ESBD_446814_1755611808112_SOL_PST_405-25R0011573A_905.16 208.15.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY OF THE STATE OF TEXAS

SOLICITATION NO.

405-25R0011573A

TYPE OF SOLICITATION

NEGOTIATED - REQUEST FOR

PROPOSAL (RFP)

DATE ISSUED

08/19/2025 Aviation Management Solution

Vendor must submit electronic responses no later than 5:00 p.m. Central Time on 09/18/2025 to the following address or via the DPS Online Bid Room.

DPS_Solicit_Response@dps.texas.gov

Attention: 405-25R0011573A

DPS is not currently accepting any in-person solicitation responses. DPS will only accept electronic responses received by the date and time indicated in the solicitation.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:

Daniel Ashby, CTCM, CTCD

Contract Administrator

PHONE: (512) 424-2086

EMAIL: Daniel.Ashby@dps.texas.gov

RESPONSE (Respondent must fully complete)

DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT: 10 DAYS

20 DAYS

30 DAYS

___ DAYS

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF ADDENDA:

(Respondent acknowledges receipt of Solicitation addenda and related documents numbered and dated:

ADDENDUM NO. DATE ADDENDUM NO. DATE

NAME AND ADDRESS

OF RESPONDENT:

RESPONSE DATE

EMAIL AND TELEPHONE NO. (Include area code)

SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE

NAME AND TITLE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE

CERTIFICATION, DISQUALIFICATION, AND REMEDIES

By signing this document, Vendor represents and warrants that all statements, certifications, and information submitted in response to this solicitation are true, current, complete, and accurate.

Failure to sign will deem the response non-responsive. DPS may pursue and enforce any available remedies against Vendor for making false statements, including disqualifying the Vendor’s response, immediately cancelling any Contract awarded to Vendor, or recommending State of Texas debarment.

TERM, PRICING, AND FUNDING

The initial contract term commences on the effective date stated in the signing document, or purchase order and expires 5 years from that effective date.

If necessary, at the end of the contract term, DPS reserves the right to extend continued performance of the Contract at rates specified within, by written notification to Contractor for no more than a six-month period, for the purpose of re-advertising, awarding a new Contract, or transitioning into a new Contract.

mailto:DPS_Solicit_Response@dps.texas.gov

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION A—DEFINITIONS

SECTION B—SERVICES AND PRICES

B.1 PRICING REQUIREMENTS

B.2 INVOICE REQUIREMENTS

B.3 PAYMENTS

B.4 MANDATORY PRICING SCHEDULE

SECTION C - STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 INTRODUCTION

C.2 SCOPE

C.2.1 Software RequirEments

C.2.2 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE AND GENERAL AVIATION SERVICES AND SUPPLY

C.2.3 Software MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS:

C.4 PROJECT SCHEDULE AND PLAN

C.4 TRANSITION

C.5 DPS PERSONNEL

C.6 HISTORICALLY UNDERUTILIZED BUSINESSES (HUB) PARTICIPATION

C.7 INSURANCE REQUIRED UNDER THE CONTRACT

C.8 CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK

C.9 CYBER SECURITY CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

SECTION D—INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO RESPONDENTS ... 21

D.1 RESPONSE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

D.2 SOLICITATION ADDENDA

D.3 LATE SUBMISSIONS, CHANGES, AND WITHDRAWALS OF RESPONSES

D.4 RESPONSE ACCEPTANCE PERIOD

D.5 CONTRACT AWARD

D.6 DPS’s RIGHTS

D.7 RESPONSE SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

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D.8 PRESENTATIONS

D.9 DISCUSSION AND CORRESPONDENCE

D.10 SUBMISSIONS SUBJECT TO THE TEXAS PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT

D.11 AGENCY POSTING OF CONTRACTS

D.12 ANTICIPATED SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

SECTION E—EVALUATION CRITERIA

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SECTION A—DEFINITIONS

The following terms and acronyms used in the Contract have the meanings given in this section unless the context indicates otherwise.

“Business Day” means Monday through Friday except for federal, state, and legal holidays observed by the State of Texas.

“Business Hours” means 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time.

“Contract” means this formal, written, and legally enforceable agreement between DPS and Contractor.

“Contractor” means the individual, business entity, or organization awarded the Contract. In the context of submitting a response, “Contractor” also means “Respondent” and “Vendor.”

“Date of Award” means the date the Contract is fully executed.

“Days” means calendar days unless otherwise specified.

“DPS” means the Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas, a state agency in the executive branch created under Tex. Gov’t Code Ch. 411.

“Fiscal Year” means any of the one year periods beginning September 1 and ending August 31 used for annual budgetary purposes by the State of Texas.

“Parties” means Contractor and DPS.

“Respondent” means the individual, business entity, or organization that submits a response in response to this solicitation with intent to contract with DPS.

“Vendor” means the individual, business entity, or organization at any stage in the procurement or contracting process (prior to response, during response, and after contract award).

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SECTION B—SERVICES AND PRICES

B.1 PRICING REQUIREMENTS

B.1.1 Pricing Instructions

A. Respondent must submit proposed pricing on the Mandatory Pricing Schedule that includes all costs, fees, licenses, and all expenses for Contractor’s delivery and performance of the commodities or services requested. The final negotiated, contracted pricing and payment structure will represent Contractor’s sole compensation under the Contract. DPS guarantees no minimum compensation under the Contract.

B. DPS will negotiate pricing prior to award of the Contract if the pricing offered appears that it may not be best value to DPS.

C. Contractor must deliver and provide the commodities and services described in compliance with all requirements of the Contract on a no minimum, as needed, as requested basis. Notwithstanding anything else to the contrary in the Contract, DPS will not make any payments of any amount to Contractor or any other entity or person, and Contractor will not submit any invoices, until Contractor has received approval from DPS’s Contract Monitor specifically stating that DPS accepts the commodities or services, and Contractor is authorized to submit an invoice. If DPS does not accept the commodities or services, the Contract will involve no payments of any type for any amount.

B.1.2 Financial Rating Report, Financial Resources, and Ability to Perform

A. Upon request, Respondent must provide evidence of its financial resources and its ability to provide the commodities or perform the services for which Respondent is submitting a response. This includes information Respondent believes is pertinent to demonstrate its financial capability, financial solvency, and capacity to fulfill the requirements of this solicitation.

B. Evidence of financial stability include providing audited financial statements for each of the last two years of Respondent’s operations or, in the alternative, financial statements compiled, reviewed and attested by an independent certified public accountant or certified public accounting firm. Respondents may submit a copy of its Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) Business Information Report. If a D&B Report is submitted the report must include Respondent’s Viability Score and the Portfolio Comparison Score or similar ratings.

C. In lieu of providing financial statements in its Proposal, a Respondent may provide a statement regarding the Respondent’s financial stability and viability to perform under any resulting contract. If Respondent elects this approach rather than audited financial statements, the Respondent must submit a statement, with appropriate supporting

Page 6 of 32 Template Approved 5/26/2022 documentation, sufficiently detailed to demonstrate financial solvency, and to verify the capacity to fulfill the requirements of this solicitation.

D. Respondent must provide information, and any other financial information reasonably requested by DPS consistent with the services provided by Respondent or otherwise required by the then applicable DPS policies for similar contracts.

E. Selected Contractor must also submit to the Contract Administrator its financial rating information within 120 days after the end of Contractor’s fiscal year.

F. DPS reserves the right to investigate and determine the financial integrity and responsibility of a Respondent and to reject a response on the grounds of Respondent’s lack of financial soundness, or if DPS reasonably concludes, after reviewing the information submitted by Respondent as well as all other relevant information obtained by DPS, that significant issues exist that could jeopardize Respondent’s full and timely performance. DPS also reserves this same right throughout the life of the Contract, including before executing any optional renewal with Contractor.

B.2 INVOICE REQUIREMENTS

A. Invoices are Contractor’s billing for commodities or services rendered. DPS will pay

Contractor based on itemized invoices submitted to and approved by DPS. The invoices must be itemized and clearly identify the actual commodities and services provided.

B. Contractor’s invoice must include the following: the Contract/Purchase Order number, the remittance address, and any prompt payment discount offered. Contractor must email the invoice to the Contract Monitor listed in the Contract and to apinvoices@dps.texas.gov.

The State of Texas will not incur any penalty for late payment if the invoice fails to conform to the requirements of this section or if Contractor did not email the invoice to the appropriate email addresses identified in this section.

B.3 PAYMENTS

A. DPS recommends that Vendor receive payments by electronic funds transfer (EFT), also known as direct deposit. If Vendor elects to be set up for direct deposit payment, Vendor must submit a completed Direct Deposit Authorization Form (74-176).

B. Regardless as to whether Direct Deposit is chosen, Vendor must submit a completed Application for Texas Identification Number (AP-152) and Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certifications Form (W-9) with its response.

C. If Vendor has previously submitted a completed Direct Deposit Authorization Form and Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certifications Form to DPS for another separate contract, Vendor is not required to submit another form.

mailto:apinvoices@dps.texas.gov

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B.4 MANDATORY PRICING SCHEDULE

Respondent must submit pricing within the Pricing Schedule Exhibit F.9 replicating, as necessary, in this exact format.

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SECTION C - STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 INTRODUCTION

The Department of Public Safety (DPS) seeks a single vendor to provide all aviation-related services including a turnkey hosted aircraft management, maintenance services, and aircraft parts ordering software solution for the Aircraft Operations Division (AOD). The solution will store records for over 25 aircraft including but not limited to Airbus AS350 B2, AS350B3 2b1, H125, and separate customizable personnel information profiles for the 100 pilots and aircrew. DPS must be able to add and remove aircraft and personnel as needed and on demand. The solution will track various aircraft records, flights, training, currencies, maintenance, aircraft accessories, parts, and equipment and provide user roles, management, and training records. The solution will provide a portal for parts and accessories for DPS owned aircraft and its unmanned aerial systems (UAS)fleet. The solution must be able to apply funding codes to expense operating budgets for each flight record and generate reports for budgetary means. AOD must be able to create reports for any data input into the solution.

C.2 SCOPE

The Texas Department of Public Safety requires a comprehensive Aircraft Management Solution (AMS). AMS must allow access to purchase high-quality Original Equipment Manufacturer (OME) parts, experienced Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) mechanical labor, and reliable services to ensure the operational readiness of the DPS aircraft fleet. The AMS must be managed through a Software as a Service (SaaS) model intended to manage aircraft operations and maintenance data. The contractor must deliver seamless implementation and integration services, ongoing maintenance and support, and all necessary training for DPS personnel.

C.2.1 SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

A. General Software Capabilities:

1. The software maintenance solution must be capable of receiving electronic updated to include receiving airworthiness directives and service bulletin updates directly from the FAA and manufacturers, including Textron, Bell, Pilatus, Cessna, Airbus, Kawasaki, Pratt and Whitney, Safran, and Lycoming.

2. DPS must be able to add and remove DPS owned aircraft and DPS personnel as needed throughout the life of the contract without limits.

3. The software maintenance solution must track various aircraft records, flights, training, currencies, maintenance, aircraft accessories, parts, and equipment and provide user roles, management, and training records.

4. The software maintenance solution must have functionality that applies funding codes to expense operating budgets for each flight record and generate reports for budgetary means.

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5. The software maintenance solution must provide users with a keyword search feature to search for data within the solution.

6. The software maintenance solution must maintain workflow capabilities to enforce workflow for submitting and approving item submissions.

7. The software maintenance solution must provide DPS with the capability of running Ad hoc reports.

8. The software maintenance solution must notify users about various topics, such as overdue reports, reports that need approval, maintenance notices, etc...

9. The software maintenance solution must track the maintenance cost for each aircraft.

10. The software maintenance solution must allow tracking costs by the associated budget index number(s) & category(s).

11. The software maintenance solution must store photographic images, including those downloaded to or imported from another system, along with those scanned and uploaded to the application.

12. The software maintenance solution must create and maintain flight logs. It must track the location of the aircraft flown, passengers on board, fuel and oil expenses, multiple events for a single leg of a flight log, and de-duplication for the flight log entry to ensure errors do not occur when a flight has been accounted for in another flight log.

13. The software maintenance solution must capture electronic signatures for the persons submitting the reports and passengers of an AOD flight.

14. The software maintenance solution must allow users (crew members) to maintain the various levels of access and permissions.

a. Minimum Certification Examples: Annual, Semi-Annual, Bi-Annual, 90 Day, and 60 Days.

15. The software maintenance solution must track time for AOD personnel to track hours by day for each day aircraft personnel work. These hours must be capable of generating standard and ad-hoc reports.

16. The solution must possess an inventory management feature to include but not limited to aircraft, aircraft parts, special equipment, etc., with the minimum fields for inventory to include description, value, date purchased, date turned in and transferred, serial number(s), asset tag number(s), equipment assigned to, and inspection schedule data.

17. The solution must have list value maintenance capability for system administrators to add, update, and disable attribute values in the application.

Items include but are not limited to mission classifications and activity entries.

18. The software maintenance solution must provide entry of necessary information to maintain a tracking log of transactions.

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a. Must maintain data associated with various budget items requiring monthly reporting via standard and ad-hoc reports.

b. Minimum field requirements for the entry of budget item data:

(a) Description

(b) Vendor Name

(c) Vendor Federal Tax Number

(d) Date of Transaction

(e) Unit Price

(f) Quantity

(g) Total Cost

19. The software maintenance solution must track aircraft maintenance and allow users to enter, update, and search for maintenance records for all aircraft and aircraft components.

20. The software maintenance solution must allow users to schedule DPS personnel and include the ability to view schedules by Duty Station or by individual.

21. The software maintenance solution must provide an online help function that can be easily read and understood by users who are not computer or software experts.

22. The software maintenance solution must be configurable to meet specific needs as requested by DPS.

23. The software maintenance solution must exhibit interface capabilities for web services and integration capabilities with other software solutions.

24. The software maintenance solution must meet DPS’s scalability requirement for flight log entry and be capable of processing approximately 500 flight logs per month or 6000 +/- per year.

25. The software maintenance solution must accommodate minimal customizations to the Software Solution to meet the needs of DPS law enforcement. At DPS’ discretion, configurable may be required on an ongoing basis.

B. Access Requirements:

1. DPS must be able to access to the solution through a web-based application accessible over an internet connection using any major internet browsers, including but not limited to Google Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge.

2. The software maintenance solution must provide end-user platform access for Windows-based PCs, laptops, iPads, iPhones, and Android devices.

3. The software maintenance solution must provide a parts portal within the site for DPS to order and purchase aircraft parts and accessories for the aircraft listed in Section F. General Capabilities.

4. The software maintenance solution must allow for a role-based security model for all features in the application.

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5. The software maintenance solution must support access to internal and external users as assigned by DPS, who will require access to the Software Solution based on the DPS application security standard.

6. The software maintenance solution must allow DPS System Administrators to adjust rights for all agency users, including associate attributes and user roles, and add/remove users at any time throughout the contract’s life.

7. The software maintenance solution must accommodate the DPS staff who work in a geographically distributed work environment across the State of Texas. The operating environment, at a minimum, must support:

a. Aircraft and crews throughout the State of Texas.

b. DPS staff who work within a 24/7 environment.

c. DPS staff accessing the system via direct network connection, available wireless connections, air card connections, and secure VPN authentication.

d. DPS data required to be stored and accessed from a secure environment to meet the program oversight requirements and operational goals.

C. Archiving And Data Retention Requirements:

1. The software maintenance solution must allow DPS to archive all data so that it may be accessed for reporting based on the type of data in the system.

2. The software maintenance solution must have data retention abilities capable of adhering to DPS’s current records retention schedule as maintained by the agency.

3. The software maintenance solution must perform backups on all system Records once every twenty-four (24) hours to facilitate data and system restoration in the event of any failures, including but not limited to hardware.

The data backup schedule will be mutually agreed upon by both the Contractor and DPS. It will be oriented around periods when DPS believes the system is expected to have the lightest use.

D. System Reporting Requirements:

1. The software maintenance solution must have ad-hoc reporting capability to generate ad hoc reports by providing input parameters.

2. A standard systems report based on requirements defined by DPS during the project requirements process must be available through the solution.

3. The software maintenance solution must provide the capability to transfer all data in an unencrypted format to a new system if unforeseen circumstances arise.

4. The software maintenance solution must provide open records reporting by generating reports to query selected fields or files to obtain the requested open records.

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5. The software maintenance solution must produce reports in both PDF format and printable format.

6. The software maintenance solution must have a custom report range capable of customizing data by date/time and/or day range for standard and ad-hoc system reports based on the required reporting periods defined by DPS.

E. Additional Licensing Requirement:

1. The contractor must allow additional aircraft licenses to be purchased at the initial cost, which will provide the option to renew for the following year at a prorated price, thereby limiting all software licenses to a single annual term period.

2. The software maintenance solution must not limit how many seats DPS adds to the contract during its lifetime.

F. Software Training Requirements:

1. The contractor must provide a detailed training plan for written approval from DPS within 60 days of award.

2. The contractor must ensure DPS users acquire the necessary skills and proficiencies.

3. The contractor must facilitate all required training programs at DPS Headquarters, DPS Airport Hangar located in Austin, Texas, or virtually as approved by DPS contract monitor.

4. The contractor provided training must be interactive, with an emphasis on all appropriate development skills.

5. Contractor must provide users the ability to ask questions of the trainer during the sessions.

6. The contractor must coordinate with the DPS Project Manager to schedule the required training sessions.

C.2.2 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE AND GENERAL AVIATION SERVICES AND SUPPLY

The contractor’s maintenance solution must provide for all aviation-related maintenance services to include the following but not limited to:

A. The maintenance solution must provide for the purchase of new, exchanged, repaired, and overhauled aircraft parts, components, fuels, and lubrication.

B. The maintenance solution must provide an aircraft parts and accessories ordering portal. DPS must be able to place and track orders, and an order number must be provided for each order.

C. Correspondence with AOD user or contract monitor must be provided within (3) business days and include estimated time for delivery for both in-stock parts and backordered parts. All quotes must be inclusive of any shipping and delivery fees.

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All parts ordered by DPS are subject to return for credit, provided they are unused and in good condition.

D. The contractor must provide experienced FAA-certified Airframe and Powerplant mechanics, each having a minimum of 3 years of Airbus maintenance experience, to conduct scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and inspections on all Airbus helicopter AS350, H125, and H145 variants. At a minimum, the lead mechanic must have attended Airbus and Safran engine factory maintenance courses.

E. The contractor must have all required Airbus, Safran, and Goodrich specialized tooling to complete any inspection or maintenance event, including access to current technical publications. (No person may conduct maintenance on DPS aircraft unless they possess an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certificate issued by the FAA.)

F. Contractor must provide a valid FAA issued, Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certificate for any employee schedule to conduct maintenance prior to beginning any agree upon services.

G. The contractor must provide all scheduled and unscheduled inspections and repairs of DPS fixed wing single engine, multi-engine, retractable gear, fixed gear, and both pressurized and non-pressurized turbo-propeller driven aircraft (examples would include Cessna 206 / C208, Textron, King Air Series, and Pilatus PC12 all series).

H. The contractor must be capable of beginning work within 5 days of a PO being issued covering any DPS and Vendor agreed upon maintenance.

I. The contractor must provide hangar and aircraft lease options.

J. The contractor must offer tool rentals, calibration, and purchases.

K. The contractor must provide aircraft ground handling equipment purchases, parts, and repairs.

L. The contractor’s maintenance facility must be within the State of Texas.

a. Should the contractor’s primary maintenance location be unavailable, DPS reserves the right to use an available contracted maintenance location to provide the required aircraft maintenance and repairs.

M. The contractor must maintain a minimum of 3 A&P mechanics at maintenance facilities utilized for DPS services.

N. The contractor must provide mobile maintenance and be capable of responding to any maintenance event in the state within 24 hours.

O. The contractor’s regular business hours will be no less than Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the ability to conduct after-hours maintenance or split shifts as required by DPS.

P. The contractor must allow DPS FAA-certified mechanics and avionics technicians to assist with any maintenance of DPS assets.

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Q. All contractor repairs scheduled and non-scheduled inspections must be completed in In Accordance With (IAW) with the OEM service manuals and FAA regulations.

R. The contractor must maintain records for at least three (3) years from the contract expiration date or termination.

S. The contractor must maintain a library of required maintenance publications specific to the type of aircraft being maintained or inspected.

T. The contractor must possess appropriate tooling to conduct law-enforcement mission-specific equipment and repairs. Examples include calibrated crimpers for coax terminations, D-Sub pins and sockets, test equipment for post-installation functional checks, and equipment software.

U. The contractor must be capable of providing aviation-related services to include video retention and streaming service equipment.

V. The contractor must keep all records of work performed on DPS aircraft updated in the maintenance software management solution.

W. The contractor must be capable of acquiring, repairing, replacing, installing, and servicing special mission police equipment.

X. The contractor must provide Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) accessories, hardware, services, and software. The contractor must provide the acquisition of commercial and non-commercial aviation supplies related to UAS in both commercial grade and custom applications upon request (Examples would include brands such as Skydio, DJI, Autel, etc., for items such as spare parts, batteries, hand-controllers, etc.).

C.2.3 PARTS AND EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS:

A. All parts, equipment, and necessary materials and supplies must comply with FAA regulations and meet or exceed the OEM specifications.

B. DPS will consider aftermarket, refurbished, or overhauled replacement parts if it is in the best interest of the State of Texas and flight safety is not compromised.

1. All aftermarket, refurbished, overhauled, or Parts Manufactured Approval (PMA) parts must meet the OEM specifications and be FAA-approved.

2. Aftermarket, refurbished, overhauled, or PMA parts are only permitted with express, prior, and written approval by the DPS Maintenance Officer or Director of Maintenance.

C. When requested by DPS, the contractor must provide proposals for aircraft modifications or engine replacements within this scope of work to be completed as outlined by DPS.

D. The contractor must obtain a mutual agreement for all equipment supplements in writing and signed by both the Contractor and DPS.

E. The contractor must supply DPS with a bid reflecting the contracted percentage discount(s) from the cost of all parts to be utilized.

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F. The contractor must provide all supporting documentation to DPS’s satisfaction for items proposed/utilized and how the costs were calculated.

G. The contractor must include all equipment, shop supplies, oil, grease, and materials necessary to complete the services in the service cost.

C.2.4 MAINTENANCE SERVICE REQUIREMENTS:

The contractor must adhere to the general procedures outlined below to manage active project issues and risks.

A. DPS will identify and document project issues (current problems) and risks (potential events that affect the project).

B. DPS will assess, analyze, and prioritize the impact and determine the highest priority risks and issues managed actively, according to priority, by the Contractor.

C. The Contractor must plan and schedule high-priority risks and issues assigning responsibility for risk management and issue resolution in a documented risk register or issues log, as determined and approved by DPS.

D. The Contractor must track and report the status of risks and issues and communicate risk mitigation plans and issue resolutions using the risk register and issue log.

E. DPS will monitor and control the effectiveness of the risk and issue management actions.

F. Active issues and risks are monitored and reassessed on a weekly basis by DPS and the Contractor. Mutually agreed-upon escalation and risk management processes are defined at the outset of the project.

G. The contractor must not bill DPS for any time or materials applied to correct product defects caused by the contractor.

H. The contractor must adhere to Meantime to Resolution (MTR) below for defect resolution:

a. Critical/blocker (the system is down and non-usable – Severity 1) -- Respond within 1 hour, fix delivered in 24 hours.

b. High (system is functional but suffering from significant impact to operations – Severity 2) - Respond in 4 hours, and fix delivered in 72 hours.

c. Medium (the system is functional; some impact to operations – Severity 3) – Respond in 8 hours and the fix is delivered in 10 days or less.

d. Low (minor issue, no impact to operations – Severity 4) – Respond in 24 hours, fixed delivered based on the prioritization of planned releases.

C.2.5 SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS:

The software maintenance solution must be vendor hosted in a DPS approved government cloud, and must provide turnkey software maintenance to include but not limited to:

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A. The software maintenance solution must provide maintenance and support to include changes the contractor develops for DPS under the Awarded Purchase Order, which is managed through a mutually agreed upon Service Level Agreement.

B. The software maintenance solution must provide preventative system diagnosis, both scheduled and unscheduled, correct faults, and modify the software to maintain the service level performance of the vendor-hosted solution.

C. The software maintenance solution must provide a web-based support portal for DPS to report minor problems and must be available 24/hours per day × 7 days per week, 365/days a year, with a researchable knowledge base for known issues.

D. The contractor must provide maintenance service to resolve usability problems, including, but not limited to, bugs, security issues, and installation of software updates and major software releases.

E. The contractor must include within their standard software maintenance and support all updates, new versions, and other software releases.

F. Contractor must provide continuous hardware and software maintenance, upgrades, and refreshes as applicable to the selected hosted solution.

G. The software maintenance solution’s services must provide a system that includes but is not limited to, all hardware and software maintenance and support, upgrades to equipment to meet and maintain performance service levels, backup hardware, and Internet connections.

H. The contractor must provide periodic software updates completed during the maintenance window agreed upon between the Contractor and DPS.

I. The contractor must install system software updates released by the Contractor during the maintenance window agreed upon between the Contractor and DPS.

J. Upon DPS request, the contractor must make all documentation or manuals from a software/system update available.

K. In accordance with Texas Statues, all vendors must possess or commit to obtaining TX_RAMP certification if warded the contract. This is to ensure compliance with state-mandated security standards for cloud computing services provided to Texas state agencies.

C.3 RECOVERY AND SERVICE OUTAGES

A. The contractor must provide a detailed communication plan that specifies how it must be contacted in the event of a system outage. The plan must also include the contractor’s notification and escalation process.

B. The contractor must resolve system crashes within four (4) hours of the initial notification, and catastrophic disasters without lost physical infrastructure must be restored within five (5) business days.

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C.4 PROJECT SCHEDULE AND PLAN

Respondent must include in its response a draft project plan detailing how Respondent will provide or implement the requirements of this solicitation. The draft project plan must detail how Respondent would address the following phases:

A. A description of the project organization;

B. A breakdown and detailed description of the different deliverables;

C. Expected dependencies, caveats, or risks that exist within the project plan and schedule;

D. A schedule and work plan for the different deliverables of the project;

E. A Gantt chart illustrating a high-level timeline for the project, including task start and end dates and dependencies;

F. Delegation of duties to each party for each of the tasks;

G. Information regarding maintenance and support, along with standard project management components such as a risk management plan and a change management plan;

H. Tasks required for the migration of all DPS data;

I. The methodology Respondent will employ to ensure the schedule is met; and

J. Provision or implementation of goods or services by the required dates, and subsequently provide support of these goods or services.

C.5 TRANSITION

In the event that DPS awards a subsequent competitive solicitation to a new contractor or if DPS decides to perform the work itself, Contractor must work with DPS and any new contractor to smoothly and seamlessly transition the contract. Contractor will develop a transition plan upon request by DPS. DPS must approve the transition plan before implementation. DPS will not release the final invoice until Contractor returns all Work to

DPS.

C.6 DPS PERSONNEL

C.6.1 DPS’s Contract Administrator

A. The Contract Administrator for administration of the Contract is Daniel Ashby.

B. The telephone number for the Contract Administrator is 512-424-2086.

C. The email address is Daniel.Ashby@dps.texas.gov.

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The Contract Administrator is the representative of DPS’s Procurement and Contract Services responsible for the general administration of the Contract, negotiation of any changes, and issuance of written amendments to the Contract.

If DPS and Contractor agree to amend the Contract, DPS will issue a written amendment signed by authorized signatories of the Parties.

C.6.2 DPS’s Contract Monitor

A. The Contract Monitor for the Contract is Lisa Resendez.

B. The telephone number for the Contract Monitor is 512-424-0282 .

C. The email address is analisa.resendez@dps.texas.gov.

The Contract Monitor is not authorized to make any representations or commitments of any kind on behalf of DPS or the State of Texas outside of contractual authority. In milestone-based contracts, the Contract Monitor is authorized by DPS to issue a Notice to Proceed to the Contractor signifying that the period of performance is to begin.

C.7 HISTORICALLY UNDERUTILIZED BUSINESSES (HUB) PARTICIPATION

A. An Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) is a business that is certified by the State of Texas that (1) is at least 51% owned by an Asian Pacific American, a Black American, a Hispanic American, a Native American, an American woman, or a Service Related Disabled Veteran; (2) is a for-profit entity that has not exceeded the size standards established by 34 Tex. Admin. Code § 20.294, and has its principal place of business in Texas; and (3) has an owner residing in Texas who has a proportionate interest in the business and who actively participates in the control, operations and management of the entity’s affairs. See also 34 Tex. Admin. Code § 20.282.

B. Contractor must make a good faith effort to comply with all state HUB requirements under Tex. Gov’t Code Chapter 2161 and the administrative rules, as applicable.

Contractor must also comply with its approved HUB Subcontracting Plan (HSP).

C. Vendor must submit an HSP as part of its response and must comply with implementation of the HSP. Contractor must seek written approval from DPS prior to making any modifications to its HSP. Respondent must submit a complete HSP and required forms with the response. Respondent’s response will be considered non-responsive if the agency forms are not completed in full or are missing from Respondent’s original response.

D. Vendor must provide notice to all subcontractors of their selection as a subcontractor for the Contract. The notice will specify, at a minimum, DPS’s name, the HUB Office, the Contract’s assigned contract number, the subcontracting opportunity the subcontractor will perform, the approximate dollar value of the subcontract, and the expected percentage of the Contract’s total value that the subcontract represents. A copy of the

Page 19 of 32 Template Approved 5/26/2022 notice will be provided to the HUB Office and the Contract Administrator no later than ten business days after the effective date of the Contract.

E. Contractor must submit to the Contract Administrator on a monthly basis (by the fifth day of the following month) the Prime Vendor Progress Assessment Report.

C.8 INSURANCE REQUIRED UNDER THE CONTRACT

Unless otherwise specified in this Contract, DPS’s Standard Terms and Conditions or any other exhibit or attachment, Contractor will acquire and maintain, for the duration of this Contract, insurance coverage necessary to ensure this Contract’s proper performance and cover any potential liabilities with financially sound and reputable insurers licensed by the Texas Department of Insurance, in the type and amount customarily carried within the industry or as determined by DPS. Contractor will provide evidence of insurance upon request by DPS.

If any policy is determined by DPS to be deficient and does not comply with the terms of this Contract, Contractor will secure such additional coverage as required by DPS, law, regulation, or customary practice. If coverage expires during the term of this Contract, Contractor must produce renewal certificates for each type of coverage.

C.9 CRIMINAL HISTORY BACKGROUND CHECK

A. Contractor’s project personnel must submit to a fingerprint-based Criminal History Background Investigation, at Contractor’s expense. To facilitate this Criminal History Background Investigation, each person must complete DPS Contractor Background Information form (HR-22), which DPS will provide.

B. If required under the Contract, Contractor will not allow personnel who have not submitted to and successfully completed DPS fingerprint-based Criminal History Background Investigation and who do not otherwise maintain a DPS security clearance to work on the Contract. DPS has the right to prevent Contractor’s personnel from gaining access to DPS building(s) and computer systems if DPS determines that such personnel do not pass the background check or fail to otherwise maintain DPS security clearance.

C. When required, Contractor’s Project Manager will provide the following to DPS Contract Monitor no later than ten days of executing the Contract:

a) the completed Contractor Background Information form (HR-22) for all proposed personnel; and

b) acceptable fingerprints for all proposed personnel.

D. Throughout the term of the Contract, DPS may require Contractor personnel to submit to an annual DPS fingerprint-based Criminal History Background Investigation to DPS.

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E. Throughout the term of the Contract, Contractor will promptly notify DPS of any activity or action by Contractor’s personnel that may affect that individual’s ability to continue to work under the Contract.

C.10 CYBER SECURITY CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

Contractor must comply with the requirements found in the Cyber Security Contract Requirements Exhibit. To the extent that any language in the Contract conflicts with the Cyber Security Contract Requirements Exhibit, the Cyber Security Contract Requirements Exhibit controls.

For all contractor-hosted services proposed (even if Vendor wants to use a third-party provider such as a standardized cloud services provider), Respondent must provide a completed Consensus Assessments Initiative Questionnaire (CAIQ) found at this link.

https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/research/cloud-controls-matrix

In this section, hosted services means a combination of traditional IT functions to be provided by Vendor or a third-party provider, such as infrastructure, applications software (including COTS software solution), security, monitoring, storage, hardware, and hardware maintenance.

For hosted services using a third-party cloud services provider, Contractor must deploy in an environment authorized by TX-RAMP, StateRAMP, or FedRAMP at a low impact, and maintain program compliance and certification throughout the term of the contract. If CJIS data is being processed, stored, or transmitted, Contractor must deploy in a Government Cloud environment, and this must be a dedicated cloud account specific to DPS.

https://cloudsecurityalliance.org/research/cloud-controls-matrix

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SECTION D—INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO RESPONDENTS

D.1 RESPONSE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

A. These instructions are designed to help ensure the Respondent submits all relevant information in its response

B. Responses must be prepared in accordance with these instructions providing all required information in the format specified.

C. Failure of a response to show compliance with these instructions and submit all documentation may be grounds for considering the response non-responsive unless stated otherwise within this solicitation.

D. Responses must use a sans serif 12-point font (such as Arial or Calibri) on an 8-1/2” x 11” format (except for graphic information being requested). Respondent’s response must be paginated, contain a full table of contents, and have component sections clearly identified.

E. DPS must receive responses no later than the deadline established in this solicitation and submitted to the submission email or DPS Online Bid Room listed on page 1.

F. Respondent must ensure that its response is clearly labeled.

G. Respondent must submit only material directly pertinent to the requirements of this solicitation. Extraneous narrative, elaborate brochures, uninformative public relations material, and other similar documents may not be submitted.

H. Respondent must submit all pertinent information directly within its response, information submitted as an internet link is considered non-responsive. Respondent must submit documentation or information within the response.

D.2 SOLICITATION ADDENDA

A. No later than the established solicitation deadline, Respondents must acknowledge receipt of all solicitation addenda by signing and returning the addenda, identifying the addenda number and date.

B. Respondent’s failure to timely acknowledge addenda may subject its response to rejection.

D.3 LATE SUBMISSIONS, CHANGES, AND WITHDRAWALS OF RESPONSES

A. DPS will not consider any response received at the designated email address or DPS Online Bid Room after the specified date and time.

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B. Respondent cannot amend its response and DPS will not accept an amended response after closing date and time. If Respondent wants to amend its response, Respondent must amend prior to the closing date and time.

C. Respondent must clearly identify any alterations made before closing time through its authorized representative.

D. Alterations made before closing time will be initialed by Respondent or its authorized representative.

E. No responses can be withdrawn after closing date and time without approval by DPS.

Should a Respondent, after closing time, request its response be withdrawn, Respondent must email the request to the Contact Administrator listed in the solicitation.

F. DPS is not responsible for submissions delivered to DPS after the date and time stated on page 1 of this solicitation. It is the Respondent’s responsibility to ensure that it submits, and that DPS receives, its complete response timely. DPS recommends that Respondent submit their complete response well in advance of the due date and time stated on page 1 of this solicitation.

G. DPS takes no responsibility for electronic responses that are captured, blocked, filtered, quarantined, or otherwise prevented from reaching the proper destination server by any DPS anti-virus or other security software. Therefore, DPS recommends confirming receipt.

H. Submission via the DPS Online Bid Room will receive submission confirmation through the system. If confirmation is received through the DPS Online Bid Room, no additional confirmation of receipt is required.

D.4 RESPONSE ACCEPTANCE PERIOD

A. All responses will be valid for 180 days after the solicitation opening date and will constitute an irrevocable response to DPS for the 180-day period.

B. Such period may be extended beyond the 180 days upon mutual written agreement of both parties.

D.5 CONTRACT AWARD

DPS may award one or more Contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible Respondent, whose response is best value under the evaluation criteria in this solicitation.

D.6 DPS’S RIGHTS

A. DPS may:

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1. reject any or all responses if such action is in the public interest;

2. accept other than the lowest priced response; and

3. waive minor informalities and minor irregularities in responses received.

B. Waiver of deviations in any response will not constitute a modification of this solicitation and will not preclude DPS from asserting all rights against Respondent for failure to fully comply with all terms and conditions of this solicitation. Copyrighted responses are unacceptable and are subject to being considered non-responsive. DPS reserves the right to make any corrections or include additional requirements in the resulting contract prior to issuance which are necessary for DPS compliance, as an agency of the State of Texas, with all state and federal requirements. DPS reserves the right to consider any response non-responsive which asserts any copyright on any DPS-created form which is specifically designated by this solicitation to be a form that will be completed and included in a response submitted in response to this solicitation.

C. DPS reserves the right to reject any one response or all responses or portions of responses submitted in response to this solicitation.

D. The submission of a response has the effect of waiving proprietary rights or confidentiality.

E. All responses and any content provided by the Respondent are considered the property of DPS for use for the life of any resulting contract as determined by DPS with respect to the scope of the project.

F. DPS is not liable for any costs or damages that may be incurred by Respondents or in the preparation, formulation, or presentation of a response.

G. In case of ambiguity or lack of clarity, DPS may adopt such interpretations as may be advantageous to DPS.

H. DPS reserves the right to withdraw this solicitation at any time for any reason.

I. DPS reserves the right to award no contract and to solicit additional responses at a later time.

J. DPS incurs no obligation regarding this solicitation unless and until a contract is fully executed by the parties. However, all responses received by DPS will remain confidential until the evaluation process is complete.

K. DPS will not hold a public response opening event.

D.7 RESPONSE SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

D.7.1 Volume One – Contract Forms and Required Response Information

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This section will contain the following completed contract sections with authorized representative signatures, where applicable:

A. Solicitation, page 1 (with any signed addenda)

B. Information and Certifications Form;

C. Financial Rating and Solvency Information, if applicable;

D. A Redacted Solicitation and Contract response, if applicable;

E. Direct Deposit Authorization Form (74-176), completed if choosing direct deposit as a possible payment option;

F. Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certifications (W-9);

G. Application for Texas Identification Number (AP-152); and

H. Documentation from the appropriate state entity that indicates that Respondent is properly certified to conduct business in the State of Texas (e.g., The Certificate of Existence from the Texas Secretary of State and the Certificate of Account Status from the Comptroller of Public Accounts);

D.7.2 Volume Two – Information Section

A. Cover Page: List name and address of Respondent, date of response, solicitation identifier, and signature of authorized official.

B. Introduction: Clear expression of who Respondent is, to include an outline of organizational capabilities, goals, project management process approach, business process management design, other previous accolades, and a listing of all subcontractors.

C. Information Sheet: Including all information required of Respondent and any subcontractors.

1. Name and address (including telephone number) of Respondent and all subcontractors.

2. Business form of Respondent and its subcontractors (e.g., corporation, partnership).

3. Date and state of incorporation.

4. Names and addresses of principal officers, directors, or partners.

5. A résumé…