1. For purposes of this chapter, specification means a description of all required physical, design, performance, functional, and other characteristics of a commodity or service the purchaser requires and, consequently, what a bidder must offer. The office of management and budget and institutions of higher education shall develop similar specifications for purchases of commodities and services of high common usage. State agencies and institutions shall provide such assistance as may be requested by the office of management and budget and the institutions of higher education in the development of specifications. The office of management and budget and the institutions of higher education shall implement such procedures as are necessary for the inspection, testing, and acceptance of commodities or services to determine that those received are in conformity with contract specifications.
2. When it is determined to be impractical to initially prepare a purchase description to support an award based on price, a solicitation may be issued requesting the submission of unpriced offers to be followed by a competitive bidding or competitive proposal process limited to those bidders or offerors found to be qualified under the criteria set forth in the first solicitation.