Purchasing Guidelines and Requirements

For Goods and Services (Excluding Public Works)
The Santa Clarita Community College District, a public agency, is committed to the concept of competitive bidding to obtain commodities and services for college operations. The objective is to obtain the greatest value for the dollars expended. The following are the primary ways for obtaining non-public works goods and services:

1. Informal Proposals or Quotations Under the Bid Limit Amount*: Purchases are made based on (1) current price listings/catalogs, (2) telephonic proposals/quotations and/or (3) written proposals/quotations.
2. Formal Bids Over the Bid Limit Amount*: A Notice Inviting Bids will be advertised in the newspaper for the (1) purchase, (2) lease or (3) contracting for services and/or equipment. All advertised bids shall be opened in public at the published place, date and time. Under no conditions shall bids be accepted after the advertised bid opening date and time.
3. California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS) Contracts: The Department of General Services negotiates State of California contracts and price schedules with various vendors. Purchases based on these state contracts may be made without quotes or bids.
4. FCCC/UC/CSU Contracts: Community college districts, the University of California ("UC") system, and the California State University ("CSU") system may share contracts with each other to achieve price savings without further competitive bidding. The District may purchase materials, equipment, supplies or services under the same conditions that the contract was lawfully awarded under the UC or CSU systems.
5. Piggyback Contracts: Many contracts are awarded by various state agencies or educational institutions which have a Piggyback clause allowing other state agencies and educational institutions to purchase awarded services, supplies, materials and/or equipment on their contract without going out to formal bid.
6. Small Business or Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise: The District may make purchases for goods, services, and information technology with a value between $5,000 and $250,000 from a certified small business or disabled veteran business enterprise without advertising for bids, as long as the District obtains price quotations from two or more certified small businesses or from two or more disabled veteran business enterprises.

Vendors interested in participating in solicitations must register on the District’s bidding website at https://vendors.planetbids.com/portal/53162/portal-home. Vendors must meet bid criteria in all material respects (most responsive) and demonstrate capability, in all respects, to fully perform the requirements (most responsible).  

*The Non-Public Works Bid Limit is adjusted each January and can be found at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/ac/co/bidthreshold https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/ac/co/.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC CONTRACT CODE (PCC)

Santa Clarita Community College District must comply with state law, the California Public Contract Code (PCC), relative to bidding, accepting and awarding bids. A list of highlights from the PCC follows:

• Procurement of commodities or services with an estimated cost greater than the annual bid limit must be publicly bid. The bid limit amount is adjusted each January.
• All bid openings are open to the public.
• Any bid received after the designated bid date and time is automatically rejected.
• Proposals must include responses or documentation for all criteria listed or the bid/proposal will be rejected as non-responsive.
• Some bids require, at a minimum, a bid security, based on the value of the commodity or service being bid. This bid security must be enclosed with the bid proposal submission in the form of a cashier’s check, a certified check or a bid bond. Personal checks or cash are not acceptable.
• In instances where the District is not mandated to go to public bid, e.g., piggybackable contracts or special services such as accountants, architects, etc., the District may elect to do so.

TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended) (29 USC 794d) requires that electronic and information technology (EIT) be accessible to people with disabilities. EIT includes:

• Software
• Web and mobile sites and applications
• Hardware (computers, networks, printers, etc.)

Any Vendor, providing any of above types of goods for the District, must be compliant with Section 508 law.

INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
The following constitute the minimum insurance requirements for service providers. The Santa Clarita Community College District, District's Board of Trustees, its officers, agents, and employees shall be named Additional Insured. These requirements and/or amounts may be adjusted on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the Risk Management department.

• Commercial General Liability insurance, per occurrence including bodily injury, broad form property damage and blanket contractual liability, written on an "occurrence" form - Not Less Than $1,000,000 per occurrence, $2,000,000 aggregate
• Professional Liability Insurance - Not Less Than $1,000,000
• Employer's Liability Insurance - Not Less Than $1,000,000
• Worker's Compensation as required by statutory insurance requirements of the State of California
• Automobile Liability covering all owned, non-owned and hired vehicles with combined single limit for bodily injury and/or property damage - Not Less Than $1,000,000
• Cyber Liability, per occurrence including remediation costs - Not Less Than $2,000,000

The District hopes that the above information will assist potential vendors in doing business with the District. If you have any questions regarding any information contained on this webpage, you may e-mail the Contracts, Procurement & Risk Management Services Department at contracts@canyons.edu.