proposals with other persons not on the evaluation committee.

  (2)(a) The exercise of independent judgment applies not only to possible inappropriate influences from outside the evaluation committee, but also to inappropriate influences from within the committee. It is acceptable for there to be discussion and debate within the committee regarding how well a proposal meets the evaluation criteria. However, open discussion and debate may not lead to coercion or intimidation on the part of one committee member to influence the scoring of another committee member.

  (b) Evaluators may not act on their own or in concert with another evaluation committee member to inappropriately steer an award to a favored vendor or to disfavor a particular vendor.

  (c) Evaluators are required to report any attempts by others to improperly influence their scoring to favor or disfavor a particular offeror.

  (d) If an evaluator feels that the evaluator's independence has been compromised, the evaluator must recuse himself or herself from the evaluation process.