13. Specifications. Any specifications for the provision or performance of goods or services under this act shall be drafted in a manner to encourage free, open and competitive bidding. In particular, no specifications under this act may:

(a) Require any standard, restriction, condition or limitation not directly related to the purpose, function or activity for which the contract is awarded; or

(b) Require that any bidder be a resident of, or that the bidder’s place of business be located in, the county or municipality in which the contract will be awarded or performed, unless the physical proximity of the bidder is requisite to the efficient and economical performance of the contract; except that no specification for a contract for the collection and disposal of municipal solid waste shall require any bidder to be a resident of, or that the bidder’s place of business be located in, the county or municipality in which the contract will be performed; or

(c) Discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, national origin, creed, color, ancestry, age, marital status, affectional or sexual orientation, familial status, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or nationality; or

(d) Require, with regard to any contract, the furnishing of any “brand name,” but may in all cases require “brand name or equivalent,” except that if the goods or services to be provided or performed are proprietary, such goods or services may be purchased by stipulating the proprietary goods or services in the bid specification in any case in which the resolution authorizing the contract so indicates, and the special need for such proprietary goods or services is directly related to the performance, completion or undertaking of the purpose for which the contract is awarded; or

(e) Fail to include any option for renewal, extension, or release which the contracting unit may intend to exercise or require; or any terms and conditions necessary for the performance of any extra work; or fail to disclose any matter necessary to the substantial performance of the contract; or

(f) Require that any bidder submit a financial statement if either a guarantee, by certified check, cashier’s check or bid bond, or a surety company certificate is also required to be furnished by the bidder, unless any law or regulation of the United States imposes a condition upon the awarding of a monetary grant to be used for the purchase, contract or agreement, which condition requires that a financial statement be submitted.

(g) As used in this subsection:

“asphalt price index” means the asphalt price index as determined and published by the New Jersey Department of Transportation;

“basic asphalt price index” means the asphalt price index for the month preceding the month in which the bids are opened;

“department” means the New Jersey Department of Transportation;

“fuel price index” means the fuel price index as determined and published by the New Jersey Department of Transportation; and

“pay item” means a specifically described item of work for which the bidder provides a per unit or lump sum price in a bid specification determined and published by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

In addition to the requirements of paragraphs (a) through (f) of this section, any bid specification for the provision or performance of goods or services under P.L.1971, c.198 (C. 40A:11-1 et seq.) that includes the purchase or use of 1,000 or more tons of hot mix asphalt shall include a pay item for an asphalt price adjustment reflecting changes in the cost of asphalt cement. The pay item for asphalt price adjustment shall apply to each ton of hot mix asphalt purchased or used by the contracting unit. Any bid specification prepared pursuant to P.L.1971, c.198 (C. 40A:11-1 et seq.) that includes the purchase or use of less than 1,000 tons of hot mix asphalt shall include a pay item for an asphalt price adjustment applicable to any quantity of hot mix asphalt exceeding 1,000 tons that may be purchased or used in the work in the event that performance of the work, including change orders, requires more than 1,000 tons of hot mix asphalt. As set forth in section 7 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C. 40A:11-7), no contract shall be divided to disaggregate the quantity of hot mix asphalt or equivalent asphalt cement-based paving product to be purchased or used for the purpose of avoiding compliance with this paragraph.

The asphalt price adjustment shall be calculated in accordance with the formula and relevant instructions published in the most recent edition of the “New Jersey Department of Transportation Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction.” All invoices for payment shall be accompanied by the calculation of any asphalt price adjustment and a showing of the current month’s asphalt price index and the basic asphalt price index.

Every bid specification prepared pursuant to P.L.1971, c.198 (C. 40A:11-1 et seq.) shall be eligible for a fuel price adjustment. Fuel that is eligible for a fuel price adjustment shall be the sum of the quantities of the eligible pay items in the contract multiplied by the fuel usage factors as determined by the department. The types of fuel furnished shall be at the discretion of the contractor.

The fuel requirement for items not determined by the department to be eligible, and for pay items in the bid specifications calling for less than 500 gallons of fuel, shall not be eligible for a fuel price adjustment. If more than one pay item has the same nomenclature but with different thicknesses, depths, or types, each individual pay item must require 500 gallons or more of fuel to be eligible for a fuel price adjustment. If more than one pay item has the same nomenclature, similar pay items shall be combined and the combination must require 500 gallons or more of fuel to be eligible for the fuel price adjustment.

Fuel price index adjustments shall not be made in those months for which the monthly fuel price index has changed by less than five percent from the basic fuel price index.

Any specification which knowingly excludes prospective bidders by reason of the impossibility of performance, bidding or qualification by any but one bidder, except as provided herein, shall be null and void and of no effect and shall be readvertised for receipt of new bids, and the original contract shall be set aside by the governing body.

Any specification for a contract for the collection and disposal of municipal solid waste shall conform to the uniform bid specifications for municipal solid waste collection contracts established pursuant to section 22 of P.L.1991, c.381 (C. 48:13A-7.22).

Any specification may include an item for the cost, which shall be paid by the contractor, of creating a file to maintain the notices of the delivery of labor or materials required by N.J.S. 2A:44-128

Any prospective bidder who wishes to challenge a bid specification shall file such challenges in writing with the contracting agent no less than three business days prior to the opening of the bids. Challenges filed after that time shall be considered void and having no impact on the contracting unit or the award of a contract.

L.1971, c.198, s.13; amended 1991, c.381, s.48; 1996, c.81, s.7; 1999, c.440, s.19; 2014, c.52, s.3; 2015, c.201, s.1.