Florida Government Contracts Blog

Andrew Schwartz explains how and why contractors should use Florida’s Public Records Act to maximum effect in this “Bidding Smarter in Florida” series.Read More

The coronavirus pandemic is creating both opportunities and risks for Florida’s contractors. For example, on April 1, 2020 the Florida Department of Transportation announced that it will take advantage of nearly empty roads by accelerating work construction projects that have a combined value of nearly $2.1 billion...Read More

Contractors may have multiple solutions for their potential government client’s needs, but they miss out on sales by failing to tell this to the government. Andrew Schwartz explains why contractors should submit alternative bids or proposals, and lays out a few guidelines for doing so.Read More

Contractors often hesitate to ask agencies the “hard questions” or challenge flawed solicitations when preparing their bids because they are afraid agencies will retaliate. Andrew Schwartz explains why this is an unfounded fear and why contractors should stick up for themselves. Read More

Most of the posts I write on bid protests are written from the protester’s point of view. Recently, however, I was asked by a contract awardee whether he should intervene in a protest challenging his award. The short answer to awardees in that situation is “Yes, if keeping the contract is important to you.”Read More

Florida’s First District Court of Appeals just held in Asphalt Paving Sys., Inc. v. Anderson Columbia, No. 1D18-2035 (Fla. 1st DCA Feb. 18, 2019) that prospective bidders have standing to file bid protests challenging out-of-scope modifications to existing government contracts.Read More

Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals recently opened up whole new possibilities for Florida-county-level business incentives in Matheson v. Miami-Dade Cnty.Read More

The key to winning a Florida bid protest is to point out a specific, objective flaw that occurred during the evaluation of bids or proposals. Once in a while, however, the government’s award decision is so unreasonable that courts will overturn them for “getting it wrong.”Read More

In Florida, the government will frequently change the terms of its contracts, usually by adding or deleting the amount or work to be performed, by adjusting the manner of performance, or by making minor adjustments to the type of work to be performed. The government usually has the right to unilaterally do so under the terms of the...Read More

Clients and potential clients frequently come to us and complain about the low scores they’ve gotten from a Florida state agency (or the high scores their competitors got) that caused them to lose out on valuable contracts. Scoring issues, which are highly subjective, are the most difficult to prevail on in a bid protest. The...Read More