Public contract regulations expert witnesses may opine on public contract codes, public contract regulations, procurement contracts, and related issues. In Bid Protests on California Government and Public Works Contacts in California, attorney George W. Wolff of George W. Wolff & Associates writes:
Grounds for Bid Protests:
There typically are two general grounds for protesting a bid:
(1)The bidder is not a “responsible” contractor,
(2)The bid is not “responsive” to the Invitation for Bids or Instructions to Bidders, or the job specifications.(1) A bidder’s “responsibility” may depend on whether it is properly licensed to do the work, has the experience required to do the work, or has subcontractors with the needed experience, or meets any special qualifications specified in the contract Documents as condition to the award of the contract.
When a challenge is made to a bidder’s responsibility, the public agency may be required by law to hold a public hearing on that part of the Bid Protest.
(2)A bid is “non-responsive”, for example, when the bid form is not completely filled out and signed, as required by the Instructions to Bidders, or where there are other errors or omissions on the Bid Forms.
A bid may also be non-responsive if for example, it does not have pricing for all alternates, does not list subcontractors performing more than 0.5% of the job, or if it does not meet the stated goals for LBE, SBE, DBE or other goals of the public entity and /or does not show good faith efforts to meet such goals, etc.