COMPETITIVE SEALED PROPOSAL.

(a) Before entering into an agreement with a telecommunications provider under this subchapter, the department shall follow a procedure using competitive sealed proposals.

(b) The department shall solicit proposals by a request for proposals and shall publish notice of the request in at least two newspapers of general circulation and in the Texas Register.

(c) The proposals shall be opened so as to avoid disclosure of contents to competing offerors during the process of negotiation. After a contract is awarded, all proposals that have been submitted shall be open for public inspection subject to Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code.

(d) The department may discuss an acceptable or potentially acceptable proposal with an offeror to assess the offeror's ability to meet the solicitation requirements. After the submission of a proposal but before making an award, the department may permit the offeror to revise the proposal in order to obtain the best final offer. The department may not disclose any information derived from proposals submitted from competing offerors in conducting discussions under this section. The department shall provide each offeror with an equal opportunity for discussion and revision of proposals.

(e) The department shall make a written award of a contract to the offeror whose proposal is the most advantageous to the state, considering price and the evaluation factors in the request for proposals, except that if the department finds that none of the offers is acceptable, it shall refuse all offers. The contract file must state in writing the basis on which the award is made.