3_06A3310_-_Addendum_2_-_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

“Improving lives and communities through transportation.

STATE OF CALIFORNIA------- CALIFORNIA STATE TRANSPORTATION AGENCY GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

DIVISION OF PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTS

1727 30TH STREET – MS 65

SACRAMENTO, CA 95816

PHONE (916) 227-6000

TTY 711

www.dot.ca.gov

Making Conservation a California Way of Life.

April 16, 2026

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) NOTICE NUMBER 06A3310

ADDENDUM NO. 2

A&E On-call Roadway Construction Services, District 10

The purpose of this Addendum is for the Department to provide responses and/or clarification for the following concerns:

Question 1:

Please clarify whether the in-person interview requirement permits remote participation where supported by the ADA, Section 504, or other applicable law.

Department’s Response:

Remote participation for consultant team is not permitted for the in-person interview.

Question 2:

The RFQ does not identify what conflict-of-interest criteria, if any, Caltrans will apply in selecting Consultant Selection Committee members where panel members may have current or recent working relationships or professional familiarity with the incumbent firm arising from Contract No. 06A2732, the predecessor to contract arising out of RFQ 06A3310.

Department’s Response:

Selecting Consultant Selection Committee members has no relevant to the advertised RFQ.

Question 3:

The RFQ does not identify what safeguards, if any, Caltrans will apply in ensuring the Consultant Selection Committee inadvertently use biased scoring that favors the incumbent firm due to their current or recent working relationships or professional familiarity with the incumbent firm arising from Contract No. 06A2732, the predecessor to contract arising out of RFQ 06A3310.

Department’s Response:

This is NOT Relevant to the RFQ.

Question 4:

In a qualifications-based procurement, the qualifications, experience, and capabilities of proposed subconsultants may contribute materially to the evaluation of the prime consultant’s SOQ. A concern exists where subconsultants are presented as part of the proposed team in a manner that strengthens the SOQ during evaluation, but the resulting contract contains no enforceable mechanism requiring utilization of subconsultants during performance. In that situation, the qualifications relied upon for selection may not fully align with the resources actually deployed after award. This concern is not merely hypothetical. Information publicly available with respect to prior Caltrans contracts, including http://www.dot.ca.gov/

RFQ 06A3310 - Addendum No. 2

“Improving lives and communities through transportation.”

Contract Nos. 06A2969 and 06A2732, suggests strong mismatch between proposed team composition in SOQ package and actual post-award utilization, which makes clarification in this RFQ important.

The RFQ does not identify or refer to any enforceable requirement to ensure that non-DBE subconsultants identified in a prime consultant’s SOQ package, and relied upon in the evaluation of qualifications, are in fact utilized for contract performance as estimated during the selection process.

Department’s Response:

Please refer to the link below for AE procurement process.

https://dot.ca.gov/programs/procurement-and-contracts/ae-contract-information

Question 5:

The RFQ does not identify the applicable DGS General Terms and Conditions that will govern the resulting contract, including whether GTC 02/2025 applies. Please clarify which DGS standard contract language is applicable to RFQ 06A3310.

Department’s Response:

Please refer to the Exhibit C – GTC 02/2025, the General Terms and Conditions are included in this Agreement by reference and made part of this Agreement as if attached hereto. See https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OLS/Resources/Page-Content/Office-of-Legal-Services-Resources-List- Folder/Standard-Contract-Language.

Question 6:

The RFQ does not provide, for reference, any sample Special Terms and Conditions applicable to the resulting contract. Please clarify whether Caltrans will make the applicable sample Special Terms and Conditions available during the RFQ process.

Department’s Response:

A sample Special Terms and Conditions is posted at https://dot.ca.gov/programs/procurement-and-contracts/ae-contract-information under “Contract Boilerplate”.

Question 7:

The RFQ references the September 30, 2025 USDOT interim final rule modifying 49 C.F.R. Part 26, under which recipients may not set DBE contract goals during the Unified Certification Program (UCP) reevaluation period. At the same time, The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Official Frequently Asked Questions on the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program Implementation Modifications, including the updated December 1, 2025 FAQ, states that revised and DOT-approved DBE special provisions may be used on contracts entered into after the UCP reevaluation is completed and a new overall DBE goal is adopted. This creates a practical question for a three-year on-call contract resulting from RFQ 06A3310. Is the resulting contract intended to remain without DBE participation goals for its full term, or whether DBE goal-related requirements could later become applicable after the reevaluation process is completed by Caltrans and Caltrans’ overall DBE goal is set.

The RFQ does not identify any special provisions or other contract language addressing whether the resulting contract will remain without DBE participation goals for its full term, or whether any DBE https://dot.ca.gov/programs/procurement-and-contracts/ae-contract-information https://dot.ca.gov/programs/procurement-and-contracts/ae-contract-information https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OLS/Resources/Page-Content/Office-of-Legal-Services-Resources-List-Folder/Standard-Contract-Language?search=standard%20contract%20language https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OLS/Resources/Page-Content/Office-of-Legal-Services-Resources-List-Folder/Standard-Contract-Language?search=standard%20contract%20language https://dot.ca.gov/programs/procurement-and-contracts/ae-contract-information https://dot.ca.gov/programs/procurement-and-contracts/ae-contract-information goal-related requirements could later apply after completion of the Unified Certification Program (UCP) reevaluation process and adoption of a new overall DBE goal by Caltrans.

Department’s Response:

There is no specific DBE Goal participation in this advertisement.

Question 8:

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Official Frequently Asked Questions on the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program Implementation Modifications, including the updated December 1, 2025 specifically state that DBE goals must be set to zero for task orders issued during the Unified Certification Program (UCP) reevaluation period on on-call, IDIQ, and JOC contracts. That guidance suggests that, for DBE-goal purposes, task orders are treated separately at the time of issuance rather than being governed solely by the DBE status of the original master contract. In the context of a multi-year on-call contract, such as the one resulting from RFQ 06A3310, that creates a practical question as to whether later-issued task orders, once the reevaluation period ends and a new overall DBE goal is adopted, may again become subject to DBE contract-goal analysis under the then-applicable federal rules.

The RFQ does not identify any requirement or special provision addressing whether task orders issued under the resulting on-call contract will be evaluated separately for DBE contract goals based on the federal rules in effect at the time each task order is issued. DOT’s published FAQ specifically states that DBE goals must be set to zero for task orders issued during the Unified Certification Program (UCP) reevaluation period on on-call, IDIQ, and JOC contracts, possibly implying that task orders are treated separately at issuance for DBE-goal purposes. Please clarify whether Caltrans intends task orders issued under this contract, after completion of the UCP reevaluation process and adoption of a new overall DBE goal, to be assessed for DBE contract goals under the then-applicable 49 C.F.R. Part 26 requirements.

Department’s Response:

There is no specific DBE Goal participation in this advertisement.

Question 9:

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Official Frequently Asked Questions on the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program Implementation Modifications, including the updated December 1, 2025 FAQ, explains that although recipients may not set DBE contract goals during the Unified Certification Program (UCP) reevaluation period, the interim final rule did not eliminate all DBE-related federal requirements. According to those FAQs, recipients must still include the required 49 C.F.R. § 26.13(a)-

(b) contract assurances in all contracts and must still comply with 49 C.F.R. § 26.29 prompt-payment requirements during that period. At the same time, the FAQ guidance on task orders indicates that task orders issued under on-call contracts are treated separately at issuance for DBE-goal purposes. In that context, the temporary absence of a DBE contract goal in this RFQ does not clearly answer how proposers should structure their teams for a three-year on-call contract if later-issued task orders may be subject to different DBE treatment after the reevaluation period ends. Because the RFQ appears to require Caltrans approval for later additions, substitutions, and subcontracting changes, a proposer that excludes DBE firms at the SOQ stage may not be similarly positioned to perform future task orders if DBE goal-setting later resumes.

The RFQ does not identify how a prime consultant is expected to structure its team at the SOQ stage in light of the possibility that, after contract award, the applicable Unified Certification Program (UCP) may complete reevaluation and later-issued task orders may again be subject to DBE goal-setting under then-applicable federal rules. The RFQ also does not identify the continuing DBE-related federal requirements that remain applicable notwithstanding the temporary absence of a contract-specific DBE goal, including the 49 C.F.R. § 26.13(a)-(b) contract assurances and the 49 C.F.R. § 26.29 prompt-payment requirements referenced in USDOT’s FAQ guidance. Because later additions, substitutions, and subcontracting changes appear to require Caltrans approval, the RFQ does not clearly address whether proposers should form their teams now in anticipation of potential future DBE-goaled task orders and continuing DBE-related federal obligations.

Department’s Response:

There is no specific DBE Goal participation in this advertisement.

Question 10:

The October 3, 2025 IFR and the way the RFQ is written may lead prime consultant firms to sideline DBEs now because there is no present DBE goal, even though future task orders may become subject to DBE-goal analysis once the freeze ends. That creates a risk that the firms best positioned for future DBE-compliant task orders are not the ones selected at the SOQ stage, because the procurement methodology as written in the RFQ may be allowing prime firms to build DBE goal-free teams now and worry about DBEs later. That is why the RFQ should at least clarify how Caltrans expects proposers to think about future DBE participation in light of possible future task orders.

The RFQ does not identify how a prime consultant that proposes no DBE subconsultants at the SOQ stage would be expected to satisfy any future task-order DBE goals if, after contract award, the applicable Unified Certification Program (UCP) completes reevaluation and DBE goal-setting resumes for later-issued task orders. Because later additions, substitutions, and subcontracting changes require Caltrans approval, the RFQ does not clearly address whether proposers should structure their teams now in anticipation of potential future DBE-goaled task orders. Please clarify.

Suggested RFQ Language Consistent with applicable federal law, no contract-specific DBE goal is established for this solicitation at this time. However, the absence of a current DBE contract goal does not eliminate other DBE-related federal requirements applicable to the resulting contract. The resulting contract will remain subject to all DBE-related contract clauses and requirements that continue to apply under 49 C.F.R. Part 26, including but not limited to the assurances required by 49 C.F.R. § 26.13(a)-(b) and the prompt-payment requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 26.29. Task orders issued under the resulting on-call contract will be administered in accordance with the federal DBE requirements and Department procedures applicable at the time of task-order issuance.

Department’s Response:

There is no specific DBE Goal participation in this advertisement.

Question 11:

Is Caltrans going to move the interview date since it is scheduled for the week of Memorial Day?

Department’s Response:

No, Caltrans is NOT Planning to change the interview date at this time.

All other terms and conditions of the original RFQ Notice dated April 10, 2026, are unchanged.

Please contact Alma Cortez at alma.cortez@dot.ca.gov for questions concerning this addendum.

mailto:alma.cortez@dot.ca.gov

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION