ASL_Interpreter_Q_A.docx

25NS0926 Questions and Answers Q1: Are you open to another certification such as EIPA (Education Interpreter Performance Assessment)?

A1: No Q2: Are your Assignment Cancellation and Penalties negotiable? (Page 6 of 49) A2: No Q3: Are the current incumbents still under contract or pending optional extension?

A3: Yes, and there are no optional extensions or amendments.

Q4: Is the Department only interested in bids that are comparable to the current incumbent rates or rates that will successfully complete contract requirements?

A4: We are open to reviewing bids of any price.

Q5: How many contract hours were actually used by the incumbent?

A5: Number of hours is unknown but CPUC has spent almost $120,000 the past 12 months.

Q6: What is the expected volume of this contract? What is the total number of hours for this contract? How will these hours be divided?

A6: The number of individual times the ASL services will be needed is unknown. CPUC’s budget per year for the total of all contracts being awarded from this solicitation is $250,000 and our previous spend on average has been about half of that.

Q7: What percentage of your interpreting rates are for emergency, after hours or weekend needs?

A7: Zero, all scheduled requests will be Monday through Friday 8AM – 5PM Q8: How does the department plan to handle interpreting needs when onsite ASL interpreters are unavailable? Will the use of Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) be considered as an alternative during the contract period?

A8: If a Contractor wins a contract for in person services they will not be able to offer VRI as an alternative. CPUC may use the awarded VRI contractor if there is difficulty securing in person interpreters.

Q9: In years past, what were the weekly, monthly, or yearly averages of services supplied on-site? Averages of last-minute requests in the previous contract year?

A9: We don’t have this information available.

Q10: What is your current need and averages for supplying special interpreting services for the following modes of communication: TACTILE, PRO TACTILE, CDI (Certified Deaf Interpreter- Deaf Interpreters assist hearing interpreters to increase the expression of a signed language for LEP individuals or those with other disabilities other than deafness.) Is the Department open to further advice with these specifications that may require a team of two interpreters to effectively provide communication?

A10: None currently. But CPUC is willing to use a team of two interpreters for longer meetings if needed.

Q11. Can interpreters not initially included in the list of resumes submitted with the contractor's bid be retroactively added to the contract if they are deemed suitable for servicing on a rolling basis?

A11: Yes, you would need to provide proof to the CPUC contract manager of the new interpreter meeting the minimum requirements of the contract before scheduling them for services.

Q12: Would the department accept a Workers’ Compensation Statement of Exemption in place of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance as most vendors are agencies contracting Independent Contractors and, therefore, are not legally required to supply this insurance? If so, will the department provide the waiver for the contractor to fill and sign in?

A12: No. We require proof that the Prime Contractor has workers’ compensation insurance for their direct employees. Subcontractors must also be covered or have their own insurance but we do not require proof of insurance from Subcontractors.

Q13: What is the allotted budget for this awarded contract? Does the department have any budget constraints or funding limitations that the proposal should take into consideration?

A13: The total budget for the contracts awarded from this solicitation will be $250,000.00 per year, our previous spending averages per year have been roughly half of that.

Q14: Are authorized, original electronic signatures accepted?

A14: Yes Q15: Does CPUC anticipate an immediate or significant increase in ASL interpreting usage after contract start due to new hires, onboarding, expanded departmental needs, recurring meetings, or on-demand service needs?

A15: No, but we have additional budget available beyond our average spend to cover the costs if an unforeseen increase were to happen.

Q16: Please clarify which CPUC departments, divisions, offices, programs, or employees are authorized to request services under this contract.

A16: CPUC will have two staff, one from our Communication Division and one from our Human Resources Division that will be responsible for coordinating all of the scheduled in person or video remote services. On-demand services will be available to any CPUC employee with a reasonable accommodation for hearing. Currently there are 5 staff with an RA.

Q17: The Scope of Work states that CPUC may request services for Categories 1 through 4 by issuing a Work Order via email or telephone at least 72 hours in advance. If a request is submitted only by simple email, telephone call, calendar invite, or other informal method, how will the Contractor verify that the service request has been properly approved and authorized for scheduling and billing purposes without a signed or official Work Order attached to the request?

A17: There will only be two CPUC staff authorized to schedule services with the Contractor. The Contractor does not need to fulfill requests submitted by anyone else and can direct those requests to the two authorized CPUC staff for approval. If the authorized staff change CPUC will notify the Contractor for the new authorized person.

Q18: Please clarify when an assignment is considered confirmed or billable: at the time CPUC submits the Work Order, or once the Contractor confirms that an interpreter has been secured and assigned.

A18: An assignment is considered confirmed when the Contractor secures an interpreter. An assignment is billable after services are performed with a maximum of 1 invoice per month for all services provided during the previous month.

Q19: If multiple CPUC departments, divisions, or programs are authorized to request services under this contract, how will CPUC ensure the Contractor can maintain one streamlined invoice submission process through the invoice submission method APinvoice@cpuc.ca.gov identified in the solicitation?

A19: All invoices will be submitted by the Contractor in the same manner. We have internal routing processes to have the Requesting Division approve the invoices for payments.

Q20: How should the Contractor handle situations where individual departments or divisions request separate invoice procedures, additional forms, separate email submissions, or different internal processing steps that are not outlined in the solicitation to avoid additional, unanticipated administrative duties not originally identified in the solicitation?

A20: There shouldn’t be separate procedures. The Contractor should follow the procedure outlined in Exhibit B of the contract.

Q21: Please clarify what documentation CPUC will accept as proof of completed interpreting services- does email confirmations, calendar confirmations, meeting attendance logs, or service records satisfy this requirement?

A21: Proof is not required unless there is some type of dispute situation. The CPUC contract managers will verify with staff on-site or in the meetings that the interpreters showed up and performed the services before approving monthly invoices.

Q22: Cancellation and Rescheduling: The solicitation allows billing for assignments cancelled by CPUC with less than 48 hours’ notice. Please clarify whether the Contractor may treat an assignment rescheduled within the 48-hour cancellation window as a cancellation of the original assignment and a new billable assignment, consistent with standard industry practice.

A22: Correct, CPUC recognizes this as a cancellation which can be billed as outlined in the agreement and then a new billable assignment.

Q23: For Category 5, the solicitation defines on-demand services as connecting to an interpreter within 60 seconds. Please clarify the expected usage volume, anticipated number of users, required hours of availability, and whether CPUC expects a dedicated on-demand platform, direct meeting access, or another access method. What is the ideal departmental flow of how you would like for these on-demand services to be met?

A23: Currently there are 5 CPUC staff using this service. The services should be available Monday through Friday 8AM – 5PM excluding holidays. Usage volume is unknown, we have only begun using on-demand services within the past 6 months. We don’t require a dedicated platform and are open to various solutions but not requiring downloaded software. We just want to be able to have an ASL interpreter join an online meeting within 60 seconds.

Q24: The solicitation asks bidders to explain how interpreters would join Microsoft Teams or WebEx meetings within 60 seconds. Please clarify whether CPUC expects interpreters to join CPUC--designated meeting links directly, or whether CPUC staff will access interpreters through the Contractor’s platform and then add the interpreter to the meeting.

A24: CPUC is open to any solution that doesn’t include downloading software programs that allows CPUC staff to have an ASL interpreter join an online meeting within 60 seconds.

Q25: The minimum qualifications state that bidders must have and maintain at least three ASL interpreters “on staff” for each category they are bidding on. Please clarify whether “on staff” includes W2 interpreters or subcontracted interpreters who are rostered and available to perform services under the Contractor’s management.

A25: We are defining “on staff” as being readily available to perform the services, these can be direct employees or subcontractors.

Q26: The insurance section requires subcontractors to either be included under the Contractor’s insurance or provide evidence of insurance equal to the required policies. Please clarify whether this requirement applies to every individual freelance interpreter assigned under the contract.

A26: It applies to all personnel the Contractor uses to fulfill the services of the contract. The Contractor is required to provide proof of insurance before the contract is executed. Individual subcontractors need to be insured but we are not requiring proof of insurance for every subcontractor.

Q27: If recurring meetings, pending requests, or open assignments exist near the end of the current contract and the start of the new contract, please clarify how CPUC intends to transition those services to avoid disruption, duplicate requests, or billing confusion.

A27: The current Contractors will complete any assignments already scheduled with them prior to their contracts expiring. We will begin scheduling new assignments with the Contractors awarded from this solicitation as soon as the contracts are executed.

Q28: Who is the current provider (or providers) for these services?

A28: Unspoken Languages and Interpreters Unlimited Q29: What are the current contract rates being charged for each of the service categories?

A29: Scheduled Video Remote - $90.50 per hour Scheduled In-Person – Between $80.50 and $90.50 per hour On-Demand Video Remote Services - $2.08 per minute Q30: Are there any specific service or technical bottlenecks the Commission has experienced with current workflows that a new partner should address or improve?

A30: Cancellations by interpreters for scheduled in person services Q31: What was the CPUC’s total contract expenditure on ASL interpreting services during the 2025 calendar year?

A31: For Fiscal year 25/26 (12 months) we have spent almost $120,000.00 on all ASL interpreting services.

Q32: Based on historical data, what is the estimated percentage breakdown between in-person versus video remote (VRI) assignments?

A32: Historically the split has been approximately 80% VRI vs 20% In person Q33: The solicitation notes that categories will be evaluated independently. Does the CPUC have an anticipated or maximum number of vendors it intends to award across the five service categories?

A33: One Contactor per category.

Q34: Could you provide estimated annual usage broken down by Category?

A35: We don’t have any meaningful data regarding on-demand services yet, we have only just begun trying to use them in the last 6 months. 80% of our spend has been on Video remote interpreting and we expect that to continue. Of the 20% spend on in person interpreting it has been split fairly evenly between San Francisco and Sacramento. Los Angeles in person interpreting has been rare.