50-00000-24-00022_50-00000-24-08769 Electrify NM RFP Final Draft.docx.DOCX

STATE PURCHASING DIVISION

OF THE

GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

AND

TRANSPORTATION SERVICES DIVISION

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

ELECTRIFY NEW MEXICO

RFP#

50-00000-24-08769

RFP Release Date: September 19, 2024

Pre-Proposal Conference: October 17, 2024

Proposal Due Date: November 07, 2024

ELECTRONIC-ONLY PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Table of Contents

GSD/SPD Version 1.8 2024-04 iv

I. INTRODUCTION

New Mexicans have always treasured the air, land and water of the great State of New Mexico (SONM). To ensure that all challenges and threats are addressed successfully, The Governor of the State of New Mexico has issued Executive Order 2023-138 directing all state agencies to institute state fleet requirements of acquiring Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) where appropriate classes of vehicles are available. State agencies have begun to transition to ZEVs and all state agencies will transition to a full ZEV fleet by 2035. All state agencies will also work with the New Mexico General Services Department (GSD), as per SONM minimum requirements, to include the installation of Level 2 or Level 3 Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations in the design and construction of any new facilities. The SONM requires that, at a minimum, Level 2 chargers are utilized for the charging needs of the SONM’s Fleet vehicles;

A. PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

The purpose of the Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit sealed proposals to establish a State-Wide Price Agreement (SWPA) through competitive proposals for a “Vehicles as a Service” Program which provides for the transitioning of the SONM and other public bodies’ vehicles to a ZEV Fleet by the procurement of leased vehicles as ZEVs and the planning and installation of new EV Stations.

The SONM is a rural state, and one of the biggest challenges to green fleet conversion is installing, maintaining, and operating the EV charging station infrastructure. Significant development is needed to provide electric fuel where required, primarily in vehicles’ overnight parking locations; e.g. depot charging. A third-party analysis of the SONM’s Fleet vehicles conducted in late 2020 indicates that up to 32% of its vehicles may be economically feasible to convert from internal combustion engines (ICE) to electric over the next 10 years. The SONM seeks to engage with Potential Offeror(s) that can provide comprehensive VaaS that will help meet the SONM’s goal of a full ZEV fleet by 2035.

This procurement will result in a Statewide Price Agreement that may be utilized by all State of New Mexico agencies, commissions, institutions, political subdivisions and local bodies allowed by law. This RFP will result in multiple awards. The main objective is to create a one stop shop where public entities can go to electrify their vehicle fleet which includes powering them. The resultant SWPA will provide options to do that.

B. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

This proposal is being issued to meet agency critical missions by providing safe, efficient and reliable vehicles for New Mexico state agencies, commissions, boards and institutions and other political subdivisions and LPB allowed by law. With the ever-changing evolution of zero emission vehicles, it becomes more cost effective to lease these vehicles as opposed to purchasing units that will become obsolete within a matter of years. This allows the agencies to maximize resources while still meeting agency goals and objectives.

The objective of this project is to align with the State of New Mexico’s (SONM’s) clean energy goals. This will include emission reduction goals to align with the principles and goals of a Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) lease/sales fleet. This will potentially reach 42% of all Medium Duty (MD) and Heavy Duty (HD) trucks by 2030. This can lower combined vehicle purchase, lease and operating costs, potentially reducing CO2 emission levels in 2045 by 69% from 2019 levels. The SONM’s plan to transition to a ZEV Fleet, per the Governor’s Executive Order, will benefit its residents environmentally, socially and economically. GSD’s objective is to electrify the SONM’s Fleet as a Service, while instituting state fleet lease requirements that are measurable, enforceable, and include benchmarking in progress reporting, ensuring that all state Agencies transition to a full ZEV Fleet by 2035.

A key component of ”Vehicle as a Service” program development was engaging stakeholders who brought critical contextual information and specific technical expertise that supplemented information gathered from members of the general public to incorporate quality feedback from stakeholders. The SONM and its project partners along with various groups of targeted stakeholders during plan development provided details about the following engagement activities:

A. Stakeholder Engagement Meeting B. Utilities Engagement Meeting C. EV Charging Station Manufacturer, Owner, and Network Operator Interviews D. Site Host Interviews E. Tribe and Pueblo Survey F. NM state government, including the Governor’s Office, New Mexico General Services Division (GSD), Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD), New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), Public Regulation Commission (PRC), and New Mexico Economic Development Department (NMEDD)

C. SCOPE OF PROCUREMENT

The Scope of Procurement for all vehicles leased under this RFP shall be the current model year available and delivered within sixty (60) working days after receipt of order subject to manufacturer production schedules. Any delays must be identified and reported back to the procuring government entity. All Deliveries shall be made to the location requested by the procuring government entity.

Each vehicle lease shall be either a fixed closed end lease or an open-ended lease, whichever lease serves the requesting agencies better. The term of each vehicle lease will be from the time the vehicle is delivered and accepted by the procuring government entity. Either the closed end lease or the open-end lease may be terminated by procuring government entity at the end of any fiscal year with a 30-day written notice to the Contractor (s). Procuring government entity shall analyze the associated costs of each lease type and determine which type of vehicle lease shall better serve the requesting government entity in this RFP.

The scope of the procurement also involves the planning, design and installation of the EV Stations to support the fleet vehicles. The power will normally come from the local utility company but alternate energy sources are encouraged. The resultant new EV Station will be rented to the Procuring Agency on a monthly basis. They will be located where the new EV fleet is housed.

This RFP will result in multiple awards.

This procurement will result in a Statewide Price Agreement that may be utilized by all State of New Mexico agencies, commissions, institutions, political subdivisions and local bodies allowed by law.

G. PROCUREMENT MANAGER

The General Services Department 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:

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 SPD.

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.

H. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

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

I. DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGY

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

1. “Agency” means the State Purchasing Division of the General Services Department or that State Agency sponsoring this Procurement.

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

3. “Awarded Offeror” means the Offeror(s) who is awarded a contract and becomes the Contractor responsible for providing the goods and services specified in the awarded contract.

4. “Business Hours” means weekdays (Monday – Friday) 8:00 AM thru 5:00 PM MST/MDT, whichever is in effect on the date given.

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

6. “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.

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

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

9. “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.

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

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

12. “Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE)” means the EV charging stations.

13. “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.

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

15. “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.

16. “EVSE Utilization” (denoted as a percentage (%) means the amount of time over a given period that an EVSE charging port is actively delivering power to a vehicle, divided by the total time in the period.

17. “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.

18. “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.

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

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

24. “Operational Period” means the contract period that starts when Final Completion has been achieved by the Offeror.

25. “Qualified Technician” means the Contractor shall ensure that the workforce installing, maintaining, and operating chargers has the appropriate licenses, certifications, and training to ensure that the installation and maintenance of chargers is performed safely by a qualified and increasingly diverse workforce of licensed technicians and other laborers.

26. “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.

27. “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.

28. “Procuring government entity" 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.

29. “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.

30. “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.

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

32. “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.

33. “Responsive Proposal” means a Proposal 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.

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

35. “SPD” means State Purchasing Division of the New Mexico State General Services Department.

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

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

38. “State Agency” means any department, commission, council, board, committee, institution, legislative body, agency, government corporation, educational institution or official of the executive, legislative or judicial branch of the government of this state. “State agency” includes the Purchasing Division of the General Services Department and the State Purchasing Agent but does not include local public bodies.

39. “State Purchasing Agent” means the Director of the Purchasing Division of the General Services Department.

40. “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). This statement shall be included in Offerors proposal, pursuant to Section III.C.1. (E.g. “We concur,” “Understands and Complies,” “Comply,” “Will Comply if Applicable,” etc.)

41. “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.

42. “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.

Acronyms

J. 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://www.generalservices.state.nm.us/state-purchasing/active-itbs-and-rfps/active-procurements/

Other relevant links:

Buy American | Department of Energy, Buy America Plan, Joint Office, of Energy and Transportation www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/airquality/cmaq/reference/alternativefuel/ https://cleancities.energy.gov/ Clean Cities Coalition Network: Land of Enchantment Clean Cities (New Mexico) (energy.gov), U.S.C. Title 23 - HIGHWAYS (govinfo.gov), Federal Register: Federal Acquisition Regulation: Amendments to the FAR Buy American Act Requirements, 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:

*Dates indicated in Events 7 through 13 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 State of New Mexico General Services Department on the date indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events.

2. Acknowledgement of Receipt Form Potential Offerors may e-mail the Acknowledgement of Receipt Form (APPENDIX A), to the SPD buyer, Tami Concha, Tami.Concha@gsd.nm.gov, to have their organization placed on the procurement Distribution List. The form must be returned to the SPD Buyer by 3:00 PM MST/ MDT on the date indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events

The procurement distribution list will be used for the distribution of written responses to questions, and/or any amendments to the RFP. Failure to return the Acknowledgement of Receipt Form does not prohibit potential Offerors from submitting a response to this RFP. However, by not returning the Acknowledgement of Receipt Form, the potential Offeror’s representative shall not be included on the distribution list and will be solely responsible for obtaining from the Procurement Library (Section I.G.) responses to written questions and any amendments to the RFP.

3. Pre-Proposal Conference A pre-proposal conference will be held as indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events, beginning at 1:00 PM MDT via virtual meeting on Teams. https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZjllMWZiMjktMmZhZC00YTdhLTk4ZjMtMTIxOTQwNDdiNmNj%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2204aa6bf4-d436-426f-bfa4-04b7a70e60ff%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22ef0ec96a-3875-42bb-b1a9-8427b4b1817f%22%7d Meeting ID is 232 402 217 895;

Passcode is kkVvYm;

Phone- 505-312-4308 ID/Pin- 959 427 537#

Potential Offeror(s) are encouraged to submit written questions in advance of the conference to the Procurement Manager (see Section I.D). 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 is highly recommended, but not a prerequisite for submission of a proposal.

4. Deadline to Submit Written Questions Potential Offerors may submit written questions to the Procurement Manager as to the intent or clarity of this RFP until 3:00PM MST 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) in the RFP or other document which form the basis of the question.

5. Response to Written Questions Written responses to the written questions will be provided via e-mail, on or before the date indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events, to all potential Offerors who timely submitted an Acknowledgement of Receipt Form (Section II.B.2 and APPENDIX A).

The Questions and Answers will be posted to: https://www.generalservices.state.nm.us/state-purchasing/active-itbs-and-rfps/active-procurements/

6. Submission of Proposal Only electronic proposal submission is allowed. Do not submit hard copies until further notice.

ALL PROPOSALS MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE PROCUREMENT MANAGER OR DESIGNEE 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 clicks “OK” after “Review and Submit.” Such electronic submissions will be considered sealed in accordance with statute.

It is the Offeror’s responsibility to ensure all documents are completely uploaded and submitted electronically via the eProNM system by the deadline set forth in this RFP. The eProNM 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 eProNM system by the deadline, will be deemed late. Further, a submission that is not fully complete and received via the eProNM 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 PROPOSAL CAN BE ACCEPTED.

Proposals must be submitted electronically through SPD’s eProNM electronic procurement system. Refer to Section III.B.1 for instructions. Proposals submitted by facsimile, or other electronic means other than through the SPD electronic e-procurement 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.

7. 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.

8. Selection of Finalists The Evaluation Committee will 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 five (5) Offerors receiving the highest cumulative scores.

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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:

Dorothy Mendonca, State Purchasing Agent Dorothy.Mendonca@gsd.nm.gov

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 E.

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 set up and demonstration of the proposed equipment and/or system 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 Contractor 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.

7. Proposal Offer Firm Responses to this RFP, including proposal prices for services, will be considered firm for one-hundred twenty (120) days after the due date for receipt of proposals or ninety (90) days after the due date for the receipt of a best and final offer if the Offeror is invited or required to submit one. Correction or withdrawal of an Offeror’s Proposal to this RFP due to an inadvertent, nonjudgmental mistake in the Proposal requires careful consideration to protect the integrity and fairness of competition. If the mistake is attributable to an error in judgment, the Proposal may not be corrected. Correction or withdrawal by reason of a nonjudgmental mistake may be permissible but only to the extent authorized in Procurement Code Regulations 1.4.1.14 through 1.4.1.28 NMAC of these rules and regulations

No Offeror may withdraw its Proposal within the one-hundred twenty (120) day period, unless notified by the potential Offeror that it does not intend to enter into a contract with the Procuring government entity. Any Offeror may elect, in its sole discretion, to extend the validity of its Proposal beyond the time periods set forth above.

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.

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 C). However, the contracting agency reserves the right to negotiate provisions in addition to those contained in this RFP Draft Contract (APPENDIX C) 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 Draft Contract (APPENDIX C). 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 Draft Contract (APPENDIX C) 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.

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 Proposal 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.19. 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 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 or SPD.

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 government entity'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:

https://www.generalservices.state.nm.us/state-purchasing/active-itbs-and-rfps/active-procurements/ or https://bids.sciquest.com/apps/Router/PublicEvent?CustomerOrg=StateOfNewMexico&tap=PHX

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.

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 E, which must be signed by the individual authorized to contractually obligate the…