R33-8-101a. Sole Source Contract Awards

  (1) The underlying purposes and policies of the Utah Procurement Code are to ensure the fair and equitable treatment of all persons who deal with the procurement system and to foster effective broad-based competition within the free enterprise system. The most effective way to achieve this is by conducting a standard procurement process whenever public funds are expended for a procurement item. Sole source contract awards do not involve a standard procurement process and should only be used when justified after reasonable research has been conducted to determine if there are other available sources and an analysis has been conducted to determine if a sole source award is cost justified.

  (2) Circumstances for which a sole source contract award may be justified include procurements for:

  (a) A procurement item for which there is no comparable product or service, such as a one-of-a-kind item available from only one vendor;

  (b) A component or replacement part for which there is no commercially available substitute, and which can be obtained only directly from the manufacturer; or

  (c) An exclusive maintenance, service, or warranty agreement.

  (3) Prior to awarding a sole source contract, the chief procurement officer or head of a procurement unit with independent procurement authority shall, whenever practicable, conduct a price analysis in accordance with Section R33-12-603.

  (4) An urgent or unexpected circumstance or requirement for a procurement item does not justify the award of a contract without engaging in a standard procurement process.