2026 DHE ORP Attorney_RFR.docx

REQUEST FOR RESPONSE

DHE ORP Retirement Plan Attorney COMMBUYS Bid# BD-27-1088-RGT01-RGT01-132759

THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

MASSACHUSETTS DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

One Ashburton Place, Suite 1401, Boston, MA 02108

Request for Response (RFR)

Document Title: DHE Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) Attorney

COMMBUYS Bid# BD-27-1088-RGT01-RGT01-132759

August 24, 2026

1. Description or Purpose of Procurement:

The Department of Higher Education (“DHE” or the “Department”) as Plan Administrator for the Massachusetts Optional Retirement Plan (“ORP” or the “Plan”) seeks to enter into a contract with a qualified organization (Vendor) to provide legal services to the Massachusetts Optional Retirement Plan.

Applicable Procurement Law

Executive Branch Goods and Services

2. Acquisition Method:

3. Whether Single or Multiple Contractors are Required for Contract:

Check One (“X”):

a. Estimated Number of Awards

The target maximum number of Contractors is one; the Purchasing Department reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals received as a result of this RFR and to contract for some, all or none of the services as a result of this RFR.

b. Adding Contractors after initial Contract Award

If, over the life of the contract, the Purchasing Department determines that additional Contractors may be added, these may be drawn from qualified companies that responded to this Solicitation and not awarded Contracts. If necessary, to meet the requirements of the Commonwealth, the Solicitation may be reopened to obtain additional Bids.

4. Entities Eligible to Use the Resulting Contract

5. Expected Duration of Contract (Initial Duration and any Options to Renew):

Initial Duration

Total Maximum Contract Duration

6. Anticipated Expenditures, Funding, or Compensation:

DHE anticipates a budget for this service to reflect industry standards for comparable searches of this kind, expected not to exceed $60,000. Cost will be a factor in the bidder selection Estimated 2 year Value of Procurement is $60,000. Estimated annual cost $30,000.

7. Contract Performance and Business Specifications:

The Massachusetts Optional Retirement Plan is a non-trusteed plan operating under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 401(a) Retirement Plan.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the Employer and Plan Sponsor.

Plan Contributions are directed to fully allocated annuity and custodial agreements that satisfy the requirements of IRC Section 401(f).

The plan is a Governmental Plan for DOL and IRS purposes.

Preferred bidders would be those that provide legal services to Higher Education entities and Governmental Retirement Plans.

Scope of Services:

The organization selected to fulfill this contract will provide legal guidance to the DHE in meeting its legal obligations under state and federal laws and applicable regulations regarding the Plan.

To that purpose, the Vendor will:

- act as the legal resource to the administrators of the Plan;

- provide responses to any retirement plan legal questions that may arise;

- review plan restatements and amendments as needed;

- Provide guidance on any new or proposed changes in the law and/or regulations governing the Plan.

Fiscal Terms: The Commonwealth is tax exempt; we require prompt payment discounts, and bills are payable in accordance with the State Comptroller’s bill payment policy.

8. Program Background The Massachusetts Small Business Purchasing Program (SBPP) was established pursuant to Executive Order 523 to increase state contracting opportunities with small businesses having their principal place of business within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Pursuant to the SBPP, it is the intention of the issuing department to award this Small Procurement to one SBPP participating business as described below.

SBPP Award Preference While all businesses, no matter the size or principal place of business, may submit responses to this solicitation, should an SBPP participant respond and meet the best value criteria as described in this solicitation, the SBPP participant shall be awarded the contract. The Strategic Sourcing Services Team (SSST) will not evaluate submissions from non-SBPP participants unless no SBPP Bidder meets the SSST’s best value evaluation criteria.

SBPP Participation Eligibility To be eligible to participate in this procurement as an SBPP participant, an entity must meet the following criteria, and be marked as an SBPP-registered business in COMMBUYS:

1. Have its principal place of business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts;

2. Been in business for at least one year;

3. Employ a combined total of 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees in all locations, or employees work less than a combined total of 26,000 hours per quarter; and

4. Have gross revenues, as reported on appropriate tax forms, of $15 million or less, based on a three-year average.

Non-profit firms also must be registered as a non-profit or charitable organization with the MA Attorney General’s Office and be up to date with all filings required by that office and be tax exempt under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.

SBPP Compliance Requirements It is the responsibility of the Bidder to ensure that their SBPP status is current at the time of submitting a response and throughout the life of any resulting contract. Misrepresentation of SBPP status will result in disqualification from consideration, and may result in debarment, contract termination, and other actions. To learn more about the SBPP, including how to apply, visit the SBPP Webpage.

Program Resources and Assistance Bidders and Contractors seeking assistance regarding SBPP may visit the SBPP webpage, http://www.mass.gov/sbpp, or contact the SBPP Help Desk at sbpp@mass.gov.

9. Environmentally Preferable Products Products and services purchased by state agencies must be in compliance with Executive Order 515, issued October 27, 2009. Under this Executive Order, Executive Departments are required to reduce their impact on the environment and enhance public health by procuring environmentally preferable products and services (EPPs) whenever such products and services perform to satisfactory standards and represent best value, consistent with 801 CMR 21.00. In line with this directive, all Contracts, whether departmental or statewide, must comply with the specifications and guidelines established by the Massachusetts Operational Services Division (OSD) and the EPP Program. EPPs are products and services that help to conserve natural resources, reduce waste, protect public health and the environment, and promote the use of clean technologies, recycled materials, and less toxic products. Bid responses must identify how a contractor meets these goals.

10. Evaluation Criteria Contractors must submit responses that meet all the submission requirements of the RFR. Only responsive proposals that meet the submission requirements will be evaluated, scored, and ranked by the evaluation team according to the evaluation criteria. Additional information may be requested for evaluation purposes.

Instructions for Submission of Responses:

Only electronic quotes submitted via COMMBUYS will be accepted in response to this RFR. Responses must be sent via the “Create Quote” functionality in COMMBUYS. For instructions concerning how to submit a Quote, please see Appendix B.

Any submission that fails to meet the submission requirements of the RFR will be found non-responsive without further evaluation unless the evaluation team, at its discretion, determines that the non-compliance is insubstantial and may be corrected. In these cases, the evaluation team may allow the vendor to make minor corrections to the submission.

11. Estimated Procurement Calendar

Bidders are required to monitor COMMBUYS for changes to the procurement calendar for this Bid.

a. Online Questions (Bid Q&A) The “Bid Q&A” provides the opportunity for Bidders to ask written questions and receive written answers from DHE regarding this Bid. Bidders’ questions must be submitted through the Bid Q&A found on COMMBUYS (see below for instructions). It is the Bidder’s responsibility to verify receipt of questions.

Please note that questions submitted to DHE using any other medium (including those that are sent by mail, fax, email, or voicemail, etc.) will not be answered. To reduce the number of redundant or duplicate questions, Bidders are asked to review all questions previously submitted to determine whether the Bidder’s question has already been posted.

Written Questions must be entered using the “Bid Q&A” tab for the Bid in COMMBUYS no later than the “Online Questions Due” date and time indicated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar (above). The issuing department reserves the right to not respond to questions submitted after this date. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to verify receipt of questions.

It is the responsibility of the prospective Bidder and awarded Contractor to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the Bidder’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the Purchasing Department, including requests for clarification. The Purchasing Department and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s computer, network, or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/Awarded contractor and the Purchasing Department to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering.

Written Responses to Questions will be released on or about the “Responses to Questions Posted Online” date indicated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar (above).

(Written questions and responses will be posted on the Bid Q&A Tab for this Bid in COMMBUYS.)

b. Bid Amendment Deadline The Purchasing Department reserves the right to make amendments to the Bid after initial publication. It is each Bidder’s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for amendments, addenda, or modifications to this Bid, and any Bid Q&A records related to this Bid. The Purchasing Department and the Commonwealth accept no responsibility and will provide no accommodation to Bidders who submit a Quote based on an out-of-date Bid or on information received from a source other than COMMBUYS.

c. Quotes (Bid Responses) Deadline (Bid Opening Date/Time) See the Quotes (Bid Responses) Deadline (Bid Opening) Date and Time indicated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar (above).

d. Estimated Contract Start Date DHE anticipates the start date to be as soon as possible. The actual start date will be the Contract Effective Date which is the date the Contract is executed by the parties.

12. Required Forms Responses to this RFR must contain the following documents:

Electronic Submission

The above attachments are available as part of the Bid record on COMMBUYS (WWW.COMMBUYS.COM). DO NOT Submit any forms not required with your response. Only the successful bidder will be required to submit all forms.

13. RFR Attachments Appendix A: Required Specifications https://www.mass.gov/doc/rfr-required-specifications-for-commodities-and-services/download Appendix B: Electronic Quote Submission Instructions https://www.mass.gov/doc/instructions-for-vendors-responding-to-bids/download

Effective June 15, 2021, for all 1) CTR forms, including the Standard Contract Form, W-9s, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) forms, ISAs, and other CTR-issued documents and forms, or 2) documents related to state finance and within the statutory area of authority or control of CTR (i.e. contracts, payrolls, and related supporting documentation), CTR will accept signatures executed by an authorized signatory in any of the following ways: 1. Traditional “wet signature” (ink on paper); 2. Electronic signature that is either: a. Hand drawn using a mouse or finger if working from a touch screen device; or Page 2 b. An uploaded picture of the signatory’s hand drawn signature 3. Electronic signatures affixed using a digital tool such as Adobe Sign or DocuSign. If using an electronic signature, the signature must be visible, include the signatory’s name and title, and must be accompanied by a signature date. Please be advised that typed text of a name not generated by a digital tool such as Adobe Sign or DocuSign, even in computer-generated cursive script, or an electronic symbol, are not acceptable forms of electronic signature.

-8-image1.jpeg