Exhibit_A_STARS_SOW.docx

Request For Proposal (RFP) 2026-11001

EXHIBIT A: STATEMENT OF WORK

FOR

STATE TAX ADMINISTRATION RECORD SYSTEM (STARS) SOLUTION

ISSUE DATE

Issued by:

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

State Board of Equalization

Part 1 of the solicitation contains the Bidder and bidding instructions, proposal form instructions, solution requirements and instructions, and all other instructional/compliance information that the Bidder must meet in order to be considered responsive to the solicitation.

Part 2 of the solicitation contains all forms a Bidder must complete and return with its proposal, including the Statement of Work (SOW), administrative forms, qualification forms, requirement responses, and all exhibits/attachments discussed in Part 1.

Disclaimer: The original version and any subsequent solicitation addenda released by the Procurement Officer of this solicitation remain the official version. In the event of any inconsistency between the Bidder’s versions, articles, attachments, specifications, or provisions, the official State version of the solicitation in its entirety shall take precedence.

Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

1. INTRODUCTION

This Statement of Work (SOW) describes the services to be provided by the Successful Proposer, hereinafter referred to as the “Contractor”. The Contractor agrees to provide the State Board of Equalization (BOE) with a cloud-based, fully integrated tax administration system as described in this Agreement. Pursuant to the Government (Gov.) Code section 15570.28, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration shall provide BOE with administrative services relevant to this Contract. The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) and BOE collectively shall be referred to as the “State”. The BOE and Contractor shall be referred to as the “Parties”. All services rendered by the Contractor pursuant to this Agreement are based on fixed Deliverables. The Contractor is responsible for completing all tasks, work products, and all services as detailed herein at the costs provided in EXHIBIT E: COST WORKBOOK.

"Contractor" refers to the firm or company that shall provide the staffing to perform the services. "Staff" refers to the Contractor's staff who will perform the services. The terms "Contract" and/or “Agreement” will be used interchangeably.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The Contractor shall design, develop, implement, and transition to the BOE the State Tax Administration Record System Solution (STARS Solution). The STARS Solution shall be a cloud-based, fully integrated tax administration system to ensure the accurate and efficient computation of $167.2 billion in property value annually, which results in $2.8 billion in property tax revenues collected by 58 California counties.

The Contractor is responsible for developing, testing, and deploying the STARS Solution in a staged approach. The STARS Solution shall meet the State’s current business needs with flexibility to accommodate future changes efficiently.

The Contractor agrees to perform the services described herein and as set forth in the Contractor’s Proposal, State’s Request for Proposal RFP No. 2026-11001, and subsequent addenda. These documents are hereby incorporated by reference and are part of this Agreement.

This Agreement defines the tasks needed to design, develop, implement, and maintain the STARS Solution. The SOW also establishes the State’s and the Contractor’s responsibilities for completing these tasks during the term of the Contract.

DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED NEW SYSTEM

The Contractor shall implement the STARS Solution, an enterprise cloud hybrid solution comprising Modified Off-the-Shelf (MOTS), Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS), and custom software, to create a fully integrated tax administration system. The Contractor shall, under their Proposal accepted by the State, include a combination of COTS, MOTS, and/or custom software coding to implement the STARS Solution. Custom software coding will be needed where MOTS or COTS software cannot satisfy the project requirements to deliver the State solution in full, as illustrated:

Figure 1: BOE STARS Solution Conceptual Solution

STARS SOLUTION FUNCTIONAL BLOCKS

The STARS Solution shall include the following functional blocks to perform key functions for the State’s tax administration purposes:

Table 1 Conceptual STARS Solution Functional Block Intent Description

· Provide an easy means to file tax schedules and forms via uploads or manual entry filing

· Research the assessee account as needed for business purposes

· Send communications to the assessee

· Reduce USPS paper letter mailing

· Save postage, paper, and printing expenses

· Guide Data Validation & Cleansing Process

· Metadata Strategy Implementation

· Institute Data Catalog Process

· Implement BOE Data Policy

· Create reports

· Create letters

· Track tasks and workflow progress

· Dashboard BOE KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators)

· Be able to search for any account data needed

· Have scalable storage

· Manage audit and appraisal assignments and respective property parcels

· Create a new Parcel/Map "Indexing/grouping" System into Work Assignments

DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT TIMELINE

This section describes the high-level project timelines that will coordinate and align the Contractor's tasks, activities, and deliverables. The project implementation timeline is eighteen (18) months.

The actual project implementation timeline will be defined by the vendor’s project manager with State approvals, but the State's projected timeline is as follows:

Table 2 Project Timeline

B. Project pre-planning documents

1.5 months

A. System B. Functional, Integration, and Connectivity C. Performance and Loading D. Security and Access

2.5 months

A. System Operation, Administration, and Maintenance B. User

0.5 months

The following three (3) Stages parse out the organization of the SOW over the course of this Project:

Stage 1 – Initiation Stage 2 – System Design, Development, Implementation, and Testing Stage 3 – Project Closeout and Warranty Period Commencement Each of these Stages will require the development of specific Deliverables along with ongoing activities and services that the Contractor must conduct and perform. Each Deliverable requires the State to review and accept as identified in SECTION 19: DELIVERABLE ACCEPTANCE PROCESS.

TERM OF THE CONTRACT

Effective upon approval of CDT, Office of Statewide Technology Procurement (OSTP), the base term of the Contract is two (2) years.

The State, at its sole discretion, may exercise its option to execute one (1), one (1) year extension for a maximum Contract term of three (3) years (includes Base Contract term plus optional extension). Should the State choose to exercise the optional extension, the Contractor will be notified in writing by the State at least 120 days in advance of the commencement of the option period. The extension will be effective upon execution by the Parties and approval by the CDT-OSTP.

The Contractor shall not be authorized to deliver goods and/or commence performance of services described in this Agreement prior to the effective date of the contract. Any delivery of goods and/or performance of services by the Contractor that is commenced prior to the effective date shall be at no cost to the State.

The State is not obligated to use any or all of these options. The Agreement is of no effect unless approved by CDT-OSTP and no work shall begin before full execution of the Agreement.

AMENDMENT

Consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and by mutual consent of both Parties, this Agreement may be amended. Any Amendment is subject to approval by the CDT-OSTP pursuant to Public Contract Code (PCC) section 12100. No amendment or variation of the terms of this Agreement shall be valid unless made in writing, signed by the Parties, and approved by CDT-OSTP if required. No oral understanding not incorporated in the Agreement is binding on either of the Parties.

LOCATION AND AVAILABILITY

All Contractor work shall be performed at the address below:

State Board of Equalization 160 Promenade Circle, Suite 200 Sacramento, CA 95834 The State will allow the Contractor to propose remote Staff, based in the continental United States. The State will provide a set of collaboration tools to facilitate remote development. No offshore remote work shall be allowed under this Agreement.

The Contractor shall work onsite and/or telework during the work schedule as approved by the BOE STARS Project Sponsor. All the State software and equipment usage is restricted to activities specifically related to the performance of this Agreement. The State does not permit non-State computers and devices access to the State local area network. The State does not permit work from, nor for, equipment to be taken offshore for this Agreement.

Normal hours of access are Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding State holidays. The Contractor is required to perform work duties within the normal hours of work. The Contractor must make prior arrangements and receive approval from the State for access to the project office outside these normal working hours. State holidays are listed on the California Department of Human Resources (Cal HR) website at the link below, and are subject to change: http://www.calhr.ca.gov/employees/Pages/state-holidays.aspx

CONTRACT REPRESENTATIVES

All notices required by, or relating to, this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be sent to the Parties of the Contract at the addresses set below.

Should Contract Representative information change, written notice with the updated information shall be sent by the changing Parties in writing as soon as the changing Party is aware of the staffing changes. The written notice shall be via mail or email and will contain the new Contract Manager’s name, mailing address, email address, and telephone number and shall be sent by the changing Parties no later than ten (10) business days after the change.

The State Board of Equalization Contract Representatives during the term of this Agreement will be:

PROJECT/PROGRAM CONTRACT REPRESENTATIVES

Direct all Contract inquiries to:

CONTRACT REPRESENTATIVES FOR INQUIRIES

All inquiries during the term of this Agreement will be directed to the Contract contacts listed above. Either Contract Representative may be changed by written notice without a formal amendment to this Agreement.

SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall adhere to all Solution requirements identified in EXHIBIT C: FUNCTIONAL AND NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS.

STATE DATA CENTER OR CONTRACTOR HOSTED FACILITY ENVIRONMENT

The State must receive an end-to-end solution from the Contractor. The STARS Solution must be hosted in a cloud environment as directed by the State CDT's Cloud First Policy, Technology Letter (TL) TL 14-04 (revision 08/2014, or latest version) and TL 23-03 (revision 10/2023, or latest version). All required hosting environments must be in the Continental United States. The Contractor must develop the STARS Solution in compliance with the provisions listed on the TECH 213 Standard Agreement, the State Administrative Manual (SAM) 4983 (revision 08/2017, or latest version) and SAM 4983.1 as part of the Cloud Computing policy (revision 08/2020, or latest version).

STATE’S ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The State is responsible for the following roles and responsibilities.

BOE STARS Project Sponsor The State shall provide a BOE STARS Project Sponsor to oversee and manage this Agreement. The BOE STARS Project Sponsor shall:

Work with the Contractor to facilitate the successful completion of the Contractor’s obligations.

Review and have authority to provide Acceptance of Deliverables in accordance with SECTION 25: SYSTEM TESTING AND ACCEPTANCE PROCEDURES.

Review and have authority to accept staffing changes in accordance with SECTION 12 KEY STAFF CHANGES.

Be responsible for the overall management of the Governance Structure that includes the Program Management Office (PMO) and serves as the primary contact.

BOE Administration The State shall provide subject matter experts knowledgeable of relevant State law, processes, policies, and regulations.

The State shall maintain a PMO to manage program operations, including staffing changes, budget/fiscal controls, contract management, State reporting, and recruitment.

The State shall administer and maintain the STARS Solution Document Library for deposit of Deliverables and other Project artifacts. The STARS Solution Document Library will be comprised of electronic documents.

The State shall provide one (1) laptop per person with relevant software and network access for Contractor staff to work onsite and/or telework during the work schedule approved by the BOE STARS Project Sponsor. The networked computer(s) will have Microsoft Windows Explorer, Microsoft Office, Google Chrome, and other supporting software installed. Use and possession of the laptop(s) shall be subject to the State and State usage policies.

The State shall provide workspace, printers, and copiers.

The State shall continue to support its existing legacy systems until no longer needed.

For work performed remote of the State premises, the State shall provide virtual desktop and/or Virtual Private Network (VPN) access to the Contractor staff for remote access when needed.

The BOE STARS Project Sponsor (or designee) will manage the performance and availability of the State personnel under this Agreement and is the sole individual to whom all official communication relating to this Agreement will be addressed by the Contractor.

The State shall lead and manage the overall Organization Change Management; Organization Change Management activities, business process re-engineering and business process training.

The State shall designate an Organization Change Management Lead to manage, coordinate and execute Organization Change Management activities.

The State shall lead coordination with external stakeholders with inputs from the Contractor.

The State shall provide up to three (3) licenses for GitHub to the Contractor.

The State shall provide one (1) license for a code scanning tool.

The State shall assist Contractor in its ongoing data cleansing and validation.

The State shall, upon Contract start, provide information and background knowledge regarding the State data cleansing efforts and current data quality rules.

CONTRACTOR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Contractor is responsible for the following roles and responsibilities.

Contractor Adherence to IT Standards, Guidelines, and Policies The Contractor shall adhere to the State’s minimum required IT standards, guidelines, and policies. The State Contract Manager will provide the Contractor with copies of all relevant State policies, which shall be signed by the Contractor and all lead and/or primary resources providing services under this Agreement and returned to the State Contract Manager within five (5) business days of the Contract start date. In addition, the Contractor shall abide by the same standards and policies as State staff, including but not limited to the following regulations, standards, guidelines, and policies, which serve as the referenced minimum criteria:

· State Policies: Political Activities in the Workplace, Email, Internet/Intranet Access and Usage, Drug-Free Workplace, Anti-Discrimination Harassment Retaliation Policy, and Internal Privacy Policy.

· State Security Policies.

· Additional policies as adopted by the State during the duration of the Agreement.

· Background investigations, fingerprinting, the State security training, and signing the State Conflict of Interest (COI) form.

· Administrative and related service-provided policies and procedures.

· The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for infection control.

· Personal safety relating to fire, electrical hazards, disaster preparedness, hazardous materials, equipment safety, and management.

The Contractor certifies that it has appropriate systems and controls in place to ensure that State funds will not be used in the performance of this Agreement for the acquisition, operation, or maintenance of computer software in violation of copyright laws.

The Contractor shall cooperate with any third party contracted by the State, as identified by the State.

The Contractor shall store, package (draft and final copies) and deliver electronic copies of all documentation, Deliverables, project artifacts and other materials for deposit into the STARS Solution GitHub library or other State designated STARS Solution Document Library.

The Contractor shall provide access to the State and designees, including but not limited to CDT personnel, all Deliverables in development for review within ten (10) business days of request.

The Services provided by the Contractor to accomplish the SOW shall be under the control, management, and supervision of the Contractor, including Services provided by any Subcontractors and off-site Contractor staff (if applicable).

For all Project-related activities, the Contractor and all Contractor staff must have the ability to interact with State team members via virtual tools, including Zoom, Webex, and/or Microsoft Teams, at the State's discretion, during State Business Days throughout the term of the base Agreement and M&O contract, including Amendments, if any. At the State's discretion and only for specified meetings, telephone interactions may be acceptable in lieu of virtual meetings. State Business Days are defined as Monday – Friday (7:00 AM – 5:00 PM Pacific Time [PT]), excluding State Holidays as defined by the California Department of Human Resources at: http://www.calhr.ca.gov/employees/Pages/state-holidays.aspx The Contractor is responsible for updating and maintaining all the Deliverable artifacts.

KEY STAFF QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

The Contractor shall provide the necessary Staff to successfully perform all services and meet the requirements set forth in the SOW. There are two (2) Key Staff identified as part of this Agreement. For purposes of this Agreement, the term “Key Staff” refers to Contractor personnel deemed by the State to be essential to the Contractor’s satisfactory performance of the requirements contained in this Agreement. The Contractor shall comply with all staffing requirements identified within this Agreement. The Contractor shall ensure that the number of appropriately qualified and trained personnel, as approved by the State, is always available to provide timely services required under the Contract.

PROJECT MANAGER

The duties and responsibilities of the Contractor's Project Manager include, but are not limited to, the following:

Execution and overall management of the Contract.

Manage all Contractor resources and activities outlined in the Contract.

Manage, resolve, and document risks and issues.

Manage Contract scope, schedule, timeline, budget, and deliverables.

Engage with the STARS Solution stakeholders and executives on a day-to-day basis to ensure the project receives stakeholder commitment and support.

Provide direction to all Contractor resources to ensure that all Contractor staffing and project resources are met, as required, and maintain accountability for Contractor Staff and resource performance.

Report to the BOE STARS Project Sponsor.

Prepare and assist the BOE STARS Project Sponsor in developing and presenting reports for meetings and discussions.

Identify and bring forward options that will provide the highest value to the State.

Refer to RFP ATTACHMENT 15.1 Project Manager Qualifications form, for experience requirements.

TECHNICAL LEAD

The duties and responsibilities of the Technical Lead include, but are not limited to, the following:

Manage all design, development, integration and implementation tasks, activities and resources.

Lead and manage all development activities and ensure that the application meets the STARS Solution Requirements.

Manage all Program Increment tasks and activities.

Lead and manage development efforts to deliver Solution technical requirements, design, configuration, customization, features testing, and implementation.

Coordinate release content and effort based on the backlog, application programming interface, third party applications and updates.

Manage risks and resolve issues that affect system performance, release scope, schedule, and quality.

Coordinate ADA compliance, data migration, data integration, security, testing and all other areas with the respective Leads for these areas.

Plan and manage all development and release activities.

Manage configuration management methodologies, technologies, and needs.

Oversee and conduct release readiness reviews.

Oversee and ensure that the documentation of key information, such as build and release procedures, dependencies, and defect fixes, is reflected and documented accurately in the appropriate Deliverables documentation.

Lead the day-to-day activities of the Contractor technical staff who are engaged in the technical development and management of the STARS Solution.

Manage technical resources to ensure that all technical issues are resolved.

Assess proposed design alternatives based on all identified constraints, such as cost, schedule, usability, and reliability.

Develop solution components that protect the STARS Solution and data by establishing policies, practices, and tools that prevent unauthorized access, unauthorized use, disclosure, modification, or disruption.

Develop and deliver the STARS Solution security design and oversee the Contractor’s implementation of security roles, separation-of-duties analysis rules, security role provisioning solutions, and application security scanning.

Ensure security-related STARS Solution functions comply with the Contract requirements.

Manage the creation and maintenance of user accounts, roles, as well as managing role hierarchy, function security policies, data security policies, and provisioning.

Manage security features, such as encryption and masking sensitive data, such as credit card information, PII, and bank account numbers.

Identify and resolve all weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the STARS Solution.

Perform security and penetration testing of all infrastructure and application components.

Create a security test plan for infrastructure and all application components. Map security test plan items to NIST controls.

Coordinate Contractor’s response to information security vulnerabilities, incidents, breaches, audit requests and reporting.

Provide security implementation plan and architecture topology in advance of code deployment.

Work with the other resources, including the Database resource and Solution/Cloud Architect, to ensure that all security configurations and policies are in place.

Work with the Contractor’s Test resource to ensure that all security testing, including penetration testing of all infrastructure and application components, complies with NIST requirements.

Plan and lead implementation of accessibility standards, ensuring compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) 2.2, meeting A/AA standards, Section 508 of the United States Rehabilitation Act, and ADA guidelines.

Participate in design sessions with various Project team members to ensure that accessibility requirements and considerations are considered early in the design process.

Collaborate with Contractor developers on accessibility principles, solution development, code review, issue remediation, and best practices, including but not limited to, providing resources and leadership on accessible design, color contrast, error handling, usage of Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) attributes, document accessibility, and testing.

Actively participate in all aspects of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), and resolve accessibility issues from design, development, testing, through deployment.

Lead accessibility audit of the design and the solution, identifying accessibility issues, areas for improvement, and recommending appropriate fixes.

Lead automated and manual accessibility testing, collaborating with Test resources, using tools utilized by people with disabilities, including but not limited to keyboard navigation, screen reader testing, semantics testing, color contrast, focus, reading order, alternative text, language and reading level testing, and document testing.

Develop reports and log defects with detailed findings, including the type of violation, reference to WCAG guidelines and other applicable laws, screenshots, severity level, and recommendations for remediation.

Perform regression testing to ensure accessibility bug fixes and document the results.

Co-ordinate all activities with designers, developers, business users, project managers, and stakeholders, and provide guidance on accessibility best practices and techniques, including applicable laws and regulations, to ensure that accessibility is considered and implemented throughout the Project lifecycle.

Refer to RFP ATTACHMENT 15.2 Technical Lead Qualifications form for experience requirements.

KEY STAFF CHANGES

The Contractor shall commit to the continuing availability and participation of the Contractor's staff filling two (2) Key Staff Roles, to the extent of the Contractor's control, for the duration of the Contract or for their proposed period of involvement (as defined in the State approved Project Management Plan).

The State recognizes that changes to Key Staff may be necessary and in the best interest of the State; however, advance notice of the proposed change and the reasons for such change must be made to the State within ten (10) State business days prior to the existing Key Staff’s departure. If this should occur, the BOE STARS Project Sponsor or designee must approve any changes to the Key Staff prior to the termination of the existing Key Staff and retention of the new Key Staff. This also includes any changes made between submittal of the proposal and the actual start of the Contract.

All approved replacement staff must be available to begin working on the Contract no later than five (5) State business days following the State’s approval.

The Contractor may request changes to staff designated to fill any one of the two (2) Key Staff roles by submitting a written request to the BOE STARS Project Sponsor using RFP ATTACHMENT 18: KEY STAFF REPLACEMENT FORM. The request must include a staff qualifications form, customer references, and a current resume for each replacement staff member. The State may, at its sole discretion, request additional information to substantiate whether the replacement staff complies with the RFP requirements and may request an interview. The State shall have the right to contact references, evaluate information provided, and determine if the Key Staff candidate is acceptable.

Within seven (7) State business days after receipt of the request or additional information, the BOE STARS Project Sponsor will respond, in writing, to indicate approval or rejection of the proposed replacement staff.

If any of the proposed replacement staff designated to fill any one of the two (2) Key Staff roles is rejected, the Contractor shall work diligently to promptly provide a qualified replacement to the State for approval within twenty (20) State business days of the rejection.

The State will notify the Contractor concerning any issues and/or concerns the State has regarding performance that may include, but are not limited to, poor performance, lack of experience, unprofessional behavior and/or harassment in the workplace (subject to compliance with applicable law and State policies), and violating any State policies and procedures agreed to by the Contractor at the start of the Project. The Contractor will have ten (10) State business days in which to remedy the State issues and/or concerns. If Contractor has not remedied the State issues and/or concerns regarding the Contractor staff within this period, the State reserves the right in its sole discretion to require the Contractor to replace such staff at any time thereafter. Key Staff shall be replaced according to the procedure set forth above. The State will notify the Contractor in writing when exercising that right. The Contractor shall provide a replacement candidate no later than twenty (20) State business days of such notification.

ESCALATION PROCESS

The Parties acknowledge and agree that Project-related problems or issues may arise, and that such matters shall be brought to the State’s attention. Problems or issues shall be reported in regular status reports or in-person meetings. However, there may be instances where the severity of the problem justifies escalated reporting. To this extent, the BOE STARS Project Sponsor and CDT-OSTP shall determine the level of severity and notify the appropriate State staff, as set forth below. The State staff shall be notified, and the time taken to report the problem or issue shall be at a level commensurate with the severity of the problem or issue. The State personnel include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. First level, BOE Contract Manager

2. Second level, BOE Program Director

3. Third level, CDTFA Chief Information Officer The Contractor will advise the State Contract Manager of any intended escalation. If the Contractor is not entirely satisfied that the State is making its best efforts to resolve any problem or issue in an appropriate period, then the Contractor must escalate the problem or issue to the next appropriate level.

CORRECTIVE ACTION

The State will be the sole judge of the acceptability of all work performed and all work products produced by the Contractor as a result of this Agreement. Should the work performed, or products produced by the Contractor, fail to meet the State ’s minimum conditions, requirements, specifications, and/or guidelines, the following process will be employed, except as superseded by other binding processes:

Notification of Acceptance Problems The State will notify the Contractor in writing within ten (10) business days after discovery of any acceptance problems by identifying the specific inadequacies and/or failures in the services performed and/or the products produced by the Contractor unless otherwise agreed upon by the State in the approved schedule.

Contractor Response to Notice of Acceptance Problem The Contractor will, within five (5) business days after initial problem notification, respond to the State by submitting a detailed explanation describing precisely how the identified services and/or products adhere to and satisfy all applicable requirements, and/or a proposed corrective action plan to address the specific inadequacies and/or failures in the identified services and/or products.

State Response to Corrective Action Plan The State will, within five (5) business days after receipt of the Contractor’s detailed explanation and/or proposed corrective action plan, notify the Contractor in writing whether it accepts or rejects the explanation and/or plan. If the State rejects the explanation and/or plan, the Contractor will submit a revised corrective action plan within three (3) business days of notification of rejection.

Contractor Revised Corrective Action Plan The State will, within three (3) business days of receipt of the revised corrective action plan, notify the Contractor in writing whether it accepts or rejects the revised corrective action plan proposed by the Contractor.

If a Contractor’s project component or deliverable is rejected three (3) times by the State, the Cure Notice process will follow.

CURE NOTICE

The State will issue a Notice to Cure to inform the Contractor in the event the Contractor fails to meet and/or complete a Project work product, component, requirement, and/or Deliverable. Upon issuance, the cure notice will specify the timeline in which the Contractor must remedy the condition. If the condition is not corrected within the period specified, the cure note states that the Contractor may face termination of its Agreement by default as stated in INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY GENERAL PROVISIONS – CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICES DGS PD 402-ITGP CLOUD (REVISED 2/20/2025), SECTION 16.3, TERMINATION FOR DEFAULT(SEE LINK IN SECTION 36).

Triggers for a Cure Notice Cure notice may be triggered by any of the following conditions, or other conditions that arise in performance of the Agreement, including but not limited to:

1. The Contractor continues to miss agreed-upon deadlines.

2. Quantifiable evidence is lacking to show that work is being accomplished.

3. The quality of tasks does not meet the STARS Solution’s standards

4. The Contractor’s project component of deliverables is rejected three (3) times.

5. The Contractor is non-responsive to the STARS Solution requests, and/or

6. The Contractor does not replace key personnel, as outlined in SECTION 12. KEY STAFF CHANGES.

CHANGE CONTROL MANAGEMENT PLAN

The scope of the BOE Change Control Management Plan is limited to requests impacting the STARS Solution Project. The Change Control Management Plan has the complete change control process. The overall changes to the STARS Solution project are governed by the decision levels and escalation hierarchy delineated in the STARS Project Management Plan.

In-Scope for Change Control The following is subject to Change Control:

1. Feature enhancement requests

2. Training sessions

3. User Access / Permissions

4. Machine Learning The Change Control Process (CCP) for the STARS Solution describes the actions required to change the Solution’s approved and baseline documents, schedule, scope, costs, resources, and contracts. A formal CCP aids management by defining the process of requesting, analyzing, approving, monitoring, and controlling change. Adhering to the CCP prevents unauthorized changes and ensures proper analysis and input. The STARS Project Manager will work with the change request (CR) originator to move the CR through the CCP.

Change Control Activities The high-level CCP includes but is not limited to the following activities:

Submit – How STARS Project team members submit CRs into the STARS project TEAMS site.

Analyze – How the STARS CR originator coordinates and documents the impacts of CRs on the Project's baseline.

Approve – How the CR was reviewed and approved by those with the STARS Change Control authority.

Implement – How the STARS Project team members will execute CR closeout activities.

Close – How the STARS Project Manager will execute and drive the CR closeout activities (updating project baselines, generating action items as necessary, verifying the implementation, and closing the CR Form).

Monitor and Control – How the STARS Project Manager will execute tracking, monitoring, reporting, and communicating CRs.

The CCP will describe how the STARS Project will monitor and control the Project’s CRs by defining a formal and repeatable process for effective and efficient organizational change management. The objective of the CCP is to ensure that changes introduced to the Project have been appropriately evaluated for impact and risks to ensure Project quality.

Figure 2: State Change Control Process Flow Diagram The Contractor may be invited to participate in the Project Change Control meetings as needed.

Change Request Board The Change Request Board (CRB) comprises Voting and Non-Voting members. Voting members participate in all CRB meetings and decide the ultimate disposition of CRs. Non-voting members attend meetings upon request and provide an impact assessment to assist voting members in making decisions on Requests. The CRB Voting and Non-voting composition will have representative(s) from the State, CDTFA, and CDT-Project Approvals & Oversight (PAO).

The BOE STARS Project Sponsor has final authority on all requests and must approve the Change Control Report as the last step in the approval process.

Any member or attendee may send a representative to vote on their behalf or serve as a Subject Matter Expert (SME). This practice is encouraged if attendees cannot attend since a quorum (three (3) of five (5) voting members) must be present to hold the meetings.

The Project Change Control Board consists of the following:

The Project will use a spreadsheet as a Change Request tracking mechanism to track the status and implementation of Change Requests (CR), and the spreadsheet will be maintained on a TEAMS site.

Change Requests reporting will be communicated and updated via the weekly Project meetings.

Table 3 Project Meeting Venues

PROJECT DELIVERABLE OVERVIEW

This section provides an overview of the deliverables associated with the STARS Solution. The table below categorizes the major project deliverables. The table column headings are as follows:

· Stages: A stage number with associated Deliverables. This Project expects to have Stages 1, 2, and 3. If the Contractor has a different approach to the Stages, they may propose an alternative approach after contract award, subject to review and approval by the State. The Contractor must ensure all required Deliverables are mapped to their approach.

· Stage 1 – Initiation: This Stage consists of all Project management plans, as shown in the table below, within one and a half (1.5) months from the Project kickoff.

· Stage 2 – System Design, Development, Testing, and Implementation: This Stage milestone will complete the STARS Solution build-out, functional testing, requirements and features testing, integration testing, security testing, system load testing, and user acceptance testing per the test plan deliverable.

· Stage 3 – Project Closeout and Warranty Period Commencement

· Activities: Assigns activity names to each of the respective stages and deliverables.

· Deliverables: An end result thing, tangible or intangible, that is provided as a result of work. The Deliverables that must be completed within the Stage.

Table 4 Project Deliverable Overview

(See Section 18 : CONTRACTOR DELIVERABLES for Details) Schedule Completion (Calendar Days)

Stage 1

INITIATION

Vendor Team Onboarding and Security Training Project Pre-Planning (Deliverables: DEL1.0 – DEL1.13) 45 Days

Stage 2

SYSTEM DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, TESTING, AND IMPLEMENTATION

Test:

· System, Functional, Integration, and Connectivity (Deliverable DEL2.13)

· Performance and Loading Deliverable (Deliverable DEL2.14)

· Security and Access (Deliverable: Section 32) 75 Days

Training (Deliverable: DEL2.12 and Section 28: Knowledge Transfer and/or Training):

System Operation, Administration, Maintenance and the Users.

15 Days

State User Acceptance Testing (UAT) (Deliverable DEL2.15) Assessee Pilot Testing (APT) (SECTION 24.4 SYSTEM INSTALLATION) 60 Days

Stage 3

PROJECT CLOSEOUT AND WARRANTY PERIOD COMMENCEMENT

Solution Acceptance and Handoff to State (Deliverable: Section: 25 SYSTEM TESTING AND ACCEPTANCE PROCEDURES) (Deliverable: Section: 27 TRANSITION OF OPERATION TO STATE, Transition Out Plan, and Transition Out Services, Deliverable 3.4) 15 Days

CONTRACTOR DELIVERABLES

The Contractor must complete the Deliverables listed in this section. Descriptions of each Deliverable are in this section. The numbering of the Deliverables does not indicate the order in which the Deliverables must be completed unless otherwise stated. The performance of tasks is set forth in the RFP and Contractor’s proposal as accepted by the State.

Completion of the identified Deliverables must be under the direction of the Contractor Project Manager in collaboration with the State Contract Manager, in accordance with the State policies and procedures. For documents to assist the Contractor in completing Deliverables, upon contract award, the Contractor will be provided with access to the State Dictionary and Glossary of Terms.

The Contractor shall perform ongoing processes, tasks, and activities as identified in this section for each Deliverable.

Project Status Reporting The Contractor’s Project Manager shall conduct monthly reviews (on a timeframe mutually agreed-upon by the Parties) to present the current and cumulative Project status information related to assigned open and ongoing Project issues and risks in accordance with DEL1.2– Project Management Plan (PMP). These reviews shall be held with the BOE STARS Project Sponsor or designee, IT Manager, and CDT IPO, and no later than three (3) State business days after the last day of the previous month.

The Contractor’s Project Manager or designee shall present monthly project updates to the STARS Executive Steering Committee (ESC) members. The Contractor’s Project Manager shall provide updates for the reporting period, which include but are not limited to:

1. A summary of Contractor activities.

2. Accomplishments to date.

3. Significant decisions.

4. DevSecOps (Development, Security, Operations) Security Implementations.

5. Project Tasks to be completed for the next period.

6. Explanation for any tasks that are delayed and how the schedule delays will be recouped.

7. Recommendations for issue resolution for all issues.

8. Recommendations for mitigation of high-severity risks.

Additional meetings that the Contractor shall attend at the BOE’s request include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Daily informal meetings between the BOE, the BOE’s Project Manager, Contractor Project Manager, and/or their designees.

2. Weekly management meetings between the BOE and Contractor Project Managers.

3. Ad Hoc meetings on Contractor adherence to STARS project management processes and practices.

The Contractor’s Project Manager shall provide a written bi-weekly summary of activities for the reporting period (preceding two (2) calendar weeks), including but not limited to:

1. Significant activities initiated.

2. Significant activities completed.

3. Activities planned but not completed.

4. Activities and assigned resources planned for the next reporting period.

5. Schedule status (including planned versus actual and reasons for variances).

6. Project resource utilization and assignments review.

7. DevSecOps (Development, Security, Operations) Security Implementation.

8. Significant action items.

9. Identified or assigned project risks and project issues (with a description of the action item, risk or issue, due date of resolution, and planned activities to address.

10. Significant decisions made.

The Contractor’s Project Manager shall attend weekly Project…