BRDCOM-S3064 RFP.docx

NEVADA STATE PURCHASING DIVISION

DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION

515 East Musser Street, Suite 300 │ Carson City, NV 89701

Solicitation: BRDCOM-S3064 for Lobbying Services

Release date: 11/13/2024 Deadline for submission and opening date and time: 12/10/2024 @ 2:00 pm

Single point of contact for the solicitation:

Joel Wixon, Purchasing Officer II Phone, 775-531-3313 Email Address, j.wixon@admin.nv.gov

(TTY for deaf and hard of hearing, 800-326-6868 Ask the relay agent to dial, 1-775-684-0197/V.)

Table of Contents

Applicable regulations governing procurement

Statute and Code. All applicable Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) and Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) documentation can be found at: www.leg.state.nv.us/law1.cfm.

Single point of contact. Vendors and/or their representatives shall only contact the single point of contract or use the electronic procurement system regarding this solicitation until after a notice of award (NOA) has been issued. Failure to observe this restriction may result in disqualification of a proposal per NAC 333.155(3).

Ethics. Prospective vendors are advised to review Nevada’s ethical standards requirements, including but not limited to NRS 281A, NRS 333.800, and NAC 333.155.

Project overview

The Nevada State Purchasing Division of the Department of Administration, on behalf of Nevada State Board of Dental Examiners is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to provide Lobbying Services as described in the scope of work and attachments.

The State intends to award one (1) contract in conjunction with this Request for Proposals (RFP), as determined in the best interests of the State. Nevada State Board of Dental Examiners shall administer contract(s) resulting from this solicitation. The resulting contract(s) are expected to be for a contract term of one year, subject to Board of Examiners approval.

Scope of work

Monitoring Legislation: Tracking the progress of bills, regulations, and other government actions that may affect the Board.

Legislative Advocacy: Directly advocating information related to specific legislation on behalf of the Board, including drafting, amending, or opposing bills.

Government Relations: Building and maintaining relationships with lawmakers, government officials, and regulatory agencies to represent the interests of the client.

Strategic Planning: Developing and implementing strategies to achieve legislative or regulatory goals, including long-term planning for influencing policy changes.

Coalition Building: Forming or joining coalitions with other organizations or stakeholders to strengthen advocacy efforts.

Testifying Before Committees: Assist Board staff when representing the Board in legislative hearings by providing testimony, data, and expert opinions.

Regulatory Affairs: Engaging with regulatory agencies during the rule-making process to shape the implementation of laws in ways that are favorable to the Board.

Crisis Management: Helping the Board navigate political or legislative crises that may arise, including developing strategies to mitigate negative impacts.

Information Dissemination: Sharing and drafting written reports and updates on to bills that potentially impact the Board or the dental industry with the Board's Executive Team on a monthly basis along with on-demand as situations arise during the active legislative session.

Attachments

Attachments incorporated by reference. To be read and not returned.

Terms and conditions for services

Attachments for review. To be read and not returned (unless redlining).

Standard form contract Insurance schedule

Proposal attachments. To be completed and returned.

Cost schedule Proposed staff resume Reference questionnaire Attachments for signature

Vendor information response Vendor certifications Certification regarding lobbying Confidentiality and certification of indemnification

Timeline

Questions. All questions regarding this solicitation shall be submitted using the Bid Q&A feature in NEVADAePro.

Timeline. The following represents the proposed timeline for this project.

All times stated are Pacific Time (PT).

These dates represent a tentative schedule of events.

The State reserves the right to modify these dates at any time.

Evaluation

Evaluation and scoring are conducted in accordance with NRS 333.335 and NAC 333.160-333.165.

Proposals shall be kept confidential until a contract is awarded.

In the event the solicitation is withdrawn prior to award, proposals remain confidential.

The evaluation committee is an independent committee established to evaluate and score technical proposals and presentations for the solicitation.

The State, at its option, may limit participation in cost scoring and/or presentations to vendors above a natural break in relative scores.

Financial stability shall be scored on a pass/fail basis.

Proposals shall be consistently evaluated and scored based upon the following factors and relative weights.

Cost factor. The cost factor score will be based on the following equation. The highest proposed cost from any vendor and the lowest proposed cost from any vendor will be added together to generate a combined total. For each vendor, that proposed cost will be subtracted from the previously combined total. This number is then divided by the highest proposed cost. The resulting number is multiplied by the cost factor weight to generate a weighted cost score.

Presentations. The State may require vendors to make a presentation. The State reserves the right to add additional criteria for presentations. The State reserves the right to forego presentations and select vendor(s) based on written proposals submitted.

Nevada-based business preference

The State awards a five percent (5%) preference to Nevada-based businesses pursuant to NRS 333.3351 to 333.3356, inclusive.

Nevada-based business is defined in NRS 333.3352(1).

The term ‘principal place of business’ has the meaning outlined by the United States Supreme Court in Hertz Corp v. Friend, 559 U.S. 77 (2010), typically meaning a business’s corporate headquarters.

To claim this preference a vendor must indicate it on their vendor account and submitted Quote in NEVADAePro.

This preference cannot be combined with any other preference, granted for the award of a contract using federal funds, or granted for the award of a contract procured on a multi-state basis.

Inverse preference

The State applies an inverse preference to vendors that have a principal place of business in a state other than Nevada and that state applies an in-state preference not afforded to Nevada based vendors, pursuant to NRS 333.33695.

The amount of the inverse preference is correlated to the amount of preference applied in the other state.

Vendors who meet this criterion must indicated it on their submitted Quote in NEVADAePro.

This preference cannot be combined with any other preference, granted for the award of a contract using federal funds, or granted for the award of a contract procured on a multi-state basis.

Mandatory minimum requirements

Pursuant to NRS 333.311 a contact cannot be awarded to a proposal that does not comply with the requirements listed in this section. Proposal shall include confirmation of compliance with all mandatory minimum requirements.

Nevada Law and State indemnity. Pursuant to NRS 333.339, any contract that is entered into may not: (1) Require the filing of any action or the arbitration of any dispute that arises from the contract to be instituted or heard in another state or nation; or (2) Require the State to indemnify another party against liability for damages.

No Boycott of Israel. Pursuant to NRS 333.338, the State of Nevada cannot enter a contract with a company unless that company agrees for the duration of the contract not to engage in a boycott of Israel. By submitting a proposal or bid, vendor agrees that if it is awarded a contract, it will not engage in a boycott of Israel as defined in NRS 333.338(3)(a).

Nevada business license. Pursuant to NRS 353.007, prior to contract execution awarded vendor must hold a state business license pursuant to NRS chapter 76 unless exempted by NRS 76.100(7)(b). Business license must match NEVADAePro vendor registration.

System for Award Management (sam.gov) Prior to contract award vendor must hold an active entity registration in sam.gov. Entity registration must match NEVADAePro vendor registration.

Contract responsibility. Awarded vendor shall be the sole point of contract responsibility. The State shall look solely to the awarded vendor for the performance of all contractual obligations which may result from an award based on this solicitation, and the awarded vendor shall not be relieved for the non-performance of any or all subcontractors.

Data encryption and stateside data. State IT requires that data be encrypted in transit and in rest. State IT requires that State data assets must be maintained in the United States and data will not be held offshore.

Critical items

In addition to the scope of work and attachments, the items listed in this section are critical to the success of the project. These items will be used in evaluating and scoring the proposal. Vendor proposal should address items in this section in enough detail to provide evaluators an accurate understanding of vendor capabilities. Proposals that fail to sufficiently respond to these items may be considered non-responsive.

Standard form contract. The State strongly prefers vendors agree to the terms of the attached standard form contract as is. Ability to agree to contract terms is a high priority to the State. Vendors who cannot agree to the contract as is must include a redlined Word version of the attached standard form contract with their proposal response, with comments justifying the benefit to the State for each requested change. To the extent a vendor has prior contractual dealings with the State, no assumption should be made that terms outside those provided herein have any influence on this project.

Indemnification. Required contract terms on Indemnification: "To the fullest extent permitted by law, Contractor shall indemnify, hold harmless and defend, not excluding the State’s right to participate, the State from and against all liability, claims, actions, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, arising out of any breach of the obligations of Contractor under this contract, or any alleged negligent or willful acts or omissions of Contractor, its officers, employees and agents. Contractor’s obligation to indemnify the State shall apply in all cases except for claims arising solely from the State’s own negligence or willful misconduct. Contractor waives any rights of subrogation against the State. Contractor’s duty to defend begins when the State requests defense of any claim arising from this Contract."

Limited liability. Required contract terms on Limited Liability: "The State will not waive and intends to assert available NRS Chapter 41 liability limitations in all cases. Contract liability of both parties shall not be subject to punitive damages. Damages for any State breach shall never exceed the amount of funds appropriated for payment under this Contract, but not yet paid to Contractor, for the Fiscal Year budget in existence at the time of the breach. Contractor’s tort liability shall not be limited."

Insurance schedule. The State strongly prefers vendors agree to the terms of the attached insurance schedule as is. Vendors who cannot agree must explain which areas are causing non-compliance and attach a redline if necessary. Awarded vendor shall maintain, for the duration of the contract, insurance coverages as set forth in the fully executed contract. Work on the contract shall not begin until after the awarded vendor has submitted acceptable evidence of required insurance. Failure to maintain any required insurance coverage or acceptable alternative method of insurance shall be deemed a breach of contract.

Vendor background and staff resumes. Provide a background/history and why vendor is qualified to provide the services described in this solicitation. Provide a brief description of the length of time vendor has been providing services described in this solicitation to the public and/or private sector. Vendor proposal shall include a proposed staff resume for each proposed key personnel, whether employed directly or through a subcontractor.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are defined as a third party, not directly employed by the contractor, who shall provide services identified in this solicitation. This does not include third parties who provide support or incidental services to the contractor.

Vendor shall disclose all proposed subcontractors. Proposal should include a vendor information response form for each subcontractor.

Vendor shall not allow any subcontractor to commence work until all insurance required of the subcontractor is provided to the vendor.

Vendor proposal shall identify specific requirements of the project for which each subcontractor shall perform services.

How the work of any subcontractor(s) shall be supervised How channels of communication shall be maintained How compliance with contracts terms and conditions will be assured Previous experience with subcontractor(s)

Confidential business information

The information requested in this section is designated as confidential business information by the Administrator pursuant to NRS 333.020(5)(b) and is not public information pursuant to NRS 333.333.

This information should be submitted as a separate attachment, flagged as confidential in NEVADAePro.

Dun and Bradstreet number. Vendor shall provide their Dun and Bradstreet Number.

Financial information. Vendor shall provide the last two full years and current year interim (a) profit and loss statements and (b) balance statements.

Disclosure. Vendor shall provide complete disclosure of any alleged significant prior or ongoing contract failures, contract breaches, any civil or criminal litigation or investigations pending which involves the vendor or in which the vendor has been judged guilty or liable.

Client references

Vendor shall provide reference questionnaire attachment to client references from similar projects performed for private and/or public sector clients within the last five years.

The single point of contact must receive at least three complete reference questionnaire documents directly from the client references via email.

The purpose of these references is to document relevant experience and aid in the evaluation process.

Reference questionnaire will not be accepted directly from proposing vendors.

Client references shall not be requested from the soliciting agency.

The State will not disclose client references, but may confirm if a reference questionnaire has been received.

The State reserves the right to contact client references during evaluation or negotiations.

Submission checklist

This section identifies documents that vendors shall submit to be considered responsive. Vendors are encouraged to review all requirements to ensure all requested information is included in their response.

Responses must be submitted as a Quote through NEVADAePro, nevadaepro.com.

Vendors are encouraged to submit a single file attachment per section where possible.

Technical proposal information and Cost proposal information shall not be included in the same attachment.

Cost proposal attachment shall not be flagged as confidential in NEVADAePro.

Additional attachments may be included, but are discouraged and should be kept to a minimum.

Technical proposal

Title page Table of contents Response to mandatory minimum requirements Response to critical items Response to scope of work Proposed staff resumes Other informational material

Proprietary information. If necessary. Attachment should be flagged confidential in NEVADAePro.

Title page Table of contents Trade secret information, cross referenced to the technical proposal (alternatively, a redacted technical proposal and a full confidential technical proposal can be submitted)

Cost proposal

Confidential business information. Attachment should be flagged confidential in NEVADAePro.

Signed attachments

Vendor information response Vendor certifications Confidentiality and certification of indemnification Certification regarding lobbying

Other attachments. If necessary, not recommended.

Reference questionnaires. Not submitted directly by vendor.

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