Exhibit N - Confidential or Proprietary Information 03.07.2024.docx
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- Solicitation number
- 5510000794-A
- Issued by
- Texas
About this file
This is an Exhibit N form from the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) addressing confidential or proprietary information handling under the Texas Public Information Act (PIA). The exhibit establishes the framework for respondents to the Texas Farmer Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Helpline and Educational Services RFP to declare whether their proposals contain confidential or proprietary information. Respondents must select one of three options: designating their entire proposal as exempt from disclosure with clear marking of confidential sections, submitting both an original marked proposal and a separate redacted Public Information Act Copy, or certifying that their proposal contains no confidential or proprietary information and submitting no redacted version. The form requires submission as a mandatory component of the response and must be signed by an authorized company representative with printed name, title, and date. TDA emphasizes that blanket assertions of confidentiality are prohibited and may result in adverse rulings from the Office of the Texas Attorney General, requiring respondents to specifically identify and justify any claimed confidential or proprietary information.
The exhibit serves as a procedural requirement to ensure compliance with Texas public disclosure obligations while protecting legitimately sensitive business information submitted by proposal respondents. Respondents bear responsibility for clearly delineating what information qualifies for confidential treatment and must follow the specified format to preserve potential legal protections. This mechanism balances transparency requirements with competitive fairness by allowing vendors to protect genuinely proprietary materials while preventing misuse of confidentiality claims as a blanket shield for entire submissions.
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Text version
Texas Department of Agriculture – Exhibit N Exhibit N Confidential or Proprietary Information Under the Texas Public Information Act (PIA), all information held by governmental bodies is open to public disclosure unless it falls within one of the PIA’s specific exceptions to disclosure. TDA is required under the PIA to provide third parties with notice if a public information request is received that seeks third-party information. The notice provides information and instruction on the steps affected third parties must take to protect confidential or proprietary information.
Respondents must select the appropriate checkbox below that aligns with their proposal response submissions. This exhibit must be submitted as part of the response.
☐ The submitted proposal is exempt from disclosure under the PIA and the original proposal is clearly marked with “CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL OR PROPRIETARY INFORMATION” with specific language identified as confidential or proprietary information. Blanket assertions of confidential or proprietary information may result in an adverse ruling from the Office of the Texas Attorney General.
The submitted proposal contains confidential or proprietary information and I have submitted a separate “Public Information Act Copy” of the proposal as part of my response as stated in Section II, Para. 5.2, A(1) and A(2) of the solicitation.
☐ The submitted proposal does not contain any confidential or proprietary information and I am not submitting a separate “Public Information Act Copy” of my proposal as part of my response.
Printed Name Authorized Company Represented
Authorized Respondent Signature Date Date
Revision 03/07/2024 2
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .