The sole and exclusive bidding requirement for RACP projects is in the Capital Facilities Debt Enabling Act (Act 67 of 2004), which states "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the solicitation of a minimum of three written bids for all contracted construction work on redevelopment assistance capital projects shall be the sole requirement for the composition, solicitation, opening and award of bids on such projects.”  Unless the terms of the law change, the Office of the Budget cannot grant waivers for bidding requirements to Grantees.

RACP projects are not subject to separation of trades. You are REQUIRED to solicit a minimum of three (3) bids for "all generally contracted work" being performed within the RACP defined scope of work.  You are not required to receive three (3) bid responses.  However, you should provide documentation to prove that at least three bids were solicited by providing copies of the solicitation letters (preferably on letterhead of the bidding entity) used in the bidding process.  You are not required to select the lowest bidder, but if you do not, you will have to provide a brief written justification for your selection.  Note: there is NO threshold level under the RACP program regardless of the size or dollar amount associated with the work to be performed.  You need to show that you solicited a minimum of three (3) bids for any contract to be eligible for RACP.

Bidding is acceptable at either the general contractor level (described in option a. below) or at the sub-contractor level (described in option b. below):

• General Contractor (GC) Level - If you chose to bid at the GC level, please note that the bid should encompass the entire RACP scope of work to be performed including all associated construction work.  The dollar amount bid on the project must include 100% of the work to be performed by the GC and the sub-contractors. Bidding at the GC level will require submission of bidding and construction related documents at the GC level only (see Sub-Contractor level below for a distinction)
  
  
• Sub-Contractor Level - If you choose not to solicit three bids for a General Contractor, then you are required to solicit a minimum of three bids for EACH Sub-Contractor covering all trades involved in the project.  Note that any self-performed work by a non-bid GC is NOT an eligible cost for reimbursement OR match purposes.  Bidding at the Sub-Contractor level will require submission of bidding and construction related documents at the sub level…meaning proof of bidding, construction contracts, payment and performance bonds, insurance etc. will need to be provided for every sub-contractor in the RACP scope. 
  

Professional Services: Professional services associated with the project are not required to be bid as these associated costs are only eligible as match.

Change Orders: Grantees and/or Sub-Grantees are not required to competitively bid out change orders as long as the work was within the RACP scope of the original bid and is less than 20% of the total contract.  If a change order is for work beyond the RACP scope of work originally bid, the Grantee will be required to competitively bid out the new scope of work in order to be considered RACP eligible. 

A full explanation on the RACP steel requirements is available as a PDF download. 

In the past, OB only accepted the ST-4 Form (justification for the use of foreign steel) that the Department of General Services (DGS) has exclusively devised to address exceptions linked to the requirements of the Steel Products Procurement Act when it was necessary.  Recently, OB has approved the acceptability of two more DGS ST Forms (ST-2, ST-3) with some caveats, providing that the forms are properly filled out.  The ST-1 Form will not be accepted by the Office of the Budget.  It is not necessary for the ST-2, ST-3, and ST-4 Forms to be notarized.

Effective January 1, 2013 the Office of the Budget utilizes the DGS Exempt Machinery and Equipment Steel Products Listings (2018 / 2017 / 2016) as part of our steel policy.  The Department of General Service (DGS) published a Statement of Policy- Steel products procurement in the Pennsylvania Bulletin Volume 43, Number 6 dated February 9, 2013 (See PA Bulletin #43, pages 85-86) that discusses the exemption of certain steel products, based on their analysis of ST-4 forms submitted that list products not produced domestically in sufficient quantity. The DGS publishes an updated “Exemption List” annually.

Please be aware that ST forms are acceptable only in cases where nonstructural steel needs to be addressed. The DGS ST forms do not replace the steel certification forms associated with structural steel. The Office of the Budget will continue to require that steel mill certifications be submitted to demonstrate compliance with the steel requirements.

The DGS website has fill-in PDF copies of the three acceptable ST Forms:

It is suggested that the certifications be collected at the time any steel for the project is purchased and delivered for the project to ease the collection process. 

Be advised that the Office of the Budget DOES NOT need to approve the ST forms prior to the start of the construction period. The ST forms need to be submitted to demonstrate that compliance, when and where necessary, has been met.

We shall deem as ineligible all contracts that are unable to demonstrate compliance via the submission of steel certifications/ST forms. Therefore, the value of construction contracts associated with non-compliant steel will be removed (both materials and labor costs) from the scope of the project, which may in turn affect the project ability to leverage their full grant amount (project may not receive its full grant). 

Recycled products, melted from previously used steel, are acceptable, providing that adequate documentation from the supplier has been furnished. The supplier shall certify that the recycled steel product was produced in the USA.

TRADE PRACTICES ACT

Penalties for violation of the above paragraphs may be found in the Trade Practices Act, which penalties include becoming ineligible for public works contracts for a period of three years.

This provision in no way relieves the Grantee of responsibility to comply with those provisions which prohibit the use of foreign-made steel and cast iron products.