Virginia Code 2.2-4300: Short title; purpose; declaration of intent
A. This chapter may be cited as the Virginia Public Procurement Act.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 2.2-4300
- Business: means any type of corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, or sole proprietorship operated for profit. See Virginia Code 2.2-4301
- Construction: means building, altering, repairing, improving or demolishing any structure, building or highway, and any draining, dredging, excavation, grading or similar work upon real property. See Virginia Code 2.2-4301
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Goods: means all material, equipment, supplies, printing, and automated data processing hardware and software. See Virginia Code 2.2-4301
- Nonprofessional services: means any services not specifically identified as professional services in the definition of professional services. See Virginia Code 2.2-4301
- offeror: means a person who has the capability, in all respects, to perform fully the contract requirements and the moral and business integrity and reliability that will assure good faith performance, and who has been prequalified, if required. See Virginia Code 2.2-4301
- Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
- Professional services: means work performed by an independent contractor within the scope of the practice of accounting, actuarial services, architecture, land surveying, landscape architecture, law, dentistry, medicine, optometry, pharmacy or professional engineering. See Virginia Code 2.2-4301
- Public body: means any legislative, executive or judicial body, agency, office, department, authority, post, commission, committee, institution, board or political subdivision created by law to exercise some sovereign power or to perform some governmental duty, and empowered by law to undertake the activities described in this chapter. See Virginia Code 2.2-4301
- Services: means any work performed by an independent contractor wherein the service rendered does not consist primarily of acquisition of equipment or materials, or the rental of equipment, materials and supplies. See Virginia Code 2.2-4301
B. The purpose of this chapter is to enunciate the public policies pertaining to governmental procurement from nongovernmental sources, to include governmental procurement that may or may not result in monetary consideration for either party. This chapter shall apply whether the consideration is monetary or nonmonetary and regardless of whether the public body, the contractor, or some third party is providing the consideration.
C. To the end that public bodies in the Commonwealth obtain high quality goods and services at reasonable cost, that all procurement procedures be conducted in a fair and impartial manner with avoidance of any impropriety or appearance of impropriety, that all qualified vendors have access to public business and that no offeror be arbitrarily or capriciously excluded, it is the intent of the General Assembly that competition be sought to the maximum feasible degree, that procurement procedures involve openness and administrative efficiency, that individual public bodies enjoy broad flexibility in fashioning details of such competition, that the rules governing contract awards be made clear in advance of the competition, that specifications reflect the procurement needs of the purchasing body rather than being drawn to favor a particular vendor, and that the purchaser and vendor freely exchange information concerning what is sought to be procured and what is offered. Public bodies may consider best value concepts when procuring goods and nonprofessional services, but not construction or professional services. The criteria, factors, and basis for consideration of best value and the process for the consideration of best value shall be as stated in the procurement solicitation.
1982, c. 647, § 11-35; 1983, c. 593; 1984, c. 764; 1986, cc. 149, 212, 559; 1994, cc. 661, 918; 1995, c. 18; 1996, cc. 683, 1019; 1997, cc. 85, 488, 785, 861, 863; 1998, cc. 121, 132; 1999, cc. 230, 248, 735; 2000, cc. 29, 382, 400, 642, 644, 666, 703; 2001, cc. 392, 409, 736, 753, 774, 844.