Amendment 3.docx

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State of South Carolina Request for Proposal (Amendment 3) Solicitation: Amendment Issued: Procurement Officer:

Phone: E-Mail Address: Mailing Address:

5400020111 5400022076 04/29/2022

KATHY SANTANDREU 803-896-5304

ksantandreu@mmo.sc.gov SFAA, Div. of Procurement Services, MMO PO Box 101103 Columbia SC 29211

DESCRIPTION: Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT)

USING GOVERNMENTAL UNIT: Department of Social Services

SUBMIT YOUR OFFER ON-LINE AT THE FOLLOWING URL: http://www.procurement.sc.gov

SUBMIT OFFER BY (Opening Date/Time): 04/15/2022 05/26/2022 06/03/2022 11:00 AM ET (See "Deadline for Submission of Offer" provision)

QUESTIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY: 03/11/2022 11:00 AM ET 5/12/2022 5:00 PM (See "Questions from Offerors" provision)

NUMBER OF COPIES TO BE SUBMITTED: see page 3

CONFERENCE TYPE: n/a

DATE & TIME:

(As appropriate, see "Conferences - Pre-Bid/Proposal" & "Site Visit" provisions)

LOCATION:

You must submit a signed copy of this form with Your Offer. By signing, you agree to be bound by the terms of the Solicitation. You agree to hold Your Offer open for a minimum of 120 calendar days after the Opening Date. (See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

NAME OF OFFEROR

(full legal name of business submitting the offer AS IT APPEARS ON TAX CERTIFICATE) Any award issued will be issued to, and the contract will be formed with, the entity identified as the Offeror. The entity named as the offeror must be a single and distinct legal entity. Do not use the name of a branch office or a division of a larger entity if the branch or division is not a separate legal entity, i.e., a separate corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc.

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

(Person must be authorized to submit binding* offer to contract on behalf of Offeror.)

DATE SIGNED

TITLE

(business title of person signing above)

STATE VENDOR NO.

(Register to Obtain S.C. Vendor No. at www.procurement.sc.gov)

PRINTED NAME

(printed name of person signing above)

STATE OF INCORPORATION

(If you are a corporation, identify the state of incorporation.)

OFFEROR'S TYPE OF ENTITY: (Check one) (See "Signing Your Offer" provision.)

Sole Proprietorship Partnership Other

Corporate entity (not tax-exempt) Corporation (tax-exempt) Government entity (federal, state, or local)

COVER PAGE - ON-LINE ONLY (MAR. 2015)

*there is no separate contract to sign. Once this page is signed and your proposal is submitted, it is a binding Offer

PAGE TWO

(Return Page Two with Your Offer) HOME OFFICE ADDRESS (Address for offeror's home office / principal place of business)

NOTICE ADDRESS (Address to which all procurement and contract related notices should be sent.) (See "Notice" clause)

Area Code - Number - Extension Facsimile

E-mail Address

PAYMENT ADDRESS (Address to which payments will be sent.) (See "Payment" clause)

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS – this page, of this document, is where you will acknowledge all amendments.

Offerors acknowledges receipt of amendments by indicating amendment number and its date of issue. (See "Amendments to Solicitation" Provision)

DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT

(See "Discount for Prompt Payment" clause)

PREFERENCES - A NOTICE TO VENDORS (SEP. 2009): PURSUANT TO §11-35-1524 (E) (5) OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA CONSOLIDATED PROCUREMENT CODE, PREFERENCES DO NOT APPLY TO THIS SOLICITATION

PREFERENCES - ADDRESS AND PHONE OF IN-STATE OFFICE: PREFERENCES DO NOT APPLY

PURSUANT TO §11-35-1524 (E) (5) OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA CONSOLIDATED PROCUREMENT CODE, PREFERENCES DO NOT APPLY TO THIS SOLICITATION

In-State Office Address same as Home Office Address In-State Office Address same as Notice Address (check only one)

AMENDMENTS TO SOLICITATION (MODIFIED): (a) The Solicitation may be amended at any time prior to opening. All actual and prospective Offerors should monitor the following web site for the issuance of Amendments: www.procurement.sc.gov(b) Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this solicitation by identifying the amendment number and date in the space provided for this purpose on Page Two and returning with solicitation response (c) If this solicitation is amended, then all terms and conditions which are not modified remain unchanged.

The state would like to make the following clarifications about the RFP for Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT):

On May 27, 2021, the State published solicitation 5400020111 for Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT). On September 17, 2021, the State issued Amendment # 3 to the solicitation 5400020111. This amendment indicated that the RFP was cancelled and would be replaced with a new solicitation which would include the answers to all questions received under solicitation 5400020111. A new solicitation number was required due to a system, administrative error. The new solicitation 5400022076 was posted on March 5, 2022. Solicitation 5400022076 was modified to include the answers to all vendor questions submitted under 5400020111. The answers to questions from solicitation 5400020111 were incorporated into the appropriate section of the new solicitation document 5400022076 and were not presented as a question-answer format.

The following dates are amended

1. Submit offer by (Opening Date/Time) has been updated to: 06/03/2022 11:00 AM ET

2. An additional question period has been added. This question period ends on May 12, 2022, (close of business 5:00 PM ET). The state will accept questions from solicitation 5400022076 issued 03/05/2022, amendment 1 issued 03/18/2022, amendment 2 and amendment 3.

3. Demonstration dates: July 27, 2022 and July 28, 2022

4. Estimated Award date: August 15, 2022

5. MAXIMUM CONTRACT PERIOD - ESTIMATED (Jan 2006) Start Date: 8/25/2022 End Date: 8/24/2029

6. Demonstrations SCDSS tentatively scheduled the dates of 07-27-22 and 07-28-22 for the demonstrations. Offerors should reserve those dates. SCDSS will notify the responsive and responsible Offerors as quickly as possible to schedule a specific date and time The following items are amended:

1. Cover page of solicitation – the state will remove the asterisk (*) located after the word “binding” in the authorized signature block as well as the reference demonstrated by that asterisk.

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

(Person must be authorized to submit binding* offer to contract on behalf of Offeror.)

*there is no separate contract to sign. Once this page is signed and your proposal is submitted, it is a binding Offer

2. Demonstrations, Item g Offeror’s may present their demonstration in person in Columbia SC or virtually. The Vendor must supply all necessary components to perform the demonstration. SCDSS will provide and ensure internet connectivity

3. Tables on RFP Page 24 - The titles of the two tables on page 24 of the RFP are changed to read “Estimated Caseloads, School Year (SY) 2019 -2020, and SY 2020 – 2021.”

4. Clarification regarding PIN mailers Currently, the state does use pin mailers due to security concerns and they are less efficient because of the time they take to reach clients when mailed. Today, a PIN can be created and changed on the IVR in addition to a mobile app and a cardholder portal. The state is prepared to entertain the idea of using PIN mailers for providing initial PINs to cardholders provided offerors describe the security measures taken to ensure that the PINs reach the intended recipient only and these safety measures are considered adequate.

5. Customer Service Statistics Reporting, Item 145 (p.75) - the state has changed this item to read as follows:

The Contractor shall provide Statistical Reporting monthly, available on the fifth business day of the month for the previous month that reports on the statistics and effectiveness of the customer service functions for both the Client Customer Service and Retailer Help lines. Statistics for both the ARU and Customer Service Representatives (CSR) shall be reported. A list of holidays recognized by the State of South Carolina is available at https://www.admin.sc.gov/dshr/holiday

6. Conversion Date - Item 173. Timeframes (p.82) paragraph one has been changed to read The approximate date for the completion of transition to the new Contractor’s system is March 31, 2023 (prior to the end of the current contract for EBT services.) While March 31, 2023 is an approximate date, it is the State’s preference that the conversion be complete by then.

7. Peer Groups - Item 181. Page 84. The state has removed all reference to peer groups from this solicitation.

8. SCDSS has added the following language to Section IV – INFORMATION FOR OFFERORS TO SUBMIT Offerors should include all assumptions, additional license or subscription documents, terms and conditions, ancillary contracts, or open-source agreements relative to their proposal. Additionally, offerors should submit the number and nature of exceptions (if any) they request to the terms and conditions in this solicitation. SFAA reserves the right to negotiate the terms and conditions of Contractor supplied terms, documents, and agreements or to reject. The State will document all acceptable changes, documents, and agreements in the Record of Negotiations that will become part of the contract (see clause CONTRACT DOCUMENTS and ORDER OF PRECEDENCE (FEB 2015) in the RFP document, p. 113)

9. Limitation of Liability - Page 131, The state has added clause “Limitation of Liability – Single Agency (May 2020)” to Section VII B of the solicitation and established a “not to exceed” amount. (see below.)

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY -- SINGLE AGENCY (MAY 2020)

Contractor's liability for damages to the Using Governmental Unit shall not exceed $88,000,000 or two and one-half times the total potential value of the contract listed on the Statement of Award. If there is a difference between the two numbers, the total on the Statement of Award shall take precedence.

The parties waive claims against each other for (i) exemplary or punitive damages and (ii) special or consequential damages.

The foregoing limitations shall not apply: (a) to claims for physical damage to real or tangible personal property, (b) to claims regarding bodily injury, sickness, disease or death, (c) to claims arising from reckless or intentional misconduct, (d) to amounts due or obligations under a clause (regardless of how named) providing for liquidated damages, or if such a clause is ruled unenforceable as a penalty, (e) to amounts due or obligations under the following clauses, if included: (i) Indemnification-Third Party Claims-General, (ii) Indemnification-Third Party Claims- Disclosure of Information, (iii) Indemnification-Intellectual Property, (iv) Information Security Safeguarding Requirements, (v) Information Security-Location of Data, (vi) Information Use and Disclosure Standards, or (vii) Service Provider Security Representations; (f) to amounts due or obligations under a clause imposing a duty to defend or indemnify, or (g) to any loss or claim to the extent the loss or claim is covered by a policy of insurance maintained, or required by this contract to be maintained, by contractor.

The absence in any subcontract of a similar clause limiting contractor's liability shall not effectively increase the obligation of the Using Governmental Unit beyond what it would have been had the subcontract contained such a clause.

The State of South Carolina's total liability for any obligation under any clause imposing any duty of confidentiality or non-disclosure shall not exceed an amount equal to fifty thousand dollars. [07-7B117-1]

10. The state will remove the language “No modifications will be allowed to this clause” from the following clauses:

· Compliance with Laws (Jan 2006)

· Contractor's Liability Insurance - General (Feb 2015)

· Contractor’s Liability Insurance – Information Security and Privacy (Feb 2015)

· Contractor’s Liability Insurance – Information Security and Privacy (Feb 2015)

· Indemnification-Third Party Claims - General (Nov 2011)

· Liability for Damages or Errors

· Records Retention & Right to Audit

· Security and Confidentiality of Personally Identifying and Other Confidential Client Information (DSS Jul 2011) At this time, the State will not be making any modifications to these clauses. The State may elect to conduct negotiations as outlined in the Discussions and Negotiations Clause.

11. Clarification regarding insurance required under this RFP (CONTRACTOR'S LIABILITY INSURANCE - GENERAL (FEB 2015 and CONTRACTOR’S LIABILITY INSURANCE – INFORMATION SECURITY AND PRIVACY (FEB 2015):

The state does not expect or require Offerors to purchase insurance needed for this project prior to award. If there is insurance required in the RFP which the Offeror does not have, the Offeror must provide PROOF that they are able to purchase coverage if awarded the contract. The contractor must provide certificates of insurance prior to commencement of services under contract.

All other terms, condition, bidding instruction, and specifications remain unchanged. If there are any question or if any confusion or uncertainty arises as a result of this amendment, it is the sole responsibility of the Offeror to contact the procurement officer for clarification. Contact information can be found in the top right-hand corner of the cover page of this amendment reference the “Duty to Inquire” in the original Request for Proposal (RFP).

END OF AMENDMENT THREE

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