Rhode Island General Laws Title 37. Public Property and Works § 37-2-25.1. Prequalification of vendors for electronic reverse auctions

(a) Potential bidders shall be prequalified for participation in each electronic auction.

(b) A request for qualifications shall be issued stating the intent to conduct a reverse auction in accordance with the provisions of § 37-2-18.1. The request for qualifications shall identify the goods and services to be purchased and the criteria to be used to determine how many and/or which bidders will be selected to participate in the reverse auction. All requests for qualifications shall be solicited through utilization of the Rhode Island Vendor Information Program (RIVIP) as set forth in § 37-2-17.1.

(c) Participants shall be selected based on the criteria set forth in the request for qualifications, including agreement to any terms, conditions or other requirements of the solicitation. Written or oral discussions may be conducted with all responsible vendors determined in writing to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award.

(d) Prior to the execution of the auction potential bidders shall be required to receive instruction on the use of the selected electronic bidding procedure. Only bidders who successfully complete the training phase of prequalification shall be permitted to participate in the electronic reverse auction specified in the request for qualifications.