MS State Bid and Quote Requirements

31-7-13. All agencies and governing authorities shall purchase their commodities and printing; contract for fire insurance, automobile insurance, casualty insurance (other than workers' compensation) and liability insurance; contract for garbage collection or disposal; contract for solid waste collection or disposal; contract for sewage collection or disposal; and contract for public construction as herein provided. Purchases which do not involve an expenditure of more than five thousand dollars ($5000.00), exclusive of freight or shipping charges, may be made without advertising or otherwise requesting competitive bids. Provided, however, that nothing contained in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit any agency or governing authority from establishing procedures which require competitive bids on purchases of five thousand dollars ($5000.00) or less.

1. Purchases which involve an expenditure of more than five thousand dollars ($5000.00) but not more than fifty thousand Dollars ($50,000.00), exclusive of freight and shipping charges, may be made from the lowest and best bidder without publishing or posting advertisement for bids, provided at least two (2) competitive written bids have been obtained. The term "competitive written bid" shall mean a bid submitted on a bid form furnished by the buying agency or governing authority and signed by authorized personnel representing the vendor, or a bid submitted on a vendor's letterhead or identifiable bid form and signed by authorized personnel representing the vendor.
2. Purchases which involve an expenditure of more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00), exclusive of freight and shipping charges, may be made from the lowest and best bidder after advertising for competitive sealed bids once each week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a regular newspaper published in the county or municipality in which such agency or governing authority is located. The date as published for the bid opening shall not be less than seven (7) working days after the last published notice; however, if the purchase involves a construction project in which the estimated cost is in excess of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00), such bids shall not be opened in less than fifteen (15) working days after the last notice is published and the notice for the purchase of such construction shall be published once each week for two (2) consecutive week. The notice of intention to let contracts or purchase equipment shall state the time and place at which bids shall be received, list the contracts to be made or type of equipment or supplies to be purchased, and, if all plans and/or specifications are not published, refer to the plans and/or specifications on file. Specifications pertinent to such bidding shall be written so as not to exclude comparable equipment of domestic manufacture.
3. Purchases may be made from the lowest and best bidder. In determining the lowest and best bid, freight and shipping charges shall be included. No agency or governing authority shall accept a bid based on items not included in the specifications.
4. No contract or purchase as herein authorized shall be made for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this section requiring competitive bids, nor shall it be lawful for any person or concern to submit individual invoices for amounts within those authorized for a contract or purchase where the actual value of the contract or commodity purchased exceeds the authorized amount and the invoices therefore are split so as to appear to be authorized as purchases for which competitive bids are not required. Submission of such invoices shall constitute a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment for thirty (30) days in the county jail, or both such fine and imprisonment. In addition, the claim or claims submitted shall be forfeited.
5. For the purposes of this section, the term "purchase" shall mean the total amount of money encumbered by a single purchase order.