Policy; development of specifications

It is the policy of the State of Oregon to encourage the development of clear, precise and accurate specifications in solicitations for public contracts. To that end, in developing specifications, contracting agencies may consult, under contract or otherwise, with technical experts, suppliers, prospective contractors and representatives of the industries with which the contracting agencies contract. However, a contracting agency shall take reasonable measures to ensure that no person who prepares or assists in the preparation of solicitation documents, specifications, plans or scopes of work, and no business with which the person is associated, realizes a material competitive advantage in a procurement that arises from the agency’s use of the solicitation documents, specifications, plans or scopes of work. The policy against the realization of a material competitive advantage from the character of the specifications developed in conjunction with persons outside the contracting agency does not proscribe advantages that result incidentally from a contracting agency’s specification of the characteristics of a product or work to meet the contracting agency’s needs.