Policies - Federal, State, and UC

Policy Overview

The UC system as a California Public Corporation must comply with the CA Public Contract Code (PCC); Sections 10500-10526.
The UC Policy: BFB-BUS-43 Purchase of Goods and Services; Supply Chain Management (SCM) defines the procedures SCM will adhere to in order to be compliant with the PCC.
UC Berkeley serves on the UCOP Procurement Policy Legal Documents team and the primary goal is to standardize and simplify procurement legal templates and ensure they and related tools are up to date with the ever changing legal requirements.  Team representative since 2013 when the group was formed and known as the Standardization Team.  To standardize, we realized we needed to update policy, the UC’s Terms and Conditions, and legal templates.  We aim to reduce risk for the UC and create uniform practices from the 10 UC campuses that interface with the same supplier base.

University of California, Office of the President - Business and Financial Bulletins Series

A complete listing is located on the UCOP Presidential Policies website. 

  • Purchase of Goods and Services, Supply Chain Management: BFB-BUS 43
  • Insurance Requirements: BFB-BUS  63
  • Policy for Cash and Cash Equivalents - Data Security PCI Contract Requirements:BFB-BUS 49
  • Expenditures for Entertainment, Business Meetings and Other Occasions: BFB-BUS 79
  • Controlled Substances: BFB-BUS 50
  • Tax-free Alcohol:BFB-BUS 2
  • Management and Control of University Equipment:  BFB-BUS 29
  • Vehicles - Acquistion and Disposition: BFB-BUS 8
  • Vehicles - Registration and Licensing of University-Owned Vehicles: BFB-BUS 19
  • Vehicles - Use of University Vehicles: BFB-BUS 46
  • Travel Regulations: BFB-G 28
  • Employee Non-Cash Awards and Other Gifts: BFB-G 41
  • Moving and Relocation: BFB-G 13

Federal Aquisition Regulations (FAR) & OMB Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) 

The Federal Acquisition Regulations System is established for the codification and publication of uniform policies and procedures for acquisition by all executive agencies. The Federal Acquisition Regulations System consists of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which is the primary document, and agency acquisition regulations that implement or supplement the FAR. The FAR System does not include internal agency guidance of the type described in 1.301(a)(2).

New Uniform Guidance procurement standards - Department Requirement for federal research and grant purchases effective July 1, 2018

The UCOP Source Selection & Price Reasonableness Justification Form is to be completed by the requesting Department End User that was awarded the Federal funds, and be attached to the BearBuy requisition for all federally funded purchases greater than or equal to $10,000.

Uniform Guidance (“UG”) is a set of federal regulations that impacts research administration and significantly reforms federal grants to focus resources on improving performance and outcomes. It is a compliance requirement to follow the Uniform Guidance Procurement Standards when procuring goods and services using federal funds.

The Office of Federal Financial Management recently drafted a memorandum updating the bid thresholds for Institutions of High Education. Starting on 7/1/18, the micro-purchase threshold was clarified to mean $10,000 as defined in the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) of 2017.

The memorandum also clarifies that the NDAA of 2018 increased the Simplified Acquisition Threshold to $250,000. The entire memorandum can be found here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/M-18-18.pdf

The purpose for the Uniform Guidance is to reduce administrative burden for grant applicants and recipients, as well as to reduce the risk of waste, fraud and abuse. Procurement Standards for UG is specifically located in sections e-CFR 200.317 to 200.326 and concentrates on increased competition and transparency in the purchasing process. The new procurement requirements of the Uniform Guidance goes into effect on July 1, 2018. The Uniform Guidance outlines five methods of procurement: 

  • Micro-purchase: Purchases where the aggregate dollar amount does not exceed $10,000 (or $2,000 if the procurement is construction and subject to Davis-Bacon). When practical, the requesting department should distribute micro-purchases equitably among qualified suppliers. No competitive quotes are required if management determines that the price is reasonable.
  • Small purchase: Includes purchases up to the Simplified Acquisition threshold, which is currently $250,000. Formal solicitations must be obtained from an adequate number of sources for purchases equal to, or greater than $100,000 per UCOP BUS-43.
  • Sealed bids: Used for purchases over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, which is currently $250,000. Under this purchase method, formal solicitation is required, and the fixed price (lump sum or unit price) is awarded to the responsible bidder who conformed to all material terms and is the lowest in price. Formal solicitations must be obtained from an adequate number of sources for purchases equal to, or greater than $100,000 per UCOP BUS-43.
  • Competitive proposals: Used for purchases over the Simplified Acquisition Threshold, which is currently $250,000. This procurement method requires formal solicitation, fixed-price or cost-reimbursement contracts, and is used when sealed bids are not appropriate. The contract should be awarded to the responsible firm whose proposal is most advantageous to the program, with price being one of the various factors. Formal solicitations must be obtained from an adequate number of sources for purchases equal to, or greater than $100,000 per UCOP BUS-43.
  • Noncompetitive proposals: Also known as sole-source procurement, this may be appropriate only when specific criteria are met. Examples include when an item is available only from one source, when a public emergency does not allow for the time of the competitive proposal process, when the federal awarding agency authorizes, or after a number of attempts at a competitive process, the competition is deemed inadequate.