STATE OF NEW MEXICO

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

Department of Public Safety Food Management Services

RFP# 26-790-1000-00003

RFP Release Date: January 23, 2026

Proposal Due Date: March 6, 2026

ELECTRONIC-ONLY PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Commodity Codes: 96138 Food Preparation Services

RFP 26-790-1000-00003

DPS Food Management Services

Table of Contents

A. PURPOSE OF THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

B. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

C. SCOPE OF PROCUREMENT

D. PROCUREMENT MANAGER

E. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

F. DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGY

G. PROCUREMENT LIBRARY

II. CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE PROCUREMENT

A. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

B. EXPLANATION OF EVENTS

1. Issue RFP

2. Pre-Proposal Conference/Site Visit

3. Deadline to Submit Written Questions

4. Response to Written Questions

5. Submission of Proposal

6. Proposal Evaluation

7. Selection of Finalists

8. Oral Presentations

10. Best and Final Offers

11. Finalize Contractual Agreements

12. Contract Awards

13. Protest Deadline

C. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Acceptance of Conditions Governing the Procurement

2. Incurring Cost

3. Prime Contractor Responsibility

4. Subcontractors/Consent

5. Amended Proposals

6. Offeror’s Rights to Withdraw Proposal

7. Proposal Offer Firm

8. Disclosure of Proposal Contents

9. No Obligation

10. Termination

11. Sufficient Appropriation

12. Legal Review

13. Governing Law

14. Basis for Proposal

15. Contract Terms and Conditions

16. Offeror’s Terms and Conditions

17. Contract Deviations

18. Offeror Qualifications

19. Right to Waive Minor Irregularities

20. Change in Contractor Representatives

21. Notice of Penalties

22. Agency Rights

23. Right to Publish

24. Ownership of Proposals

25. Confidentiality

26. Electronic mail address required

27. Use of Electronic Versions of this RFP

DPS Food Management Services

28. New Mexico Employees Health Coverage

29. Campaign Contribution Disclosure Form

30. Letter of Transmittal

31. Disclosure Regarding Responsibility

32. New Mexico/Native American Resident Preferences

33. IRS W-9 Form and New Mexico Substitute W-9 Form

III. RESPONSE FORMAT AND ORGANIZATION

A. NUMBER OF RESPONSES

B. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION

C. PROPOSAL CONTENT AND ORGANIZATION

IV. SPECIFICATIONS

A. DETAILED SCOPE OF WORK

B. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

1. Organizational Experience

2. Organizational References

3. Mandatory Specifications

C. BUSINESS SPECIFICATIONS

1. Financial Stability

2. Letter of Transmittal Form

3. Campaign Contribution Disclosure Form

4. New Mexico Resident/Native American Resident Preference

5. IRS W-9 and New Mexico State Substitute W-9

6. Oral Presentation

7. Cost Proposal

V. EVALUATION

A. EVALUATION POINT SUMMARY

B. EVALUATION FACTORS

C. EVALUATION PROCESS

APPENDIX A

SAMPLE CONTRACT

APPENDIX B

CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION DISCLOSURE FORM

APPENDIX C

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL FORM

APPENDIX D

COST PROPOSAL FORM

APPENDIX E

ORGANIZATIONAL REFERENCE QUESTIONNAIRE

APPENDIX F

NEW MEXICO SUBSTITUTE W-9

APPENDIX G

ADM: 35 DPS FACILITY IDENTIFICATION BADGE POLICY

DPS Food Management Services

APPENDIX H

DPS EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION BADGE FORM

DPS Food Management Services

I. INTRODUCTION

A. PURPOSE OF THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The purpose of the Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit sealed proposals to establish a contract through competitive negotiations to procure full meal service for cadets, recruits, students, personnel, instructors and visitors to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety (DPS) and New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy (NMLEA).

B. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The mission of the DPS is to promote a safe and secure environment for the State of New Mexico through intelligently led policing practices, vital scientific and technical support, current and relevant training, and innovative leadership for our greater law enforcement community.

The DPS is committed to providing the highest quality of public safety services for the State of New Mexico and its law enforcement community through constant evaluation and development of efforts to become a national model in providing ethical, innovative, effective, efficient, and customer-oriented, public safety services to the citizens and visitors of New Mexico.

The NMLEA is a division within DPS. The mission of the NMLEA is to provide exceptional basic training and in-service instruction to cadets, officers and telecommunicators that is built upon a foundation of character, competence, compassion, commitment, and comprehensive teamwork anchored with a base of exceptional service to the communities and the agencies we serve.

C. SCOPE OF PROCUREMENT

As stated in Section I.B., the DPS serves a vital link to public safety services for the community and its employees. As such, the DPS is seeking a dynamic and experienced contractor to manage and operate a food management services program at the NMLEA in accordance with all federal and state licensing, standards, certifications, and DPS policies and procedures.

An onsite commercial cafeteria and self-service dining facility is available to provide three (3) meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and three (3) scheduled snacks, Sunday through Saturday, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time, when classes are in session and during special events.

Meals for non-students may be provided on a cash basis.

The term of this agreement shall be for one (1) year from date of contract execution with the option to extend for a period(s) of nine (9) additional years, on a year-to-year basis, by mutual agreement of all parties. This agreement shall not exceed ten (10) years as set forth in 13-1-150 NMSA 1978, including extensions and renewals.

This procurement will result in a contractual agreement with one party; the procurement may ONLY be used by this party exclusively.

DPS Food Management Services

D. PROCUREMENT MANAGER

New DPS has assigned a Procurement Manager who is responsible for the conduct of this procurement whose name, address, telephone number and e-mail address are listed below:

Marilee P. Gallacher, SPSM, CPO Chief Procurement Officer Telephone: (505) 394-5669 Email: DPS-Contracts@dps.nm.gov

1. Any inquiries or requests regarding this procurement must be submitted, in writing, to the Procurement Manager. Offerors may contact ONLY the Procurement Manager regarding this procurement. Other state employees or Evaluation Committee members do not have the authority to respond on behalf of the DPS.

2. Protests of the solicitation or award must be submitted in writing to the Protest Manager identified in Section II.B.13. As a Protest Manager has been named in this Request for Proposals, pursuant to §13-1-172 NMSA 1978 and 1.4.1.82 NMAC, ONLY protests delivered directly to the Protest Manager in writing and in a timely fashion will be considered to have been submitted properly and in accordance with statute, rule and this Request for Proposals. Protests submitted or delivered to the Procurement Manager will NOT be considered properly submitted.

E. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Submissions of all proposals must be accomplished via Bonfire electronic procurement system. Refer to Section III.B.1 for instructions.

F. DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGY

This section contains definitions of terms used throughout this procurement document, including appropriate abbreviations:

1. “Agency” means the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, who is the sponsor of this Procurement.

2. “Award” means the final execution of the contract document.

3. “Business Hours” means weekdays (Monday – Friday) 8:00 AM thru 5:00 PM

MST/MDT, whichever is in effect on the date given.

4. “Close of Business” means weekdays (Monday – Friday) 5:00 PM MST/MDT, whichever is in effect on the date given.

DPS Food Management Services

5. “Confidential” means confidential financial information concerning Offeror’s organization and data that qualifies as a trade secret in accordance with the Uniform Trade Secrets Act §§57-3-A-1 through 57-3A-7 NMSA 1978,. See also NMAC 1.4.1.45. The following items may not be labelled as confidential: Offeror’s submitted Cost response, Staff/Personnel Resumes/Bios (excluding personal information such as personal telephone numbers and/or home addresses), and other submitted data that is not confidential financial information or that qualifies under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

6. “Contract” means any agreement for the procurement of items of tangible personal property, services or construction.

7. “Contractor” means any business having a contract with a state agency or local public body.

8. “Determination” means the written documentation of a decision of a procurement officer including findings of fact required to support a decision. A determination becomes part of the procurement file to which it pertains.

9. “Desirable” – the terms “may,” “can,” “should,” “preferably,” or “prefers” identify a desirable or discretionary item or factor.

10. “DPS” means the State of New Mexico Department of Public Safety, or New Mexico Department of Public Safety.

11. “Electronic Submission” means a successful submittal of Offeror’s proposal in the Bonfire system.

12. “Electronic Version/Copy” means a digital format consisting of text, images or both, readable on computers or other electronic devices, which includes all content that the Original document contains. The electronic version/copy CANNOT be emailed.

13. “Evaluation Committee” means a body appointed to perform the evaluation of Offerors’ proposals.

14. “Evaluation Committee Report” means a report prepared by the Procurement Manager and the Evaluation Committee to support the Committee’s recommendation for contract award. It will contain scores and written evaluations of all responsive Offeror proposals.

15. “Final Award” means, in the context of this Request for Proposals and all its attendant documents, that point at which the final required signature on the contract(s) resulting from the procurement has been affixed to the contract(s) thus making it fully executed.

16. “Finalist” means an Offeror who meets all the mandatory specifications of this Request for Proposals and whose score on evaluation factors is sufficiently high to merit further consideration by the Evaluation Committee, as explained in Section II.B.8.

DPS Food Management Services

17. “Hourly Rate” means the proposed fully loaded maximum hourly rates that include travel, per diem, fringe benefits and any overhead costs for contractor personnel, as well as subcontractor personnel if appropriate.

18. “IT” means Information Technology.

19. “LEA” or “NMLEA” means the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy.

20. “Mandatory” – the terms “must,” “shall” “will,” “is required,” or “are required,” identify a mandatory item or factor. Failure to meet a mandatory item or factor may result in the rejection of the Offeror’s proposal.

21. “Minor Irregularities” means anything in the proposal that does not affect the price, quality and/or quantity, or any other mandatory requirement.

22. “Multiple Source Award” means an award of a contract for one or more items of tangible personal property, services or construction to more than one Offeror.

23. “NMSP” means the New Mexico State Police.

24. “Offeror” is any person, corporation, or partnership who chooses to submit a proposal.

25. “Price Agreement” means a definite quantity contract or indefinite quantity contract which requires the contractor to furnish items of tangible personal property, services or construction to a state agency or a local public body which issues a purchase order, if the purchase order is within the quantity limitations of the contract, if any.

26. “Procurement Manager” means any person or designee authorized by a state agency or local public body with the responsibility, authority, and resources to conduct the RFP procurement, make written determinations regarding the RFP procurement, and/or enter into or administer contracts as a result of the RFP procurement.

27. “Procuring Agency" means all State of New Mexico agencies, commissions, institutions, political subdivisions and local public bodies allowed by law to procure items of tangible personal property, services or construction from the agreement(s) awarded as a result of this RFP.

28. “Project” means a temporary process undertaken to solve a well-defined goal or objective with clearly defined start and end times, a set of clearly defined tasks, and a budget. The project terminates once the project scope is achieved and project acceptance is given by the project executive sponsor.

29. “Redacted” means a version/copy of the Offeror’s proposal with the information considered proprietary or confidential (as defined by §§57-3A-1 to 57-3A-7 NMSA 1978 and NMAC 1.4.1.45 and summarized herein and outlined in Section II.C.8 of this RFP) blacked-out BUT NOT omitted or removed.

DPS Food Management Services

30. “Request for Proposals (RFP)” means all documents, including those attached or incorporated by reference, used for soliciting proposals.

31. “Responsible Offeror" means an Offeror who submits a responsive proposal and who has furnished, when required, information and data to prove that his financial resources, production or service facilities, personnel, service reputation and experience are adequate to make satisfactory delivery of the services, or items of tangible personal property described in the proposal.

32. “Responsive Offer” or means an offer which conforms in all material respects to the requirements set forth in the request for proposals. Material respects of a request for proposals include, but are not limited to price, quality, quantity or delivery requirements.

33. “Sealed” means, in terms of electronic submission, an Offeror’s proposal and all accompanying documents has been completely and successfully uploaded into the Bonfire system prior to the submission deadline stated in the RFP.

34. “Single Source Award” means an award of contract for items of tangible personal property, services or construction to only one Offeror.

35. “Staff” means any individual who is a full-time, part-time, or an independently contracted employee with the Offerors’ company.

36. “State (the State)” means the State of New Mexico.

37. “Statement of Concurrence” means an affirmative statement from the Offeror indicating its response to a required Section IV specification agreeing to comply and concur with the stated requirement(s).

38. “Unredacted” means a version/copy of the proposal containing all complete information;

including any that the Offeror would otherwise consider confidential, such copy for use only for the purposes of evaluation.

39. “Written” means typed in standard 8 ½ x 11 inch document format, by common electronic means (such as Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF, etc.). A larger size document is permissible for charts, spreadsheets, etc.

G. PROCUREMENT LIBRARY

A procurement library has been established. Offerors are encouraged to review the material contained in the Procurement Library by selecting the link provided in this document through your own internet connection. The library contains information listed below:

RFP, Questions & Answers, RFP Amendments, etc.

https://nmdps.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities

DPS Food Management Services

II. CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE PROCUREMENT

This section of the RFP contains the schedule of events, the descriptions of each event, and the conditions governing this procurement.

A. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

The Procurement Manager will make every effort to adhere to the following schedule:

Action Responsible Party Due Dates

1. Issue RFP in Bonfire Agency 1/25/2026

2. Mandatory Pre-Proposal

Conference/Site Visit Agency 2/10/2026

10:00 AM MST/MDT

3. Deadline to submit Written Questions via Bonfire

Potential Offerors 2/12/2026

3:00 PM MST/MDT

4. Response to Written Questions via Bonfire

Procurement Manager 2/16/2026

5. Submission of Proposal via Bonfire

Potential Offerors 3/6/2026

3:00 PM MST/MDT

6.* Proposal Evaluation Begins Evaluation Committee 3/10/2026 7.* Selection of Finalists Evaluation Committee TBD 8.* Oral Presentations Evaluation Committee TBD

9. * Food Sample Demonstration Finalist Offerors TBD 10.* Best and Final Offers Finalist Offerors TBD 11.* Finalize Contractual

Agreements Agency/Finalist Offerors

TBD

12.* Contract Awards Agency/ Finalist Offerors

TBD

13.* Protest Deadline Agency 15 days of Contract award

5:00 PM MST/MDT

*Dates indicated in Events 6 through 12 are estimates only and may be subject to change without necessitating an amendment to the RFP.

B. EXPLANATION OF EVENTS

The following paragraphs describe the activities listed in the Sequence of Events shown in Section II.A., above.

1. Issue RFP This RFP is being issued on behalf of the New Mexico Department of Public Safety on the date indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events.

DPS Food Management Services

2. Pre-Proposal Conference/Site Visit An in-person mandatory pre-proposal conference/site visit will be held as indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events, beginning at 10:00 AM MST/MDT. All DPS visitors MUST be escorted at all times. Visitors will need to check in and present a valid driver’s license at the front desk at 4491 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, NM. Upon arrival visitors will need to call Jimmy Rodriguez @ 505-479-2736.

Potential Offeror(s) are encouraged to submit written questions in advance of the conference via Bonfire. The identity of the organization submitting the question(s) will not be revealed. Additional written questions may be submitted at the conference. All questions answered during the Pre-Proposal Conference will be considered unofficial until they are posted in writing. All written questions will be addressed in writing on the date listed in Section II.A, Sequence of Events. A public log will be kept of the names of potential Offeror(s) that attended the pre-proposal conference.

Attendance at the pre-proposal conference/site visit is mandatory and is a prerequisite for submission of a proposal.

3. Deadline to Submit Written Questions Potential Offerors may submit written questions on the Bonfire portal as to the intent or clarity of this RFP as indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events. All written questions must be addressed to the Procurement Manager as declared in Section I.D. Questions shall be clearly labeled and shall cite the Section(s) and page number in the RFP or other document which form the basis of the question. The Bonfire link is:

https://nmdps.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities

4. Response to Written Questions Written responses to the written questions will be posted in the Bonfire portal on or before the date indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events. Some questions may be answered directly on Bonfire in response to a specific question, while others may be answered in the form of an RFP Amendment. Accessible will be available to all potential Offerors have opened a (free) Bonfire account in order to participate in this RFP.

The Questions and Answers will be posted to:

https://nmdps.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities

5. Submission of Proposal Only electronic proposal submission is allowed.

ALL PROPOSALS MUST BE FULLY SUBMITTED IN THE BONFIRE SYSTEM NO LATER

THAN 3:00 PM MST/MDT ON THE DATE INDICATED IN SECTION II.A, SEQUENCE

OF EVENTS. NO LATE PROPOSAL CAN BE ACCEPTED. The date and time of receipt will be recorded on each proposal. Proposals will be time-stamped in the system when the Offeror finalizes their submission. Such electronic submissions will be considered sealed in accordance with statute.

DPS Food Management Services

It is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure all documents are completely uploaded and submitted electronically via the Bonfire system by the deadline set forth in this RFP. The Bonfire system will automatically cease uploading data at the date and time of the deadline. Please ensure that you, as the Offeror, allow adequate time for large uploads and to fully complete your submittal by the deadline. A submission that is not both: (1) fully complete; and (2) received, via the Bonfire system by the deadline, will be deemed late. Further, a submission that is not fully complete and received via the Bonfire system by the deadline because the response was captured, blocked, filtered, quarantined or otherwise prevented from reaching the proper destination server by any anti-virus or other security software will be deemed late. In accordance with statute and rule, NO LATE

PROPOSALS CAN BE ACCEPTED.

Proposals must be submitted electronically through the Bonfire system. Refer to Section III.B.1 for instructions. Proposals submitted by facsimile, or other electronic means other than through the Bonfire system, will not be accepted.

A log will be kept of the names of all Offeror organizations that submitted proposals.

Pursuant to §13-1-116 NMSA 1978, the contents of proposals shall not be disclosed to competing potential Offerors during the negotiation process. The negotiation process is deemed to be in effect until the contract is awarded pursuant to this Request for Proposals.

Awarded in this context means the final required state agency signature on the contract(s) resulting from the procurement has been obtained.

6. Proposal Evaluation An Evaluation Committee will perform the evaluation of proposals. This process will take place as indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events, depending upon the number of proposals received. During this time, the Procurement Manager may initiate discussions with Offerors who submit responsive or potentially responsive proposals for the purpose of clarifying aspects of the proposals. However, proposals may be accepted and evaluated without such discussion. Discussions SHALL NOT be initiated by the Offerors.

7. Selection of Finalists The Evaluation Committee may select, and the Procurement Manager will notify the finalist Offerors as per schedule Section II.A, Sequence of Events or as soon as possible thereafter. Finalists will be comprised of up to four (4) Offerors receiving the highest cumulative scores based upon the evaluation criteria.

8. Oral Presentations Finalist Offerors, as selected per Section II.B.8 above, may be required to conduct an oral presentation at a venue to be determined as per schedule Section II.A., Sequence of Events, or as soon as possible thereafter. If Oral Presentations are held, Finalist Offerors may be required to make their presentations through electronic means (Microsoft Teams, Zoom, etc.). The Agency will provide Finalist Offerors with an agenda and applicable details (such as, scheduled presentation date and time, time limits, etc.); including an invitation to the event. Whether or not Oral Presentations will be held is at the sole discretion of the Evaluation Committee.

DPS Food Management Services

9. Food Sample Demonstration After completion of initial written proposal evaluations, DPS reserves the right to invite the top four (4) ranked Offerors to participate in a Food Sample Demonstration as part of the final evaluation process. Participation in the food sample demonstration is mandatory for shortlisted Offerors. Failure to participate may result in disqualification from further consideration.

10. Best and Final Offers Finalist Offerors may be asked to submit revisions to their proposals for the purpose of obtaining best and final offers by as per schedule Section II. A., Sequence of Events or as soon as possible.

11. Finalize Contractual Agreements After approval of the Evaluation Committee Report, any contractual agreement(s) resulting from this RFP will be finalized with the most advantageous Offeror(s), taking into consideration the evaluation factors set forth in this RFP, as per Section II.A., Sequence of Events, or as soon as possible thereafter. The most advantageous proposal may or may not have received the most points. In the event mutually agreeable terms cannot be reached with the apparent most advantageous Offeror in the timeframe specified, the State reserves the right to finalize a contractual agreement with the next most advantageous Offeror(s) without undertaking a new procurement process.

12. Contract Awards The award is subject to appropriate Department and State approval. Upon receipt of the signed contractual agreement, the Agency Procurement office will award as per Section II.A., Sequence of Events, or as soon as possible thereafter.

13. Protest Deadline Any protest by an Offeror must be timely submitted and in conformance with §13-1-172 NMSA 1978 and applicable procurement regulations. As a Protest Manager has been named in this Request for Proposals, pursuant to §13-1-172 NMSA 1978 and 1.4.1.82 NMAC, ONLY protests delivered directly to the Protest Manager in writing and in a timely fashion will be considered to have been submitted properly and in accordance with statute, rule and this Request for Proposals. The 15-calendar day protest period shall begin on the day following the notice of award of contract(s) and will end at 5:00 PM MST/MDT on the 15th day. Protests must be written and must include the name and address of the protestor and the request for proposal number. It must also contain a statement of the grounds for protest including appropriate supporting exhibits and it must specify the ruling requested from the party listed below. The protest must be directed to:

Julie M. Gallardo DPS Acting Chief Legal Counsel 4491 Cerrillos Road Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507 Julie.Gallardo@dps.nm.gov mailto:Julie.Gallardo@dps.nm.gov

DPS Food Management Services

PROTESTS RECEIVED AFTER THE DEADLINE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

C. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Acceptance of Conditions Governing the Procurement Offerors must indicate their acceptance to be bound by the Conditions Governing the Procurement, Section II.C, and Evaluation, Section V, by completing and signing the Letter of Transmittal form, pursuant to the requirements in Section II.C.30, located in

APPENDIX C.

2. Incurring Cost Any cost incurred by the potential Offeror in preparation, transmittal, and/or presentation of any proposal or material submitted in response to this RFP shall be borne solely by the Offeror. Any cost incurred by the Offeror for setup and demonstration of the proposed equipment and/or system, if applicable, shall be borne solely by the Offeror.

3. Prime Contractor Responsibility Any contractual agreement that may result from this RFP shall specify that the prime contractor is solely responsible for fulfillment of all requirements of the contractual agreement with a State Agency which may derive from this RFP. The State Agency entering into a contractual agreement with a vendor will make payments to only the prime contractor.

4. Subcontractors/Consent The use of subcontractors is allowed. The prime contractor shall be wholly responsible for the entire performance of the contractual agreement whether or not subcontractors are used. Additionally, the prime contractor must receive approval, in writing, from the agency awarding any resultant contract, before any subcontractor is used during the term of this agreement.

5. Amended Proposals An Offeror may submit an amended proposal before the proposal due date. Such amended proposals must be complete replacements for a previously submitted proposal and must be clearly identified as such in the transmittal letter. Agency personnel will not merge, collate, or assemble proposal materials.

6. Offeror’s Rights to Withdraw Proposal Offerors will be allowed to withdraw their proposals at any time prior to the deadline for receipt of proposals. The Offeror must submit a written withdrawal request addressed to the Procurement Manager and signed by the Offeror’s duly authorized representative.

The approval or denial of withdrawal requests received after the deadline for receipt of the proposals is governed by the applicable procurement regulations, 1.4.1.5 & 1.4.1.36

NMAC.

DPS Food Management Services

7. Proposal Offer Firm Responses to this RFP, including proposal prices for services, will be considered firm for one-hundred eighty (180) days after the due date for receipt of proposals or one hundred fifty (150) days after the due date for the receipt of a best and final offer, if the Offeror is invited or required to submit one.

8. Disclosure of Proposal Contents The contents of all submitted proposals will be kept confidential until the final award has been completed by the Agency. At that time, all proposals and documents pertaining to the proposals will be available for public inspection, except for proprietary or confidential material as follows:

a. Proprietary and Confidential information is restricted to:

1) confidential financial information concerning the Offeror’s organization; and

2) information that qualifies as a trade secret in accordance with the Uniform

Trade Secrets Act, §§57-3A-1 through 57-3A-7 NMSA 1978.

b. An additional but separate redacted version of Offeror’s proposal, as outlined and identified in Section III.B.2.a, shall be submitted containing the blacked-out proprietary or confidential information, in order to facilitate eventual public inspection of the non-confidential version of Offeror’s proposal.

IMPORTANT: The price of products offered or the cost of services proposed SHALL NOT be designated as proprietary or confidential information.

If a request is received for disclosure of proprietary or confidential materials, the Agency shall examine the request and make a written determination that specifies which portions of the proposal should be disclosed. Unless the Offeror takes legal action to prevent the disclosure, the proposal will be so disclosed. The proposal shall be open to public inspection subject to any continuing prohibition on the disclosure of proprietary or confidential information.

9. No Obligation This RFP in no manner obligates the State of New Mexico or any of its Agencies to the use of any Offeror’s services until a valid written contract is awarded and approved by appropriate authorities.

10. Termination This RFP may be canceled at any time and any and all proposals may be rejected in whole or in part when the Agency determines such action to be in the best interest of the State of New Mexico.

11. Sufficient Appropriation Any contract awarded as a result of this RFP process may be terminated if sufficient appropriations or authorizations do not exist. Such terminations will be affected by sending written notice to the contractor. The Agency’s decision as to whether sufficient appropriations and authorizations are available will be accepted by the contractor as final.

DPS Food Management Services

12. Legal Review The Agency requires that all Offerors agree to be bound by the General Requirements contained in this RFP. Any Offeror’s concerns must be promptly submitted in writing to the attention of the Procurement Manager.

13. Governing Law This RFP and any agreement with an Offeror which may result from this procurement shall be governed by the laws of the State of New Mexico.

14. Basis for Proposal Only information supplied in writing by the Procurement Manager or contained in this RFP shall be used as the basis for the preparation of Offeror proposals.

15. Contract Terms and Conditions The contract between an agency and a contractor will follow the format specified by the Agency and contain the terms and conditions set forth in the Draft Contract (APPENDIX A). However, the contracting agency reserves the right to negotiate provisions in addition to those contained in this RFP Sample Contract (APPENDIX A) with any Offeror. The contents of this RFP, as revised and/or supplemented, and the successful Offeror’s proposal will be incorporated into and become part of any resultant contract.

The Agency discourages exceptions from the contract terms and conditions as set forth in the RFP Sample Contract (APPENDIX A). Such exceptions may cause a proposal to be rejected as nonresponsive when, in the sole judgment of the Agency (and the Evaluation Committee), the proposal appears to be conditioned on the exception, or correction of what is deemed to be a deficiency, or an unacceptable exception is proposed which would require a substantial proposal rewrite to correct.

Should an Offeror object to any of the terms and conditions as set forth in the RFP Sample Contract (APPENDIX A) strongly enough to propose alternate terms and conditions in spite of the above, the Offeror must propose specific alternative language. The Agency may or may not accept the alternative language. General references to the Offeror’s terms and conditions or attempts at complete substitutions of the Draft Contract are not acceptable to the Agency and will result in disqualification of the Offeror’s proposal.

Offerors must provide a brief discussion of the purpose and impact, if any, of each proposed change followed by the specific proposed alternate wording.

If an Offeror fails to propose any alternate terms and conditions during the procurement process (the RFP process prior to selection as successful Offeror), no proposed alternate terms and conditions will be considered later during the negotiation process. Failure to propose alternate terms and conditions during the procurement process (the RFP process prior to selection as successful Offeror) is an explicit agreement by the Offeror that the contractual terms and conditions contained herein are accepted by the Offeror.

DPS Food Management Services

16. Offeror’s Terms and Conditions Offerors must submit with the proposal a complete set of any additional terms and conditions they expect to have included in a contract negotiated with the Agency. See Section II.C.15 for requirements.

17. Contract Deviations Any additional terms and conditions, which may be the subject of negotiation (such terms and conditions having been proposed during the procurement process, that is, the RFP process prior to selection as successful Offeror), will be discussed only between the Agency and the Offeror selected and shall not be deemed an opportunity to amend the Offeror’s proposal.

18. Offeror Qualifications The Evaluation Committee may make such investigations as necessary to determine the ability of the potential Offeror to adhere to the requirements specified within this RFP.

The Evaluation Committee will reject the proposal of any potential Offeror who is not a Responsible Offeror or fails to submit a Responsive Offer as defined in §13-1-83 and §13-

1-85 NMSA 1978.

19. Right to Waive Minor Irregularities The Evaluation Committee reserves the right to waive minor irregularities, as defined in Section I.F.21. The Evaluation Committee also reserves the right to waive mandatory requirements, provided that all of the otherwise responsive proposals failed to meet the same mandatory requirements and the failure to do so does not otherwise materially affect the procurement. This right is at the sole discretion of the Evaluation Committee.

20. Change in Contractor Representatives The Agency reserves the right to require a change in contractor representatives if the assigned representative(s) is (are) not, in the opinion of the Agency, adequately meeting the needs of the Agency.

21. Notice of Penalties The Procurement Code, §§13-1-28 through 13-1-199 NMSA 1978, imposes civil, and misdemeanor and felony criminal penalties for its violation. In addition, the New Mexico criminal statutes impose felony penalties for bribes, gratuities and kickbacks.

22. Agency Rights The Agency in agreement with the Evaluation Committee reserves the right to accept all or a portion of a potential Offeror’s proposal.

23. Right to Publish Throughout the duration of this procurement process and contract term, Offerors and contractors must secure from the agency written approval prior to the release of any information that pertains to the potential work or activities covered by this procurement and/or agency contracts deriving from this procurement. Failure to adhere to this

DPS Food Management Services requirement may result in disqualification of the Offeror’s proposal or removal from the contract.

24. Ownership of Proposals All documents submitted in response to the RFP shall become property of the State of New Mexico. If the RFP is cancelled, all responses received shall be destroyed by the Agency.

25. Confidentiality Any confidential information provided to, or developed by, the contractor in the performance of the contract resulting from this RFP shall be kept confidential and shall not be made available to any individual or organization by the contractor without the prior written approval of the Agency.

The Contractor(s) agrees to protect the confidentiality of all confidential information and not to publish or disclose such information to any third party without the procuring Agency's written permission.

26. Electronic mail address required A large part of the communication regarding this procurement will be conducted by electronic mail (e-mail). Offeror must have a valid e-mail address to receive this correspondence. (See also Section II.B.5, Response to Written Questions).

27. Use of Electronic Versions of this RFP This RFP is being made available by electronic means. In the event of conflict between a version of the RFP in the Offeror’s possession and the version maintained by the Agency, the Offeror acknowledges that the version maintained by the Agency shall govern. Please refer to the documents on the Bonfire portal:

https://nmdps.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities

28. New Mexico Employees Health Coverage A. If the Offeror has, or grows to, six (6) or more employees who work, or who are expected to work, an average of at least 20 hours per week over a six (6) month period during the term of the contract, Offeror must agree to have in place, and agree to maintain for the term of the contract, health insurance for those employees if the expected annual value in the aggregate of any and all contracts between Contractor and the State exceed $250,000 dollars.

B. Offeror must agree to maintain a record of the number of employees who have (a) accepted health insurance; (b) decline health insurance due to other health insurance coverage already in place; or (c) decline health insurance for other reasons. These records are subject to review and audit by a representative of the State.

C. Offeror must agree to advise all employees of the availability of State publicly financed health care coverage programs by providing each employee with, as a minimum, the following web site link to additional information: https://bewellnm.com.

https://bewellnm.com/

DPS Food Management Services

D. For Indefinite Quantity, Indefinite Delivery contracts (price agreements without specific limitations on quantity and providing for an indeterminate number of orders to be placed against it); these requirements shall apply the first day of the second month after the Offeror reports combined sales (from state and, if applicable, from local public bodies if from a state price agreement) of $250,000.

29. Campaign Contribution Disclosure Form Offeror must complete, sign, and return the Campaign Contribution Disclosure Form (APPENDIX B) as a part of their proposal. This requirement applies regardless whether a covered contribution was made or not made for the positions of Governor and Lieutenant Governor or other identified official. Failure to complete and return the signed, unaltered form will result in Offeror’s disqualification.

30. Letter of Transmittal Offeror’s proposal must be accompanied by the Letter of Transmittal Form located in APPENDIX C, which must be signed by the individual authorized to contractually obligate the company, identified in #2 below.

Provide the following information:

A. Identify the submitting business entity; Business Name, Mailing Address, Phone

Number, Federal Tax ID Number (TIN), and New Mexico Business Tax ID Number (BTIN, formerly CRS);

B. Identify the Name, Title, Telephone, and E-mail address of the person authorized by the Offeror’s organization to (A) contractually obligate the business entity providing the Offer, (B) negotiate a contract on behalf of the organization; and/or (C) provide clarifications or answer questions regarding the Offeror’s proposal content (A response to B and/or C is only necessary if the responses differs from the individual identified in A);

C. Identify any subcontractor/s that may be utilized in the performance of any resultant contract award;

D. Identify any other entity/-ies (such as State Agency, reseller, etc., that is not a sub-contractor identified in #3) that may be used in the performance of this awarded contract; and

E. The individual identified in #2 above, must sign and date the form, attesting to the veracity of the information provided, and acknowledging the following: (a) the organization’s acceptance of the Conditions Governing the Procurement stated in Section II.C.1., (b) the organizations acceptance of the Section V. Evaluation Factors, and (c) receipt of any and all amendments to the RFP.

Failure to submit the signed Letter of Transmittal Form located in Appendix C will result in Offeror’s disqualification.

31. Disclosure Regarding Responsibility A. Any prospective Contractor and any of its Principals who enter into a contract greater than sixty thousand dollars ($60,000.00) with any state agency or local public body for

DPS Food Management Services professional services, tangible personal property, services or construction agrees to disclose whether the Contractor, or any principal of the Contractor’s company:

1) is presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, or declared ineligible for award of contract by any federal entity, state agency or local public body;

2) has within a three-year period preceding this offer, been convicted in a criminal matter or had a civil judgment rendered against them for:

a. the commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (federal, state or local) contract or subcontract;

b. violation of Federal or state antitrust statutes related to the submission of offers;

or

c. the commission in any federal or state jurisdiction of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, tax evasion, violation of Federal criminal tax law, or receiving stolen property;

3) is presently indicted for, or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by any (federal state or local) government entity with the commission of any of the offenses enumerated in paragraph A of this disclosure;

4) has, preceding this offer, been notified of any delinquent Federal or state taxes in an amount that exceeds $3,000.00 of which the liability remains unsatisfied. Taxes are considered delinquent if the following criteria apply.

a. The tax liability is finally determined. The liability is finally determined if it has been assessed. A liability is not finally determined if there is a pending administrative or judicial challenge. In the case of a judicial challenge of the liability, the liability is not finally determined until all judicial appeal rights have been exhausted.

b. The taxpayer is delinquent in making payment. A taxpayer is delinquent if the taxpayer has failed to pay the tax liability when full payment was due and required. A taxpayer is not delinquent in cases where enforced collection action is precluded.

c. Have within a three-year period preceding this offer, had one or more contracts terminated for default by any federal or state agency or local public body.)

B. Principal, for the purpose of this disclosure, means an officer, director, owner, partner, or a person having primary management or supervisory responsibilities within a business entity or related entities.

C. The Contractor shall provide immediate written notice to the State Purchasing Agent or other party to this Agreement if, at any time during the term of this Agreement, the Contractor learns that the Contractor’s disclosure was at any time erroneous or became erroneous by reason of changed circumstances.

D. A disclosure that any of the items in this requirement exist will not necessarily result in termination of this Agreement. However, the disclosure will be considered in the determination of the Contractor’s responsibility and ability to perform under this Agreement. Failure of the Contractor to furnish a disclosure or provide additional information as requested will render the Offeror nonresponsive.

E. Nothing contained in the foregoing shall be construed to require establishment of a system of records in order to render, in good faith, the disclosure required by this document. The knowledge and information of a Contractor is not required to exceed that which is the normally possessed by a prudent person in the ordinary course of business dealings.

F. The disclosure requirement provided is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when making an award and is a continuing material representation of the facts during the term of this Agreement. If during the performance of the contract, the Contractor is indicted for or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by any government entity (federal, state or local) with commission of any offenses named in this document the Contractor must provide immediate written notice to the State Purchasing Agent or other party to this Agreement. If it is later determined that the Contractor knowingly rendered an erroneous disclosure, in addition to other remedies available to the Government, the State Purchasing Agent or Central Purchasing Officer may terminate the involved contract for cause. Still further the State Purchasing Agent or Central Purchasing Officer may suspend or debar the Contractor from eligibility for future solicitations until such time as the matter is resolved to the satisfaction of the State Purchasing Agent or Central Purchasing Officer.

32. New Mexico/Native American Resident Preferences To ensure adequate consideration and application of §13-1-21 NMSA 1978 (as amended), Offeror must submit a copy of its valid New Mexico/Native American Resident Preference Certificate or its valid New Mexico/Native American Resident Veteran Preference with its proposal. Certificates for preferences must be obtained through the New Mexico Department of Taxation & Revenue http://www.tax.newmexico.gov/Businesses/in-state-veteran-preference-certification.aspx.

In accordance with §13-1-21(H) NMSA 1978, an agency shall not award any combination of New Mexico/Native American Resident Preferences.

33. IRS W-9 Form and New Mexico Substitute W-9 Form The Offeror must include a completed, signed, and dated IRS W-9 Form with their proposal.

It is strongly requested that the Offeror include a completed, signed, and dated New Mexico Substitute W-9 Form (APPENDIX F), included with their proposal.

34. Proposal Summary A Proposal Summary may be included in Offeror’s Technical Proposal, Binder One, to provide the Evaluation Committee with an overview of the proposal; however, this material will not be used in the evaluation process, unless specifically referenced from other portions of the Offeror’s proposal. DO NOT INCLUDE ANY COST INFORMATION

IN THE PROPOSAL SUMMARY.

http://www.tax.newmexico.gov/Businesses/in-state-veteran-preference-certification.aspx

DPS Food Management Services

III. RESPONSE FORMAT AND ORGANIZATION

A. NUMBER OF RESPONSES

Offerors shall submit only one proposal in response to this RFP.

B. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION

ONLY ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION VIA BONFIRE SYSTEM IS PERMITTED

(https://nmdps.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities)

Submissions may be amended, but only before the Submission Deadline. Proponents wishing to amend their Proposal may amend before the Submission Deadline directly on the Bonfire e-procurement Portal. Please note that submissions may contain multiple PDF documents.

Communicating of All RFP Documents and Addenda, DPS will use the BonfireHub website, https://nmdps.bonfirehub.com (the “Portal”) and initiate the communication electronically through the Vendor Discussions, or Ask a Question feature. The Organization will not accept any respondent’s communications by any other means, except as specifically stated in this

RFP.

Any proposal that does not adhere to the requirements of this Section III.B and Section III.C Proposal Content and Organization may be deemed non-responsive and rejected on that basis.

1. Electronic Submission Requirements

a. Register in Bonfire well in advance of the submission deadline - In order to submit a response to this RFP, Offeror’s registration must be 100% Complete, in the Bonfire System. It is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure the registration process is completed in enough time to upload its proposal documents by the deadline set forth in this RFP. The registration page may be accessed via the following link:

https://nmdps.bonfirehub.com

b. Follow all submission instructions - Proposals must be submitted in the manner outlined in Sections III.B.2 and organized in accordance with Section III.C. The Technical Proposal and the Cost Proposal must each be submitted as individual, separate uploads, and must be prominently identified as “Technical Proposal – Binder One” and Binder Two, if applicable, and “Cost Proposal – Binder Three” as the title of the upload and on the front page of each, separate, upload.

c. Complete proposal upload prior to submission deadline - It is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure all documents are completely uploaded and submitted electronically via the Bonfire system by the deadline set forth in this RFP. The Bonfire system will automatically cease uploading data at the date and time of the https://nmdps.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=openOpportunities https://nmdps.bonfirehub.com/ https://nmdps.bonfirehub.com/

DPS Food Management Services deadline. Please ensure that you, as the Offeror, allow adequate time for large uploads and to fully complete your submittal by the deadline. A submission that is not both: (1) fully complete; and (2) received, via the Bonfire system by the deadline, will be deemed late.