50-66700-25-27764_50-66700-25-27764 RSP RFP FINAL.docx.DOCX

STATE PURCHASING DIVISION

OF THE

GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

AND

NEW MEXICO ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

River Stewardship Program FY2026

RFP# 50-66700-25-27764

RFP Release Date: March 17, 2025

Proposal Due Date: May 20, 2025

ELECTRONIC-ONLY PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Table of Contents

GSD/SPD Version 1.7 2022-08

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 for the procurement of services to design and construct projects that improve surface water quality, riparian habitat, or aquatic habitat statewide.

B. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Multiple funding sources are available for projects selected in this RFP. Approximately $450,000 is available from the 2024 New Mexico Legislature appropriated capital outlay funding “to plan, design and construct projects to improve surface water quality and river habitat state-wide.” This appropriation was in response to the NMED’s capital outlay request to fund the River Stewardship Program to address a critical surface water quality need for New Mexico and to ensure that New Mexico continues to receive federal Clean Water Act funds. The reversion date for the 2024 appropriation is June 30, 2028, unless extended by the New Mexico Legislature.

Funding also includes the annual distribution of Land of Enchantment Legacy Conservation Fund provided to NMED for the River Stewardship Program. This funding is intended “to plan, design and construct projects to improve surface water quality and river habitat statewide.” This funding comprises approximately $1,300,000 of the available funding in this RFP. The reversion date for this distribution is June 30, 2027, unless extended by the New Mexico Legislature.

In addition, the NMED requested $10,000,000 in capital outlay funds from the 2025 New Mexico Legislature. If NMED is successful with this request, these funds would be included in the available funding for this RFP. The reversion date for a capital outlay 2025 appropriation is June 30, 2029, unless extended by the New Mexico Legislature.

It is anticipated that this RFP will have approximately $6,750,000 to $11,750,000 of available funding to award.

In the event that other funds are available or become available for the River Stewardship Program during the term of this RFP, such funds may also be used for projects selected through this RFP. The use of such funds will be governed by the language of the appropriation. Projects may be funded with one or multiple funding sources. Funding is assigned at the agency discretion. Projects may be extended if funding is available and/or if funding sources allow.

C. SCOPE OF PROCUREMENT

Offerors will provide a comprehensive proposal for projects occurring in New Mexico that improve surface water quality or river habitat. All surface waters of the state as defined by New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) 20.6.4.7 are eligible for funding. Successful proposals will result in a contractual agreement with the State of New Mexico Environment Department. The contractual agreements will be developed through Capital Outlay Agreements (COA) for government-to-government entities including tribal governments, and contracts for non-government entities to conduct projects throughout New Mexico that improve surface water quality or river habitat. NMED is procuring a mix of professional services, general services and goods necessary for the completion of projects.

This procurement will result in contractual agreements between two parties; the procurement may ONLY be used by those two parties exclusively. This procurement will result in the award of multiple agreements.

Successful Offerors under awarded contractual agreement will perform services that include project development, management, design, permitting, and construction/implementation of restoration techniques, and pre-and post-implementation monitoring and reporting. The detailed scope of work is project-specific and will be described in a work plan attachment to the executed agreement. Successful Offerors will be invited to develop a work plan derived from the Offeror’s submitted technical proposal. Work plan attachments are required to contain all pertinent information regarding work activities, schedules, progress reports, budgets, and deliverables. All work plans developed by the successful Offerors must be approved by the Agency and will be attached to the resulting contractual agreement prior to the initiation of any work. Examples of project tasks that will be included within individual scopes of work include, but are not limited to: surveying, environmental monitoring, post-fire rehabilitation, earthmoving, constructing, fencing, removing non-native vegetation, planting native vegetation, and changing land or water management practices if necessary for long-term project success. Once the agreement is executed (i.e., final signature on the agreement), the Agency will deliver a Notice to Proceed, a copy of the fully executed agreement, and purchase order to the successful Offeror indicating work can begin on the project.

Successful Offerors will be required to register as a vendor for the state with the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration and either:

a) be a registered business with the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department; or

b) be a local, state or tribal government entity.

Offerors and their subcontractors are also required to be registered on SAM.gov and have a public profile with an active status and be in good standing at the time of proposal submission and contract award.

The term of the resulting contractual agreement is dependent on the appropriation reversion date for the funding assigned to the project and the funding available. Currently, appropriation end dates are), June 30, 2028 (see Section I.B; capital outlay), June 30, 2027 (see section I.B; Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund), or possibly June 30, 2029 (see Section I.B; capital outlay). Funding (capital outlay, Land of Enchantment Legacy Conservation Funds, or other available funds) will be assigned at the Agency’s discretion and multiple sources of funding may be assigned to a project.

The River Stewardship Program is a state-wide program for New Mexico. Therefore, final project selections may take into account the geographic distribution of projects.

D. PROCUREMENT MANAGER

The New Mexico Environment 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 should 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 State Purchasing Division (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.

E. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Submissions of all proposals must be accomplished via SPD’s eProNM 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 State Purchasing Division of the General Services Department or that State Agency (New Mexico Environment Department) sponsoring this Procurement.

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

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

4. “Capital Outlay” is funding appropriated by the New Mexico State Legislature to build, improve, or equip physical property that will be used by the public.

5. “Close of Business” means Monday through Friday, 5:00 PM MST/MDT, whichever is in use at that time.

6. “COA” means Capital Outlay Agreement

7. “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, Key Personnel biographies (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.

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

9. “Contractor” means any business having a contract with a state agency or local public body, or a successful Offeror who receives a Contract (Appendix C) because they are receiving capital outlay, Land of Enchantment, or other funds determined by the agency upon award and they are a non-profit or business entity.

10. “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.

11. “Electronic Submission” means a successful submittal of Offeror’s proposal in the eProNM system, in such cases where eProNM submissions are accepted.

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

13. “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.

14. “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.

15. “Grantee” means a successful Offeror who receives a Capital Outlay Agreement (Appendix D) because they are receiving capital outlay and they are a local public body or tribal entity.

16. “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.

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

18. “MOA” means a Memorandum of Agreement.

19. “NMED” means New Mexico Environment Department, or the “Agency.”

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

21. “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.

22. “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.

23. “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.

24. “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.

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

26. “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.

27. “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.

28. “Reversion Date” means the date upon which an appropriation expires and any remaining funds that have not been expended are returned to the State of New Mexico.

29. “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.

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

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

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

33. “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.

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

35. “Surface Water(s)” means all surface waters situated wholly or partly within or bordering upon the state, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, reservoirs or natural ponds. Surface waters of the state also means all tributaries of such waters, including adjacent wetlands, any manmade bodies of water that were originally created in surface waters of the state or resulted in the impoundment of surface waters of the state, and any “waters of the United States” as defined under the Clean Water Act that are not included in the preceding description, as defined by NMAC 20.6.4.7.

36. “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.

37. “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 the electronic version of this document through your own internet connection. The library contains information listed below:

Electronic version of RFP, Questions & Answers, RFP Amendments, etc. https://www.generalservices.state.nm.us/statepurchasing/active-procurements.aspx

For more information on the River Stewardship Program, please visit the following website:

https://www.env.nm.gov/surface-water-quality/river-stewardship-program/

To register with the U.S. Government’s System for Award Management (SAM), please visit the following website: https://sam.gov/content/home

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:

4. Deadline to submit Written Questions

5. Response to Written Questions

*Dates indicated in Events 7 through 10 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 – Environment 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 Susan Inman, susan.inman@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 MST/MDT via Teams. To join the Microsoft Teams Meeting, use the following information:

Microsoft Teams Need help?

Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 217 147 675 042 Passcode: TV6Rf7xU

Dial in by phone +1 505-312-4308,,870989854# United States, Albuquerque

(888) 506-1357,,870989854# United States (Toll-free) Find a local number Phone conference ID: 870 989 854# For organizers: Meeting options | Reset dial-in PIN

Meeting Link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YTk5ZWZjMzktN2QzYi00NDNmLWIyYWEtNWJhNzAwYjE1MGZk%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2204aa6bf4-d436-426f-bfa4-04b7a70e60ff%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22599d0c41-9623-418e-b49a-7fb7137e4b37%22%7d

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. The virtual pre-proposal conference will not be recorded.

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 3:00 PM MST/MDT on the date as indicated in Section II.A, Sequence of Events. All written questions must be addressed to the Procurement Manager identified 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).

An electronic version of the Questions and Answers will be posted to: https://www.generalservices.state.nm.us/statepurchasing/active-procurements.aspx

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

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 or multiple submittals 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. 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 Offerors, 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 proposals may or may not have received the most points. In the event mutually agreeable terms cannot be reached with the apparent most advantageous Offerors in the timeframe specified, the State reserves the right to finalize a contractual agreement with the next most advantageous Offerors without undertaking a new procurement process. The awarded Offerors responses to Sections IV.B and C will be included, at the discretion of the agency, to define the scope of services and work plans in the resulting contract. The Agency reserves the right to fund all or a portion of submitted projects, and to award additional Offerors should funding become available during the procurement process.

9. Contract Awards 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. The award is subject to appropriate Department and State approval.

10. 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 State Purchasing Division Email: 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 F.

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 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.

7. Proposal Offer Firm Responses to this RFP, including proposal prices for services, will be considered firm for three hundred sixty (360) days after the due date for the receipt of proposals.

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.i, 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) or Draft Capital Outlay Agreement (APPENDIX D), collectively “Draft Agreements”. However, the contracting agency reserves the right to negotiate provisions in addition to those contained in this RFP (Draft Agreements) 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 Agreements. Such exceptions may cause a proposal to be rejected as nonresponsive when, in the sole judgment of the Agency (and its evaluation team), 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) or RFP Draft Capital Outlay Agreement (APPENDIX D), as applicable to the Offeror’s entity, 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 Agreement 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 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.18. 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 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:

https://www.generalservices.state.nm.us/statepurchasing/active-procurements.aspx 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 a Letter of Transmittal Form (APPENDIX F), which must be signed by the individual authorized to contractually obligate the company, identified in #2 below.

Provide the following information:

1. Identify the submitting business entity; Name, Mailing Address, Phone Number, Federal Tax ID Number (TIN), and New Mexico Business Tax ID Number (BTIN, formerly CRS), and Unique Entity Identification number (from sam.gov);

2. 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);

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

4. 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

5. The individual identified in #2 above, must sign and date the form, attesting to the veracity of the information provided, and acknowledging (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 a signed Letter of Transmittal Form (Appendix F) 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 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 Preference Certificate 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.

33. Registration on SAM.gov Offerors and their subcontractors are required to be registered on SAM.gov and have a public profile with an active status…