(1) An authorized agency shall prepare a request for qualifications for design-build proposals and shall prequalify design-builders. The request for qualifications shall describe the project in sufficient detail to permit a design-builder to respond. The request for qualifications shall identify the maximum number of design-builders the authorized agency will place on a short list as qualified and eligible to receive a request for proposals.

(2) A person or organization hired by the authorized agency under section 73-1105 shall be ineligible to compete for a design-build contract on the same project for which the person or organization was hired.

(3)(a) The request for qualifications shall be published:

(i) In a newspaper of statewide circulation once a week for three consecutive weeks prior to the deadline for receiving requests for qualifications; or

(ii) For twenty-one consecutive calendar days prior to the deadline for receiving requests for qualifications on a website designated by the state building division that is accessible to the public.

(b) The authorized agency may publish notice both in such a newspaper and on such a website as described in this subsection.

(4) The authorized agency shall create a short list of qualified and eligible design-builders in accordance with the guidelines adopted pursuant to section 73-1106. The authorized agency shall select at least two prospective design-builders, except that if only one design-builder has responded to the request for qualifications, the authorized agency may, in its discretion, proceed or cancel the procurement. The request for proposals shall be sent only to the design-builders placed on the short list.