CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1998 Fla. App. LEXIS 14179, 1998 WL 777377
...Appellants contend that even though they are not potential bidders on the RFP, they are adversely affected by the specifications as written and thus have standing. We affirm, because none of the appellants has any actual interest in the procurement process. In 1997, the legislature enacted section 394.47865, Florida Statutes (1997), directing the Department to issue an RFP for the purpose of privatizing South Florida State Hospital (SFSH), a psychiatric hospital....
...It appears from our reading of Fairbanks that standing will inhere in a person who at least has some potential stake in the contract to be awarded. Appellants, as neither contractors nor providers of equipment or services, have no stake in the procurement procedure authorized by section 394.47865. Section 394.47865 was enacted to ensure fair and competitive bidding in the privatization of SFSH, and the specifications of the RFP must comport with that purpose....
...In contrast, appellants’ challenge is addressed, point after point, to policy decisions with which they disagree, rather than specifications which need clarification because of ambiguity or need adjustment because of expense. Accordingly, the injuries that appellants allege are not the type that section 394.47865 was designed to protect. In conclusion, the legislature decided that SFSH must be privatized and implemented section 394.47865 to authorize construction of a new facility. Section 394.47865(2)(b) expressly directs the department and whichever contractor it selects to operate the hospital to ensure that the facility provides effective treatment to the mentally ill, and assistance that will enable patients to return quickly to their communities....
...he RFP. Only potential contractors or providers under the contract to be awarded pursuant to the RFP have standing to litigate whether the RFP’s specifications are so vague or unreasonable that the contractor will be unable to satisfy the goals of section 394.47865....
