Glenn Hegar
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
Glenn Hegar
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
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Glenn Hegar
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
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South Carolina Resident Bidder Preference

Revised August 14, 2024

Code of Laws of South Carolina

Title 11. Public Finance

Chapter 35. South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code

Article 5. Source Selection and Contract Formation

Subarticle 3. Methods of Source Selection

§ 11-35-1520 . Competitive sealed bidding

(9) Tie Bids. If two or more bidders are tied in price while otherwise meeting all of the required conditions, awards are determined in the following order of priority:

(a) If there is a South Carolina firm tied with an out-of-state firm, the award must be made automatically to the South Carolina firm.

(b) Tie bids involving South Carolina produced or manufactured products, when known, and items produced or manufactured out of the State must be resolved in favor of the South Carolina commodity.

(c) Tie bids involving a business certified by the South Carolina Office of Small and Minority Business Assistance as a Minority Business Enterprise must be resolved in favor of the Minority Business Enterprise.

(d) Tie bids involving South Carolina firms must be resolved in favor of the South Carolina firm located in the same taxing jurisdiction as the governmental body's consuming location.

§ 11-35-1524 : Resident vendor preference

(A) For purposes of this section:

(1) “End product” means the tangible product described in the solicitation including all component parts and in final form and ready for the state's intended use.

(2) “Grown” means to produce, cultivate, raise, or harvest timber, agricultural produce, or livestock on the land, or to cultivate, raise, catch, or harvest products or food from the water which results in an end product that is locally derived from the product cultivated, raised, caught, or harvested.

(3) “Labor cost” means salary and fringe benefits.

(4) “Made” means to assemble, fabricate, or process component parts into an end product, the value of which, assembly, fabrication, or processing is a substantial portion of the price of the end product.

(5) “Manufactured” means to make or process raw materials into an end product.

(6) “Office” means a nonmobile place for the regular transaction of business or performance of a particular service which has been operated as such by the bidder for at least one year before the bid opening and during that year the place has been staffed for at least fifty weeks by at least two employees for at least thirty-five hours a week each.

(7) “Services” means services as defined by Section 11-35-310(29) and also includes services as defined in Section 11-35-310(1)(d).

(8) “South Carolina end product” means an end product made, manufactured, or grown in South Carolina.

(9) “United States end product” means an end product made, manufactured, or grown in the United States of America.

(B)(1) When evaluating pricing for purposes of making an award determination, the procurement officer shall decrease by seven percent the price of any offer for a South Carolina end product.

(2) When evaluating pricing for purposes of making an award determination, the procurement officer shall decrease by two percent the price of any offer for a United States end product. This preference does not apply to an item to which the South Carolina end product preference has been applied.

(3) Whether award is to be made by item or lot, the preferences must be applied to the price of each line item of end product. A preference must not be applied to an item for which a bidder does not qualify.

(4) If a contract is awarded to a bidder that received the award as a result of the South Carolina end product or United States end product preference, the contractor may not substitute a nonqualifying end product for a qualified end product. A substitution in violation of this item is grounds for debarment pursuant to Section 11-35-4220. If a contractor violates this provision, the State may terminate the contract for cause and, in addition, the contractor shall pay to the State an amount equal to twice the difference between the price paid by the State and the bidder's evaluated price for a substituted item.

(C)(1) When evaluating pricing for purposes of making an award determination, the procurement officer shall decrease a bidder's price by seven percent if the bidder maintains an office in this State and either

(i) maintains at a location in South Carolina at the time of the bid an inventory of expendable items which are representative of the general type of commodities on which the award will be made and which have a minimum total value, based on the bid price, equal to the lesser of fifty thousand dollars or the annual amount of the contract;

(ii) is a manufacturer headquartered and having an annual payroll of at least one million dollars in South Carolina and the end product is made or processed from raw materials into a finished end product by that manufacturer or its affiliate (as defined in Section 1563 of the Internal Revenue Code); or

(2) Whether award is to be made by item or lot, the preferences must be applied to the price of each line item of end product or work, as applicable. A preference must not be applied to an item for which a bidder does not qualify.

Code of Laws of South Carolina

Title 11. Public Finance

Chapter 35. South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code

Article 9. Construction, Architect-Engineer, Construction Management, and Land Surveying Services

Subarticle 5. Architect-Engineer, Construction Management, and Land Surveying Services

§ 11-35-3215 . Preference for resident design service; definitions; exceptions

(A) As used in this section:

(1) "Design services" means architect-engineer, construction management, or land surveying services as defined in Section 11-35-2910 and awarded pursuant to Section 11-35-3220.

(2) "Resident" means a business that employs, either directly or through consultants, an adequate number of persons domiciled in South Carolina to perform a majority of the design services involved in the procurement.

(D) In an evaluation conducted pursuant to Section 11-35-3220, a resident firm must be ranked higher than a nonresident firm if the agency selection committee finds the two firms otherwise equally qualified.

(E) This section does not apply to a procurement if either the procurement does not involve construction or the design services are a minor accompaniment to a contract for non-design services.