West Virginia Code Chapter 5A. Department of Administration § 5A-3-11a. Negotiation when all bids exceed budget in requisition

(1) If the director determines in writing that there is only one responsive and responsible bidder, he or she may negotiate the price for a noncompetitive award or the specifications for a noncompetitive award based solely on the original purpose of the solicitation.

(2) If the Purchasing Division solicits bids with a request for quotation and there is more than one bidder, the director may negotiate with bidders determined in writing to be responsive and responsible, based on criteria contained in the bid invitation: Provided, That the director must negotiate first with the lowest bidder. If the director does not award the bid to the lowest bidder, he or she may close negotiations with that bidder and enter into negotiations with the next lowest bidder, and may continue to do so in like manner with the remaining responsive and responsible bidders. The director may not extend an offer to any bidder that is not first extended to the prior bidders in order of rank.

(3) If the Purchasing Division solicits bids utilizing a best value procurement, as set forth in section ten-b of this section, and there is more than one bidder, the director may negotiate with bidders determined in writing to be responsive and responsible, based on criteria contained in the bid invitation: Provided, That the director must negotiate first with the highest scoring bidder. If the director does not award the bid to the highest scoring bidder, he or she may close negotiations with that bidder and enter into negotiations with the next highest scoring bidder, and may continue to do so in like manner with the remaining responsive and responsible bidders. The director may not extend an offer to any bidder that is not first extended to the prior bidders in order of rank.