Appendix A - Additional Information - Transmission to IRIS Services RFP.docx

APPENDIX A

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

APPENDIX A

Additional Information

A. Additional Information

A.1. Questionnaire Instructions. Respondent shall provide true and accurate answers to all of ERS’ questions in the Respondent Questionnaire (Appendix E).

A.2. Ambiguities, Conflicts, or Discrepancies. Respondent must notify ERS of any ambiguity, conflict, discrepancy, exclusionary specification, omission, or other error in the RFP via Euna by the Proposal deadline in RFP Section A.5. Respondent submits a Proposal at its own risk. If Respondent fails to properly and timely notify ERS of any ambiguity, conflict, discrepancy, exclusionary specification, omission, or other error in the RFP, Respondent, whether awarded a Contract or not: a) Waives any claim of error or ambiguity in the RFP and any resulting Contract; b) Must not contest the interpretation by ERS of such provision(s); and c) Is not entitled to additional compensation, relief, or time by reason of ambiguity, conflict, discrepancy, exclusionary specification, omission, or other error or its later correction.

A.3. Submission. Proposals shall be submitted online by uploading all requested materials and information to Euna. (See Proposal Deliverables Checklist in RFP Section F.1.). If Respondent has not already created an account in Euna to download the RFP as described in Sections A.3.a – A.3.d. below, Respondent must create an account in Euna at the following link: erstexas.bonfirehub.com to submit a Proposal. If Respondent has already created a Euna account, Respondent shall use its existing account to submit a Proposal. Euna operates best on the latest versions of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox. Browser cookies must be enabled when accessing Euna.

A.3.a. Vendor Contact Information. ERS must be able to send Euna messages to Respondent’s Proposal contact listed in Appendix E, Section A.1. The Proposal contact must be available during the entire RFP evaluation process and capable of responding to and submitting requested information via Euna in a timely manner. The Proposal contact shall create a Euna account using their email address and engage with the project by downloading any RFP file listed in Euna under Supporting Documentation before the deadline specified in RFP Section A.5. for Proposal submission. Any other person at Respondent’s organization who wants to send or receive messages in Euna must follow this same process.

A.3.b. Maximum File Size. The maximum upload file size is 1,000 MB.

A.3.c. Deadline. Proposals must be uploaded, submitted, and finalized in Euna by the deadline specified in RFP Section A.5. ERS strongly recommends that Respondent take sufficient time and at least one (1) day prior to the Proposal submission deadline to begin the uploading process and to finalize submission of its Proposal.

A.3.d. Technical Questions. Respondent may contact ERS at ivendorquestions@ers.texas.gov for technical questions related to submissions. Respondent may also visit Euna’s help forum at https://procurement-help.eunasolutions.com/hc/en-us.

A.4. Content. The Proposal must sufficiently address all of the requirements of the RFP and must contain all supporting materials and documentation requested in the RFP. Failure to comply with any Proposal content requirements may result in the Proposal being deemed noncompliant. Respondent is responsible for identifying and ensuring that all RFP requested materials and documentation are included at the time of Proposal submission. Respondent shall use the Proposal Deliverables Checklist in RFP Section F.1. only as a guide and not as a comprehensive list of the materials and documentation requested. Respondent shall not include any pricing information or other documentation with its Proposal other than what is requested in the Proposal Deliverables Checklist. Any pricing information requested should only be provided in the Price Proposal.

A.5. Amendment. ERS may, at its discretion, post an amended RFP to Euna to revise the RFP or provide additional information to clarify the provisions of the RFP. ERS will also publish a notice on ESBD regarding the amendment. Respondent should check Euna and ESBD frequently for updates. Respondent shall acknowledge each amendment in the Acknowledgment of Receipt of Amendment section of the amended Signature Page (Appendix B).

A.6. Doing Business with ERS. General information regarding doing business with ERS may be found on ERS’ website at: http://www.ers.texas.gov/vendors.

A.7. Agent of Record. ERS shall not designate an agent of record or any other such company employee or commissioned representative to act on behalf of either ERS or Respondent. Any requests for ERS to provide such designation shall be rejected.

A.8. Vendor Performance Tracking System. In accordance with Section 2155.089 of the Tex. Gov’t Code, ERS may use the CPA’s Vendor Performance Tracking System to report vendor performance after the Contract is completed or otherwise terminated.

A.11. Retention of Proposals. All documents and information submitted to ERS become the sole property of ERS and will be retained in accordance with ERS’ records retention requirements.

A.12. Costs Incurred for Participation in RFP Process. ERS will not pay any costs incurred by Respondent for preparation of its Proposal or for participating in the RFP process outlined herein.

A.13. Disclosure of Interested Parties. If the Contract is subject to Section 2252.908 of the Tex. Gov’t Code, selected Respondent will be required to complete Form 1295 on the Texas Ethics Commission’s electronic system located at:

https://www.ethics.state.tx.us/filinginfo/1295/.

A.14. Disclaimer and Terms of Use Language. Any disclaimer or terms of use language within Respondent’s Proposal, including any documentation provided by Respondent, shall be null and void and have no force or effect on ERS and ERS’ personnel as if such language did not exist. This includes, but is not limited to, notice of copyrights.

A.15. ERS Background. ERS is a trust fund established by the Texas Constitution and is described in Article XVI, Section 67, Texas Constitution. ERS is also organized pursuant to Subtitle B, Title 8 of the Texas Government Code, as well as Title 34 of the Texas Administrative Code, Sections 61.1, et seq. ERS administers defined benefit pension plans for State employees, law enforcement and custodial officers, elected State officials and judges. ERS invests State and member contributions in the retirement trust funds and administers the trust funds with a fiduciary obligation to the members and retirees of ERS who are its beneficiaries. ERS also administers the Texas Employees Group Benefits Program, which consists of health benefits, life insurance, and other optional benefits for participating individuals eligible to receive those benefits under applicable law.

A.16. Public Information Act. ERS is required to provide access to certain records in accordance with the PIA and may be required by law to release information that Respondent considers confidential and/or proprietary.

A.16.a. Until a Contract is executed, ERS may seek to protect from disclosure any information submitted in response to this RFP.

A.16.b. Upon execution of a Contract, ERS will consider all information, documentation, and other materials submitted in response to this RFP to be of a non-confidential and non-proprietary nature and, therefore, subject to public disclosure under the PIA. However, ERS will advise Respondent of any request for public information that implicates its materials so that Respondent will have the opportunity to raise any objections to disclosure to the Texas Attorney General, who will decide whether Respondent’s objections have merit. ERS will consider the following exhibits thereto to be subject to public disclosure, and there will be no opportunity to object to their disclosure: RFP and DSBNA (Appendix D). Respondent shall not include any confidential and/or proprietary information in those materials.

A.16.c. To the extent Respondent’s Proposal contains Intangible Property, Respondent acknowledges that such Intangible Property may be disclosed, publicly displayed, published, reproduced, and distributed by ERS pursuant to the PIA, or as otherwise required by law. Respondent warrants and represents that it owns, or has obtained all necessary permissions with respect to the use of, the Intangible Property and by submitting its Proposal grants ERS an irrevocable, perpetual, nonexclusive, royalty-free license to display, publish, reproduce, distribute, and otherwise use the Intangible Property for the purposes of evaluating Respondent’s Proposal and complying with applicable laws. Respondent shall indemnify and hold harmless ERS, its trustees, officers, directors, employees, and contractors, as well as any trust managed by ERS, from and against any claim of infringement of the Intangible Property resulting from ERS’ use of the Intangible Property as set forth herein.

A.16.d. To the extent required by law, ERS shall submit a copy of the public portions of the Contract, including all public appendices and attachments, to LBB’s contract database. This means the public portions of the Contract may be publicly available on the LBB website.

A.16.e. ERS shall release Respondent’s information, including information that Respondent considers confidential and/or proprietary, upon request from the Texas Legislature when requested for legislative purposes, as provided for in the PIA, or to any other person or entity as otherwise required by law.

A.16.f. The following information is not subject to public disclosure under the PIA: date of birth, driver’s license number, license plate number, credit card number, insurance policy number, bank account number, bank routing number, and social security number. If Respondent includes any of these in its Proposal Respondent shall notify ERS of the location of such information. See Appendix E, Section E.6.

B. Definitions

Authorized Representative: Any person in Respondent’s organization who is authorized to bind the organization.

Board: The Board of Trustees for the Employees Retirement System of Texas.

Contract: The entire contractual agreement between ERS and the Contractor, which includes all exhibits and appendices thereto (i.e., the RFP, the Proposal, and any Master Services Agreement, EULA, service level agreements or other terms submitted with the Proposal and accepted by ERS).

Contract Term: The period beginning upon execution of the Contract by ERS and continuing for a period of four (4) years, and any optional extension.

Contractor: The Respondent selected, if any, to provide the Services as a result of the RFP.

CPA: The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

CT: Central Time.

DSBNA: Data Security and Breach Notification Agreement, attached as Appendix D to the RFP.

ERS: The Employees Retirement System of Texas.

ESBD: The CPA’s Electronic State Business Daily. ESBD is the electronic marketplace where notices of State bid opportunities over $25,000 are posted.

Euna Procurement or Euna: ERS’ e-procurement portal located at erstexas.bonfirehub.com.

Intangible Property: Patents, trademarks, copyrights, and other intellectual property embodied in Respondent’s Proposal.

IRIS or Information Returns Intake System: IRS’ e-filing platform.

LBB: The State’s Legislative Budget Board.

Minimum Requirements: ERS’ requirements that Respondent must meet, as set forth in Appendix E, Section B.

PIA: Texas Public Information Act, Chapter 552 of the Tex. Gov’t Code.

Preliminary Review Phase: The phase in which ERS evaluates Proposals for Minimum Requirements, responsiveness, and compliance with the RFP as well as all other vendor performance checks required by the CPA on a pass/fail basis.

Proposal: The documents prepared and submitted by Respondent to respond to the RFP.

Proposal Evaluation Phase: The phase in which ERS evaluates Proposals from all Respondents who pass the Preliminary Review Phase.

Respondent: Any person or entity submitting a Proposal in response to the RFP. For purposes of the RFP, Respondent necessarily includes Respondent, its officers, directors, employees, representatives, agents, and any subcontractors and independent contractors.

RFP: This Request for Proposals for Transmissions to Information Returns Intake System (IRIS) Services.

Scope of Services: The scope of services required by the RFP as specified in RFP Section C.

Service Level Agreements: The performance standards guaranteed by Contractor.

Services: The services required by the RFP to be provided by Contractor as more fully set forth in the RFP Section C.

Signature Page: The document requiring the signature(s) of Respondent’s Authorized Representative(s), attached to the RFP as Appendix B.

State: State of Texas.

Tex. Admin. Code: Texas Administrative Code.

Tex. Gov’t Code: Texas Government Code.

Trust: The Employees Retirement System of Texas is a trust fund established by the Texas Constitution and described in Article XVI, Section 67, Texas Constitution. ERS is organized pursuant to Subtitle B, Title 8, Tex. Gov’t Code, as well as 34 Tex. Admin. Code Section 61.1, et seq., to maintain retirement funds for state of Texas employees and retirees.

United States or U.S.: The fifty (50) states of the United States of America.

Appendix A – Additional Information Page 1 of 5 ERS Transmission to Information Returns Intake System (IRIS) Services RFP