40A-7.004. Determination and Notice of a Contractor Suspension

(1) Once the District has mailed a Notice to Defaulting Contractor to the contractor, the Governing Board shall determine whether the contractor should be suspended from doing business with the District, and if suspended, the duration of the suspension.

(2) When determining whether a contractor should be temporarily suspended from doing business with the District for a period of time of 1 year, the Governing Board shall consider whether:

(a) The material breach resulted in an adverse economic impact to the District of less than $50,000;

(b) The material breach resulted in a delay in the completion of a District project of less than 1 year;

(c) The contractor failed to perform in accordance with professional licensing standards and regulations;

(d) The contractor failed to comply with Florida public records laws;

(e) The contractor committed a material breach which involved discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, age, or handicap;

(f) The contractor committed a material breach which involved willful or gross misconduct;

(g) The District has terminated any other District contracts with the contractor due to the contractor’s material breach within the past 5 years;

(h) The contractor committed a material breach which involved the commission of any act indicating a lack of business integrity or honesty;

(i) The contractor committed a material breach which involved knowingly doing business with a suspended contractor; or

(j) The contractor has materially breached a contract with the District on more than one occasion within the last 3 calendar years by having financial consequences imposed by the District or having forfeited a portion or all of a performance bond.

(3) When making a determination whether a contractor should be permanently suspended from doing business with the District, the Governing Board shall consider, in addition to those criteria in subsection (2) above, whether:

(a) The material breach resulted in an adverse economic impact to the District of $50,000 or more;

(b) The material breach resulted in a delay in the completion of a District project of 1 year or more;

(c) The contractor violated a District solicitation to ensure the fair award of District contracts, including price fixing between competitors, allocation of customers between competitors, and bid rigging; or,

(d) The contractor committed a material breach which involved the commission of a criminal offense, including public entity crimes as defined in Section 287.133(1)(g), F.S.;

(4) The District shall mail to the contractor a Suspension Notice by Certified U.S. Mail, return receipt requested, upon the Governing Board’s determination that the contractor will not be suspended or has been temporarily or permanently suspended from doing business with the District. The Suspension Notice shall specify the basis for the Governing Board’s determination and the duration of any suspension. The Suspension Notice shall inform the contractor that its principals shall not do business with the District under a different name or form a new legal entity in order to do business with the District while the contractor remains on the Suspension List.

(5) The conditions for reinstatement for a contractor placed on the Temporary Suspension List shall be:

(a) The contractor shall make a written request to the District for reinstatement;

(b) The contractor’s temporary suspension period must be completed; and

(c) The contractor shall have reimbursed the District for all re-procurement costs incurred by the District resulting from the contractor’s breach.

(6) Contractors that are placed on the Permanent Suspension List will be permanently suspended from doing business with the District.

Rulemaking Authority 373.610 FS. Law Implemented 373.610 FS. History–New 8-13-20.