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Home » Services » Contracting & Purchasing » Reciprocal Preference

Reciprocal Preference

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Preference Conditions
Preference for goods and services produced or provided in whole or in part from class II inmate work programs operated by the department of corrections.
See RCW 39.26.251		 State agencies, the legislature, and departments shall purchase for their use all goods and services required by the legislature, agencies, or departments that are produced or provided in whole or in part from class II inmate work programs operated by the department of corrections through state contract. These goods and services shall not be purchased from any other source unless, upon application by the department or agency:
  1. The department finds that the articles or products do not meet the reasonable requirements of the agency or department,
  2. are not of equal or better quality, or
  3. the price of the product or service is higher than that produced by the private sector.
However, the criteria contained in (a), (b), and (c) of this subsection for purchasing goods and services from sources other than correctional industries do not apply to goods and services produced by correctional industries that primarily replace goods manufactured or services obtained from outside the state. The department of corrections and department shall adopt administrative rules that implement this section.
Preference to Bidders proposing goods or services which have been or will be produced or provided in whole or in part by an inmate work program of the department of corrections.
See RCW 39.26.250		 Any person, firm, or organization which makes any bid to provide any goods or any services to any state agency shall be granted a preference over other bidders if:
  1. the goods or services have been or will be produced or provided in whole or in part by an inmate work program of the department of corrections and
  2. an amount equal to at least fifteen percent of the total bid amount has been paid or will be paid by the person, firm, or organization to inmates as wages. The preference provided under this section shall be equal to ten percent of the total bid amount.
Preference for goods containing recycled material
See WAC 200-300-085		 In conducting purchases of goods and/or services, preference shall be given to the extent allowed by statute: To goods containing recycled material as outlined under RCW 39.26.255 provided that the purchasing agency sets forth in the competitive solicitation a minimum percent content of recycled material that must be certified by the producer of the goods to qualify for the preference. Bids for goods so certified shall be given a preference of ten percent of the amount of the bid in determining the lowest responsive bid for any item or grouping of items to be awarded to a single bidder. This preference shall be separate from and applied after any other preferences allowed by statute. The minimum content of recycled material shall be not less than fifteen percent provided that for those goods for which the Environmental Protection Agency has adopted procurement guidelines under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-580, 42 U.S.C. §6901 et seq.), as amended, the minimum content of recycled material shall not be less than specified in the most current adopted issue of those guidelines. The producer of the goods shall certify the post consumer and recycled or waste material content at the time of submitting bid. To qualify for the preference, the goods shall otherwise be at least functionally equal to all other specifications and use requirements. The preference shall be used for bid evaluation purposes only and the actual dollars bid shall be the contracted amount. In the event of a tie for lowest responsive bid between products otherwise meeting all bid specifications, the purchasing agency shall consider the larger post consumer material content as a factor in determining the award. Should the purchasing agency determine that the use of this preference does not encourage the use of more recycled material for reasons including inadequate competition, economics, environmental constraints, quality or availability, the purchasing agency shall issue, consider and award bids without the preference. For the purpose of meeting Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requirements for state agency purchase of goods complying with Environmental Protection Agency recycled or waste guidelines, the department of enterprise services may adopt specifications requiring that only goods meeting these guidelines are responsive and may consider bids for such goods though the cost exceeds ten percent of goods not meeting such guidelines.
Preference for electronic products that meet environmental performance standards relating to the reduction or elimination of hazardous materials.
See RCW 39.26.265(1)		 Electronic products rated by the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) or carry the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) certification label will serve as the basis for applying the electronic product purchasing preference as follows:
  1. For those electronic products that are capable of satisfying the need and are rated by EPEAT, a purchasing priority and preference is to be given to gold then silver and then bronze rated products.
  2. For those electronic products that are capable of satisfying the need and are not rated by EPEAT, a purchasing priority preference is to be given to those products that are RoHS compliant. RoHS compliant electronic products must carry the RoHS label or indicate compliance in product literature.
  3. When acquiring electronic products that do not have an EPEAT ranking or a RoHS certification, agencies are to give priority and preference to those products containing the least hazardous materials. Agencies also may also use other environmental product certifications that reflect a reduction or elimination of hazardous materials.

Exemptions include electronic products that are not reasonably priced as compared to other products capable of satisfying the need.
Preference for Products and products in packaging that do not contain polychlorinated biphenyls
See RCW 39.26.280		 Preference — Products and products in packaging that does not contain polychlorinated biphenyls — Limitations — Products and products in packaging containing polychlorinated biphenyls.
  1. The department shall establish purchasing and procurement policies that provide a preference for products and products in packaging that does not contain polychlorinated biphenyls.
  2. No agency may knowingly purchase products or products in packaging containing polychlorinated biphenyls above the practical quantification limit except when it is not cost-effective or technically feasible to do so.
  3. Nothing in this section requires the department or any other state agency to breach an existing contract or dispose of stock that has been ordered or is in the possession of the department or other state agency as of June 12, 2014.