TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS



TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

REQUEST FOR OFFER

OFFER NO. 332-RFO17-1001

OFFER DUE 2:00 PM: 03/27/2017

at 221 East 11th Street

Austin, Texas 78701

CSBG Organizational Standards SoftwarE SERVICE

_______________________________________________________________________

Authorized signature Title Date

FAILURE TO MANUALLY SIGN WILL DISQUALIFY OFFER

VENDOR AGREES TO COMPLY WITH ALL TERMS & CONDITIONS OF THIS RFO.

By signing this Offer, vendor certifies that if a Texas address is shown as the address of the vendor, vendor qualifies as a Texas Resident Bidder as defined in 34 TAC Rule 20.32(68).

Company Name:_______________________________________________________________________

Address:______________________________________________________________________________

City – State –Zip Code:__________________________________________________________________

Contact Name:_________________________________________________________________________

Phone Number:__(_____)_______________ Fax Number:__(______)_____________________

E-mail:_______________________________________________________________________________

Vendor ID #___________________________________

An Identification Number is required to process payment for goods/services purchased against contract awards. The Federal Employers Identification Number (EIN) will be used to establish a Payee ID Number:

PLEASE ENTER YOUR FEDERAL EIN: ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

Every vendor MUST have an EIN prior to receiving payment under an awarded contract. This is being required in an effort to minimize identity theft. For information on obtaining your EIN, you may call the IRS at 800-829-4933 or visit the following website:

Check here if you are a sole ownership or partnership and complete Exhibit B, Execution of Offer: (

Excess Obligations Prohibited: Any contract resulting from this solicitation is contingent upon the continued availability of funding. If funds become unavailable through lack of appropriations, legislative or executive budget cuts, amendment of the Appropriations Act, state agency consolidations, or any other disruptions of current appropriations, provisions of the Termination Article shall apply. The Respondent agrees that in the event of such termination, the TDHCA will not be considered to be in default or breach under the contract, nor shall it be liable for any further payments ordinarily due under the contract, nor shall it be liable for any damages or any other amounts which are caused by or associated with such termination.

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS

REQUEST FOR OFFER

OFFER NO. 332-RFO17-1003

OFFER DUE 2:00 P.M: 03/27/2017

at 221 East 11th Street

Austin, Texas 78701

PREFERENCES: See Section 2.38 of the State of Texas Procurement Manual regarding preferences. Check below to claim a preference under 34 TAC Rule 20.38.

(__) Goods produced or offered by a TX bidder that is owned by a Texas resident service-disabled veteran

(__) Goods produced or offered by a TX bidder that is not owned by a Texas resident service-disabled veteran

(__) Agricultural products grown in TX

(__) Agricultural products offered by TX bidder

(__) Services offered by a TX bidder that is owned by a Texas resident service-disabled veteran

(__) Services offered by a TX bidder that is not owned by a Texas resident service-disabled veteran

(__) Texas Vegetation Native to the Region

(__) USA produced supplies, materials or equipment

(__) Products of persons with mental or physical disabilities

(__) Products made of recycled, remanufactured, or environmentally sensitive materials including recycled steel

(__) Energy efficient products

(__) Rubberized asphalt paving material

(__) Recycled motor oil and lubricants

(__) Products produced at facilities located on formerly contaminated property

(__) Products and services from economically depressed or blighted areas

(__) Vendors that meet or exceed air quality standards

(__) Recycled or Reused Computer Equipment of Other Manufacturers

(__) Foods of Higher Nutritional Value

Delivery in __________ days, cash discount ______________% _____________days

WHEN RESPONDING - Each OFFER must be placed in a separate envelope with OFFER due date and OFFER number annotated immediately below return address on SEALED OFFER ENVELOPE. QUOTE F.O.B. DESTINATION for shipment to TDHCA, 221 East 11th Street, Austin TX 78701.

--FAXED RESPONSES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR THIS RFO—

RETURN SEALED RESPONSES TO:

Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs

Attention: Purchasing #332-RFO17-1001

PO Box 13941, Austin, TX 78711-3941

OR HAND DELIVER TO: 221 East 11th Street Austin, TX 78701 (8am-5pm)

OR OVERNIGHT/ EXPRESS MAIL TO: 221 East 11th Street Austin, TX 78701

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING THIS RFO, CONTACT: Julie M. Dumbeck @1-512-475-3991 EMAIL: julie.dumbeck@tdhca.state.tx.us

IF NOT RESPONDING DO NOT RETURN THIS FORM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

|Section |Title |Page No. |

| | | |

|I. |INTRODUCTION |5 |

| | | |

|II. |MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY |5 |

| | | |

|III. |SCOPE OF WORK |6 |

| | | |

|IV. |CONTRACT TERM |7 |

| | | |

|V. |RESPONSE TIME FRAME AND OTHER |8 |

| |INFORMATON | |

| | | |

|VI. |PERFORMANCE STANDARDS |9 |

| | | |

|VII. |DELIVERABLES AND ACCEPTANCE |9 |

| | | |

|VIII. |RESPONSE FORMAT |9 |

| | | |

|IX. |OFFER CONTENT |9 |

| | | |

|X. |SELECTION PROCEDURE |10 |

| | | |

|XI. |WORK MADE FOR HIRE |11 |

| | | |

|XII. |LICENSE AGREEMENT |11 |

| | | |

|XIII. |OPEN RECORDS/E-VERIFY |12 |

| | | |

|XIV. |DISCLOSURE |13 |

| | | |

|Exhibit A |STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS |Separate Document |

-Continued-

TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Continued-

|Section |Title |Page No. |

| | | |

|Exhibits B & C |EXECUTION OF OFFER & |Separate Document |

| |HUB SUBCONTRACTING PLAN INFORMATION | |

REQUEST FOR OFFER

CSBG ORGANIZATIONAL STANDARDS SOFTWARE SERVICE

I. INTRODUCTION

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs ("TDHCA") administers the Community Services Block Grant (“CSBG”) program through a network of subrecipient organizations across the State of Texas. These organizations are required by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) > Administration for Children & Families > Office of Community Services to comply with Organizational Standards developed by the Center of Excellence, and TDHCA is responsible for statewide oversight and reporting of this information to HHS. Information on the Organizational Standards is available on the Office of Community Services website () and in the HHS Information Memorandum posted at

.

To fulfill its federally required responsibilities in this area, TDHCA has posted this request for offer (“RFO”) to solicit vendor Offers for an off-the-shelf software service that will allow Texas CA subrecipients to report Organizational Standards data to TDHCA. TDHCA is seeking a software service that is already made for this purpose. This is not a procurement in which TDHCA will provide detailed software requirements that explain what the Organizational Standards are and how they should be implemented in a system.

Users of the Organizational Standards software service (“Software Service”) will be TDHCA and subrecipient organizations (“Subrecipients”) that receive CSBG funding through TDHCA.

II. Minimum Requirements for Eligibility

A. TDHCA is seeking an off-the-shelf Organizational Standards software service (“Software Service”) which is designed for managing Organizational Standards requirements by state and local agencies that receive CSBG funding.

B. The selected vendor will provide a Software Service that will be securely hosted by the vendor and will be maintained by the vendor to keep the Software Service up to date with security fixes by applying software patches on a regular schedule, at least quarterly.

C. The selected vendor will provide an administrative user guide for the Software Service to TDHCA and an end user guide for Subrecipients. The selected vendor will provide training to TDHCA and its Subrecipients. Training provided to TDHCA will be conducted by vendor representatives in a live setting. The training can be provided remotely through a live web meeting or in person at TDHCA facilities. Training provided to the subrecipients can be provided remotely through a live web meeting or online training content.

D. The initial and ongoing pricing for the Software Service must be provided in the Offer to this RFO. The maximum annual percentage increase for ongoing services should be included in the Offer.

E. The selected vendor must provide a service for ongoing maintenance, support, and enhancements of the Software Service, which must include timely System Modifications to ensure compliance with applicable federal requirements as they change over time. The term System Modifications includes changes to data entry screens, database fields, system validations, and reports delivered by the vendor as part of the Software Service.

III. SCOPE OF WORK

A. TDHCA is seeking an off-the-shelf Software Service that contains the following capabilities:

1. Meets the following web browser and SSL requirements: a) Can be accessed through modern web browsers, including the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox. b) Is accessible only through encrypted, SSL connections (https / port 443) with a certificate signed by a trusted third party such as VeriSign or GoDaddy. c) Preferred: Built using responsive design so that the Software Service can be accessed using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

2. Includes a user authentication and account management module through which TDHCA can create accounts, assign passwords, and manage system roles (levels of access). TDHCA should be able to enforce password complexity, history, length, and expiration polices through this module.

3. Allows Subrecipients to upload Organizational Standards as well as any additional documents electronically through the system.

4. Allows TDHCA to manage, approve, and disapprove Organizational Standards electronically to reduce the large amount of documents that are received through traditional mail.

5. Contains built-in workflow, notification screens, and approval statuses or indicators, such as a pending flag for documents that have been uploaded by Subrecipients and are pending TDHCA review, an indicator for reviewed and approved documentation, and a disapproved indicator for documentation that is not acceptable for meeting a standard.

6. Includes notification and search screens that display a) individual Subrecipient submissions, showing entire list of standards that are pending, approved, and disapproved for that subrecipient and b) all submissions, showing the same information for all Subrecipients.

7. Includes notification screens, search results screens, and other list screens that provide the ability to sort by columns such as Standard Number and Subrecipient.

8. Includes search screens that allow users to query by fields such as Standard Number and Subrecipient.

9. Includes a data extraction feature that allows users to save search results as Excel, CSV, or PDF files.

10. Includes report generation facilities that allow TDHCA to produce required federal reports.

11. Stores electronic signatures and signature dates for Subrecipient employee submitting the documentation and for Department employees who review and approve or deny documentation.

12. Restricts Subrecipients ability to upload files based on file types set by TDHCA, such as Portable Document Format (PDF).

13. Prompts Subrecipients to select each relevant standard that an uploaded document satisfies to reduce the likelihood of duplicate uploads. (Note: One uploaded document can satisfy several Organizational Standards.)

14. Has the ability to organize data by program year (January 1 through December 31) and per Organizational Standard. View link at:

15. Has the ability to carry forward all current documents into a new program year based on the Calendar of Required Actions (Exhibit E).

16. Provides Subrecipients with notifications of upcoming expiration dates for documents through email and automatically stores the notifications with date..

17. Automatically places unmet standards and updated standards that require review in an audit file.

18. Prevents Subrecipients from making changes to data entered in a previous program year.

19. Prevents Subrecipients from making changes to uploaded documents based on statuses that are defined to mean that Subrecipients have read-only access.

20. Provides TDHCA with global, administrative access to all Subrecipient information and uploaded documents.

21. Responds to user navigation, uploads, save, and query actions in an acceptable manner in terms of processing and page display times, with no significant delays between the time one of those actions is initiated and relevant data is displayed on the web page in question.

B. The Software Service must be fully accessible to people with disabilities and comply with Texas laws and rules regarding accessibility including Texas Administrative Code (“TAC”), Title 1, Part 10, Chapter §213. Additional information regarding this requirement is included in the “Electronic and Information Resources Accessibility Standards” requirement in the attached Terms and Conditions.

C. In its response, Vendor will provide information on its policies and procedures for making changes to the Software Service over time as the Center for Excellence or other authorized entities make changes to the Organizational Standards.

D. In its response, the Vendor will also provide its standard service level agreement policies, in which items such as system availability/uptime and customer support policies are defined.

E. Vendor will provide a full demonstration of the Software Service before TDHCA makes an award.

F. As stated in Exhibit A, TDHCA Terms & Conditions, 52. Supporting Documents, Retention; Right to Audit; Independent Audits, the State Auditor of Texas and TDHCA may conduct audits and investigations of the Vendor and any subcontractors (including subcontracted Internet hosting companies) indirectly receiving state funds associated with this contract through subcontracts. Acceptance of funds directly under this contract or indirectly through subcontract acts as acceptance of the authority of the State Auditor, under direction of the Legislative Audit Committee, and TDHCA to conduct an audit or investigation of those funds. During such an audit or investigation, Vendor and subcontractors must provide the State Auditor and TDHCA with access to any information that the State Auditor or TDHCA considers relevant to the audit or investigation.

The selected Vendor shall give HHS, the U.S. General Accounting Office, the Texas Comptroller, the State Auditor of Texas, and TDHCA, or any of their duly authorized representatives, access to and the right to examine and copy, on or off the premises of Vendor, all records pertaining to the contract that results from an award through this RFO.

IV. CONTRACT TERM

This Contract shall become effective on the date signed by the appropriate Procurement official and shall terminate on the date specified in the award notice.  This Contract may be renewed, in the Department’s sole discretion, by a renewal letter signed by the authorized Procurement official, delivered prior to the expiration of the current Contract, stating the new Contract expiration date, provided it is signed by a vendor representative by the date of the original contract or extension termination date and promptly returned to the Department.  Extensions may be granted for a period of no more than one year, and for no more than three (3) consecutive renewal periods.  Vendor will not be paid for performance rendered after the Contract expires unless the Contract is renewed prior to the expiration of the Contract. 

V. RESPONSE TIME FRAME AND OTHER INFORMATION

A. TIME FRAME

Posting date for RFO: February 27, 2017

Questions Due: March 13, 2017 @ 4:00PM (CT)

Questions/Answers Posted: March 14, 2017

Offer Due: March 27, 2017 @ 2:00PM (CT)

B. DELIVERY ADDRESS

One (1) original and (3) three hard copies of the Offer should be delivered to the following address (facsimiles will not be accepted):

Mailing Address:

Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs

Attn: Purchasing #332-RFO17-1001

PO Box 13941

Austin, TX 78711-3941

Overnight/Hand Delivery Address:

Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs

Attn: Purchasing #332-RFO17-1001

221 East 11th Street

Austin, TX 78701

Offers must comply with rules and statutes relating to purchasing in the State of Texas. Late and/or unsigned Offers will not be considered. The person submitting the Offer must have the authority to bind the organization in a contract.

All costs directly or indirectly related to the preparation of a response to this RFO shall be the sole responsibility of and shall be borne by the respondent.

C. QUESTIONS/CONTACT INFORMATION

It is the express policy of the Department that parties responding to this request refrain from initiating any direct contact or communication with members of the Board of Directors with regard to this RFO during the selection process. Any violation of this policy will be considered a basis for disqualification.

Additional information regarding this RFO may be obtained from Julie Dumbeck at the Department. Attempt to obtain information from staff other than Julie Dumbeck is prohibited and any violation of this policy will be considered a basis for disqualification. All requests must be in writing to julie.dumbeck@tdhca.state.tx.us (email) or via facsimile (512) 475-2672. The deadline for questions is 03/13/17 at 4:00 PM Central Time (CT). All questions and responses will be made available via the Department’s website (tdhca.state.tx.us) and via the Electronic State Business Daily at ()) and will be subject to disclosure under the Public Information Law.

D. AMENDMENT/ADDENDUM

Any Amendment to this procurement solicitation will be posted as an addendum on the TDHCA website and on the Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD). It is the responsibility of interested parties to periodically check the TDHCA website and ESBD for updates to the procurement prior to submitting a Offer. The Respondent’s failure to periodically check the TDHCA website and ESBD will in no way release the selected vendor from “addenda or additional information” resulting in additional costs to meet the requirements of the RFO.

E. OBLIGATION TO PROCEED

The Department shall not be obligated to proceed with any action and may decide it is in the Department’s best interest to refrain from pursuing any selection process.

VI. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

A. Performance under this RFO will be measured by, but not limited to:

1. Ability to provide a Software Service that contains the features defined in the Scope of Work and meets the requirements listed there.

2. Ability to adhere to submitted timeline.

VII. DELIVERABLES AND ACCEPTANCE

A. The CSBG Organizational Standards Software Service deliverables will be accepted based on the following criteria:

1. Providing Software Service documentation and training to TDHCA.

2. Working with TDHCA to prepare the Software Service for use by Subrecipients.

3. Providing TDHCA with vendor policies and related documentation concerning information security, accessibility for persons with disabilities, and service level agreements.

4. Maintenance and support for any system issues and questions.

5. Ongoing system availability and responsiveness.

VIII. RESPONSE FORMAT

A. Each item in Section IX. Offer Content must be addressed.

B. Identify the item to be addressed in the introduction to each response.

C. Please limit your response to 10 pages of text with additional information such as sample work, audited financial statement, additional resumes and references submitted in appendix form.

D. Text should be no less than 11-point font type size (Times New Roman or Arial).

IX. OFFER CONTENT

A. Required Forms: Signed RFO Form, and Exhibit B Execution of Offer.

B. Organizational Overview: Provide a brief overview of your organizational structure including full name and address of your firm and identity of the parent company if you are a subsidiary. Indicate whether you operate as a partnership, corporation, or sole proprietorship.

C. Pricing: Provide a breakdown of pricing for 1) Initial, One-Time License and Implementation Fees; 2) any discounted pricing options offered to State Agencies; 3) overall cost for first year; and 4) ongoing annual costs for the Software Service, including the maximum annual percentage increase in costs.

D. Description and Schedule: 1) Provide a description of all the Software Service’s features and capabilities. 2) Provide a proposed implementation schedule that includes tasks such as configuration/setup steps, data migration (if any), testing, and training.

E. Technological Capabilities: Provide details regarding the vendor’s procedures for hosting and maintaining the Software Service, including facility information, backups, disaster recovery, server performance, bandwidth, logical security, physical security, and service level agreements for providing customer support to TDHCA and for product availability and performance.

F. Technology Access: Electronic and Information Resources Accessibility Standards, As Required by Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Title 1, Part 10, §213, Electronic and Information Resources (Applicable to State Agency and Institution of Higher Education Purchases).

(1) Effective September 1, 2006, state agencies and institutions of higher education shall procure products which comply with the State of Texas Accessibility requirements for Electronic and Information Resources specified in 1 TAC Chapter §213 when such products are available in the commercial marketplace or when such products are developed in response to a procurement solicitation. The term "Electronic and Information Resources" is defined in 1 TAC Chapter §213 and includes information technology hardware, software, and all electronic files created with software such as Microsoft Office. Any electronic files that the Vendor provides to TDHCA as work products associated with this contract shall comply with 1 TAC Chapter §213 accessibility requirements.

(2) Vendor shall provide TDHCA with the URL to its Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) for reviewing compliance with the State of Texas Accessibility requirements (based on the federal standards established under §508 of the Rehabilitation Act), or indicate that the product/service accessibility information is available from the General Services Administration “Buy Accessible Wizard” (). Vendors not listed with the “Buy Accessible Wizard” or supplying a URL to their VPAT must provide TDHCA with a report that addresses the same accessibility criteria in substantively the same format. Additional information regarding the “Buy Accessible Wizard” is available at , and the VPAT is located at .

X. SELECTION PROCEDURE

A. The scoring criteria and corresponding weights for the evaluation of submitted Offers based on the Offer Content described in Section IX above is as follows (100 possible points):

1. Ability to provide the Software Service which meets all requirements as described in III. Scope of Work (60 points)

2. Price (40 points)

A. Vendor Past Performance

A Respondent’s past performance will be measured based upon pass/fail criteria, in compliance with applicable provisions of §§2155.074, 2155.075, 2156.007, 2157.003, and 2157.125, Texas Government Code, and according to the Department’s rules regarding past-due audits and previous participation reviews found in Texas Administrative Code Title 10, Part 1, Chapter 1, Subchapter A §§1.3 and 1.5.

Respondents may fail this selection criterion for any of the following conditions:

- A score of less than 90% in the Vendor Performance System,

- Currently under a Corrective Action Plan through the Comptroller of Public Accounts (CPA),

- Having repeated negative Vendor Performance Reports for the same reason,

- Having purchase orders that have been cancelled in the previous 12 months for non-performance (i.e. late delivery, etc.),

- Having a past-due audit,

- Having unresolved audit findings or unresolved questioned or disallowed costs,

- Findings of noncompliance with state, federal, and/or program rules,

- Findings of material noncompliance with any Department-funded program.

Contractor performance information is located on the CPA web site at: CPA may conduct reference checks with other entities regarding past performance. In addition to evaluating performance through the Vendor Performance Tracking System (as authorized by 34 Texas Administrative Code §20.108), CPA may examine other sources of vendor performance including, but not limited to, notices of termination, cure notices, assessments of liquidated damages, litigation, audit reports, and non-renewals of contracts. Any such investigations shall be at the sole discretion of CPA, and any negative findings, as determined by CPA, may result in non-award to the Respondent.

In accordance with law, TDHCA will make its selection based upon its perception of the need for the Provider and the demonstrated competence, experience, knowledge, and qualifications to perform the required services. TDHCA reserves the right to make those decisions after receipt of responses, and TDHCA’s decision on these matters is final.

XI. WORK MADE FOR HIRE

All work performed pursuant to this agreement specifically including all deliverables developed or prepared for Department is the exclusive property of the State of Texas. All right, title and interest in and to said property shall vest in the State of Texas and shall be deemed to be a work made for hire and made in the course of the services rendered pursuant to this agreement. To the extent that title to any work may not, by operation of law, vest in the State of Texas or such work that may not be considered a work made for hire, all rights, title and interest therein are hereby irrevocably assigned to the State of Texas.

The Department and/or the State of Texas shall have the right to obtain and to hold in its own name, copyrights, registrations, or such other protection as may be appropriate to the subject matter, and any extensions and renewals thereof. Contractor agrees to give Department and/or the State of Texas and any person designated by the Department and/or the State of Texas, reasonable assistance required to assert the rights defined in this paragraph.

XII. LICENSE AGREEMENT

The Department shall grant to the awarded contractor a non-exclusive, irrevocable, world-wide, royalty-free, license to use, reproduce, distribute and display the materials created pursuant to this agreement, subject to the following terms and conditions.

Each copy of the materials that the contractor distributes shall indicate on the cover that the creation of the material was funded by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. The contractor agrees that it will not charge a fee for the distribution of the materials, except to recover actual duplication and mailing costs. Contractor shall not create derivatives of or modify the content of the materials except with the express written consent of the Department.

Failure to comply with the terms of this license may result in immediate termination of the license agreement by the Department. Upon termination of this license agreement, contractor shall return the remaining materials to the Department, or shall destroy or distribute them, in accordance with the instructions of the Department

XIII. OPEN RECORDS/E-VERIFY SYSTEM

A. OPEN RECORDS

Information submitted to the Department is public information and is available upon request in accordance with the Texas Public Information Act, chapter 552 of the Government Code (the “Act”).  A contractor submitting any information it considers confidential (such as trade secrets or commercial or financial information) which it desires not to be disclosed, must clearly identify all such information in its Offer.  If information so identified by an applicant is requested from the Department, the contractor has an opportunity, pursuant to the Act, to present its arguments to the Texas Attorney General, who shall make the final determination as to whether such information is excepted from disclosure under the Act.  Information not clearly identified as confidential will be deemed to be non-confidential and will be made available by the Department upon request.

Contractor is required to make any information created or exchanged with TDHCA pursuant to this contract, and not otherwise excepted from disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA), available in a format that is accessible by the public at no additional charge to TDHCA. The following are the format requirements of this contract:

1. Information created or exchanged with TDHCA on paper will be made available either on paper or scanned Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

2. Information created or exchanged with TDHCA through email, email attachments, or other form of electronic file transfer will be made available in the same format in which it was originally created or exchanged, with the following exception.  If the requestor is unable to read the original format with software that they already own or is available at no cost, the vendor will either print the requested information, convert it to PDF, or after obtaining approval from TDHCA, convert it to another file format that can be read with software that is available at no cost.

3. Information created or exchanged with TDHCA through software applications and stored in databases will be made available through an export to comma-separated values (CSV) format or, after the vendor obtains approval from TDHCA, another format that can be read with software that is available at no cost.

An information request received by the contractor directly from the public will be communicated to TDHCA by the close of the business day after the day the request is received. After gathering all information that is responsive to the request, but in no event later than 5 business days after receiving the information request, the contractor will transfer the information to TDHCA for review so that TDHCA can redact information that TDHCA is specifically authorized to redact, and determine whether any of the information should be otherwise withheld. The contractor shall not provide any requested information directly to the public.

If contractor cannot gather and transfer all responsive information to TDHCA within the 5 business day time limit, contractor shall contact Jeff Pender, TDHCA Legal Services at (512) 475-4752, as soon as it determines it cannot make the 5 business day deadline, but, in no event any later than 3 business days after receiving the request for information.

Requirement to use E-Verify System

Contractor shall obtain authorization to use, and shall use, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system to determine the eligibility status of all persons, including subcontractors, hired, employed or otherwise assigned to perform work pursuant to the Contract within the United States of America. Upon the request of TDHCA, Contractor shall provide proof of current authorization to use the E-Verify system, and an electronic or hardcopy screenshot of the confirmation or tentative non-confirmation screen containing the E-Verify case verification number for such persons.

If Contractor fails to produce proof of current authorization or the required electronic or hardcopy screenshots the Contract may be immediately terminated, at the discretion of the state and at no fault to the state, with no prior notification. The Contractor shall also be responsible for the costs of any re-solicitation that the state must undertake to replace the terminated Contract.

XIV. DISCLOSURE

If Vendor is selected, then upon notification that Vendor has been selected, Vendor shall submit to the Department a copy of the Certificate of Interested Parties that Vendor has filed with the Texas Ethics Commission pursuant to 1 TAC Chapter 46 .  If this procurement notice indicates that the contract will be composed of this procurement notice, the Vendor’s signed response, and any additional terms agreed to in writing, the contract will be effective only upon the receipt by the Department of a copy of the properly executed and filed Certificate of Interested Parties, and the execution and issuance by the Department of the purchase order for these services. If this procurement notice indicates that the contract will be composed of a single written agreement, the contract will be final only upon the receipt by the Department of a copy of the properly executed and filed Certificate of Interested Parties, and the execution of the contract by both parties.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download