Hearing_Officer_Services.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

2024-RFP-0395

HEARING OFFICER SERVICES

County of Sacramento

9660 Ecology Lane

Sacramento, CA 95827

RELEASE DATE: July 19, 2024

DEADLINE FOR QUESTIONS: August 16, 2024

RESPONSE DEADLINE: August 30, 2024, 2:00 pm

RESPONSES MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO:

https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/saccounty https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/%7bproject.government.code%7d

County of Sacramento

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Hearing Officer Services

1. Definitions

2. Introduction

3. Basis for Award

4. Proposer's Instructions

5. Scope of Work

6. Vendor Submissions

7. Pricing Table

8. Final Acceptance

9. Sacramento County Standard Terms and Conditions

10. Additional Terms and Conditions

11. Environmental Purchasing Policy

12. Insurance Requirements for Contractors

Request for Proposal #2024-RFP-0395 Title: Hearing Officer Services

1. Definitions

Response:The written, signed and sealed complete document(s) submitted according to the proposal instructions. Response does not include any verbal or documentary interaction apart from submittal of a formal Response.

Request/Proposal/Bid: The completed and released solicitation, including all subsequent addenda, made publicly available to all prospective proposers.

We/Us/Our: Terms that refer to the County of Sacramento, a duly organized public entity. They may also be used as pronouns for various subsets of the County organization, including, as the context will indicate:

• Purchasing - the Contracts and Purchasing Services Division of the Department of General

Services.

• Department/Division – The department or division requesting the goods or services contained in this request, for which this PROPOSAL is prepared and which will be the end user of the requested goods or services.

• Constituency – the client base or County population which may benefit from the procurement of goods and/or services requested herein.

You/Your: Terms that refer to businesses/individuals submitting a response. The term may apply differently as the context will indicate.

• Supplier - A business entity engaged in the business of providing services.

• Proposer - A business entity submitting a Response to this proposal. Suppliers which may express interest in this proposal, but who do not submit a Response, have no obligations with respect to the proposal requirements.

• Contractor - The Proposer(s) whose Response to this proposal is evaluated as meeting the needs of the County. Contractor(s) will be selected for award, and will enter into a contract(s) for provision of the services described in this proposal.

• Contractor’s Employee - All persons who can be offered to provide the services described in the proposal. All employees of the Contractor shall be covered by the insurance programs normally provided to persons employed by a company (ex: Worker’s Comp, SDI, etc.).

Mandatory: A required element of this request/proposal/bid. Failure to satisfy any element of this request/proposal/bid defined as “mandatory” will disqualify the particular response.

Default:A failure to act as required by any contract resulting from this request, which may trigger the right to sue or may excuse the other party's obligation to perform under the contract.

Cancellation/Termination:A unilateral or mutual decision to not complete an exchange or perform an obligation under any contract resulting from this request.

“Or Equal”: A statement used for reference to indicate the character or quality desired in a requested product or service. When specified in a proposal document, equal items will be considered, provided the response clearly describes the article. Offers of equal items must state the brand and number, or level of quality. When brand, number, or level of quality is not stated by proposer, the offer will be considered exactly as specified. The determination of the Purchasing Agent as to what items are equal is final and conclusive.

2. Introduction

2.1. Summary

The County of Sacramento is seeking requests for proposals (RFPs) from qualified vendors for Hearing

Officer Services. Services are on an as-needed basis and usage is not guaranteed.

The Hearing Officer serves in a quasi-judicial capacity while hearing cases and rendering decisions on a variety of cases arising from actions taken by various County departments against individuals and businesses dealing with implementation of the Sacramento County Code. Such cases may include, but are not limited to, general and special business license denials or revocations, parking citation appeal hearings, and dangerous animal hearings.

The County Hearing Officer serves in a quasi-judicial capacity and is not legally empowered to practice law on behalf of the County, its officers or departments.

The initial contract period is estimated to be January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2026, with the option to extend for up to four additional one-year increments through December 31, 2030, at the same terms and conditions, commencing with execution of a contract by the Contract and Purchasing Services

Division. Initial contract pricing will remain firm through at least the first two years of the contract.

2.2. Contact Information

Maria Cojocari

Contract Services Officer II

9660 Ecology Lane

California, CA 95827

Email: cojocarim@saccounty.gov

Phone: (916) 876-6363

Department:

DGS: CAPSD - Procurement

Department Head:

Sarah Lee

Acting Purchasing Agent

2.3. Timeline

Release Project Date July 19, 2024

Question Submission Deadline August 16, 2024, 2:00pm

Addendum Issued (if necessary) August 30, 2024, 2:00pm mailto:cojocarim@saccounty.gov tel:(916)876-6363

Submission Deadline August 30, 2024, 2:00pm

Intent to Award October 4, 2024

Board Approval Date December 3, 2024

Tentative Contract Start Date January 1, 2025

3. Basis for Award

This proposal award will be determined by factors other than price alone. The County’s sole purpose in the evaluation process is to determine from among the Responses received, which one is best suited to meet the County’s needs. Any final analysis or weighted point score does not imply that one proposal is superior to another, but simply that in our judgment the proposal(s) we select offer(s) the best overall solution for our current and anticipated needs. The County reserves the right to make modifications to any scoring and/or weight structure prior to the evaluation of responses. The responses will remain sealed during the proposal evaluation period, and will be made available for public inspection upon notice of proposal award and completion of contract execution.

This Request for Proposal is to establish multiple annual contracts. The top two proposals will be considered for award based on scoring criteria.

Bid responses will be considered valid for a period of 90 calendar days after bid closing date above.

Note: All specifications, terms and conditions of this request will apply to any resulting order.

3.1. Scoring Criteria

Responses will be scored in two Phases. Contract(s) will be awarded to the highest scoring proposer(s).

Phase 1: In Phase 1, Responses must demonstrate they meet the minimum requirements:

Demonstrate License Requirement: Pass/Fail

Hearing Officers assigned by CONTRACTOR shall satisfy the minimum licensing requirements specified in Section 27724 of the Government Code.

California Code, Government Code - GOV § 27724

Any county hearing officer, or any deputy or assistant hearing officer, appointed pursuant to this chapter, shall be an attorney at law having been admitted to practice before the courts of this state for at least five years prior to his or her appointment.

Minimum Experience Requirement: Pass/Fail

Contractor shall have a minimum of four (4) years experience in conducting and/or representing parties in state or local government administrative hearings and/or judicial evidentiary hearings.

Phase 2: In Phase 2, Responses that were not disqualified in Phase 1 will be evaluated using the following requirements:

Experience and Qualifications: Demonstrating successful experience in comparable contexts.

Competitive Pricing: Pricing must represent good value for the services offered.

References: Information from Proposer’s track record working with other organizations.

Risk Assessment Worksheet: Based on responses to risk assessment questionnaire.

3.2. Additional Considerations

During the course of evaluations, the Evaluation Committee may:

A. Choose to contact officials from other jurisdictions regarding the Proposer, their prior work experience, and their ability to successfully complete the scope of services.

B. Request clarification or additional information from a Proposer in order to assist in the evaluation process. This process may not be used as an opportunity to submit missing documentation, change pricing, or make major revisions to the original response.

C. Require changes in the scope of services, as deemed necessary by the County, before Contract execution.

4. Proposer's Instructions

General Format: Respond to all requests for information and completion of forms contained in this

Request for Proposal. You may use additional sheets as necessary. A qualifying response must address all items. Brochures and advertisements will not be considered a complete reply to requests for information and will not be accepted as such. Proposer is solely responsible for accuracy and completeness of proposal response and for electronically separating confidential documents when submitting their response through SacCountyEbids. Responses considered incomplete may be rejected.

Alteration of Proposal Text: the original text of this proposal document, as well as any attachments, amendments or other official correspondence related to this proposal document, may not be manually, electronically or otherwise altered by proposer or proposer’s agent(s). Any response containing altered, deleted, additional or otherwise non-original text will be disqualified.

Preparation of Response:

A. All responses must be signed by an authorized officer or employee of the responder.

B. Responses must be submitted prior to the specified date and time, using the SacCountyEbids.

Responses delivered by hand, fax, telephone, e-mail, or any postal carrier will not be accepted. If bidder uploads a file to SacCountyEbids, it is bidder responsibility to ensure the file is not corrupt or damaged. If County is unable to open an attachment because it is damaged, corrupt, infected, etc., it may disqualify bidder’s submission. See this training guide for guidance entering your online response.

C. Time of delivery must be stated as the number of calendar days following receipt of the order by the proposer to receipt of the goods or services by the County.

D. Time of delivery may be a consideration in the award.

E. Prices will be considered as net if no cash discount is offered. If a discrepancy between the unit price and the item total exists, the unit price prevails.

F. Shipping Terms: F.O.B. Destination, freight prepaid: Seller pays freight charges, Seller owns goods in transit, Seller files claims; Payment Terms: NET/30.

Confidential Information/Public Record: All responses become property of the County. All responses, including the accepted proposal and any subsequent contract, become public records per the requirements of the California Government Code, Sections 6250 -6270, “California Public Records Act”.

Proprietary material must be clearly marked as such. Pricing and service elements of the successful proposal are not considered proprietary information.

The County will treat all information submitted in a proposal as available for public inspection once the

County has selected a contractor. If you believe that you have a legally justifiable basis under the

California Public Records Act (Government Section 6250 et. seq.) for protecting the confidentiality of any information contained within your proposal, you must identify any such information, together with the https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/saccounty https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/saccounty https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/saccounty http://help.procurenow.com/en/articles/5815468-opengov-procurement-vendor-training legal basis of your claim in your proposal, and present such information separately (see "Confidential" section in Vendor Submissions) as part of your response package.

The final determination as to whether the County will assert your claim of confidentiality on your behalf shall be at the sole discretion of the County. If the County makes a determination that your information does not meet the criteria for confidentiality, you will be notified as such. Any information deemed to be non-confidential shall be considered public record.

5. Scope of Work

5.1. Important Instructions for Electronic Submittal

The County is accepting electronic bid submissions. Bidders shall create a FREE account with OpenGov

Procurement by signing up at Sign Up (opengov.com). Once you have completed account registration, browse back to this page, click on "Submit Response", and follow the instructions to submit the electronic bid.

5.2. Contractor Requirements

1. Hearing Officers assigned by CONTRACTOR shall satisfy the minimum licensing requirements specified in Section 27724 of the Government Code.

California Code, Government Code - GOV § 27724

Any county hearing officer, or any deputy or assistant hearing officer, appointed pursuant to this chapter, shall be an attorney at law having been admitted to practice before the courts of this state for at least five years prior to his or her appointment.

2. Contractor shall have a minimum of four (4) years' experience in conducting and/or representing parties in state or local government administrative hearings and/or judicial evidentiary hearings.

5.3. Service Location

Services to be provided at the following location or as otherwise designated and agreed to by Contractor and County. COUNTY will arrange for hearing room and will mail written notices to the parties as appropriate.

Sacramento County Administration Building

700 H Street, Room 1487

Sacramento, CA 95814

5.4. Description of Services

Upon request from COUNTY, CONTRACTOR shall provide services as follows:

A. CONTRACTOR shall furnish hearing officers to conduct hearings and prepare and submit decisions in accordance with applicable provisions of the Sacramento County Code and

California Public Resources Code.

B. All procedural rulings and determinations of factual and legal issues shall be made in accordance with such constitutional, statutory, and decisional law requirements as may be applicable to assure fair and legally sufficient hearings and any decisions adopted must include appropriate and legally sufficient determinations of all factual and legal issues involved in the case.

https://procurement.opengov.com/signup

C. CONTRACTOR's assigned hearing officers will be responsible for taking their own notes during hearings, for transcription, and for maintenance of the official appeal record, including identification and filing of exhibits, and for submission of their decisions promptly upon completion of the hearing in final and complete typewritten form.

D. Decisions and all documents and exhibits comprising the official appeal record shall be delivered to the COUNTY within the applicable timelines set forth in the Sacramento County Code and/or

California Public Resources Code.

E. The hearing officer assigned by CONTRACTOR will conduct the hearings under the applicable codes, regulations, and/or other authorities, and will issue written decisions within the applicable timelines.

F. Online hearings may be conducted by Hearing Officer at their premises, in a closed room, free from ambient noise, and disruptions.

G. COUNTY will not have the authority to select the hearing officer for any specific case.

CONTRACTOR will have sole authority and responsibility for assigning a hearing officer to conduct a hearing.

H. The hearing officer assigned by CONTRACTOR will maintain the hearing record in the event that record is required on an appeal. The hearing officer assigned by CONTRACTOR will digitally record each hearing and make the audio recording available on CD or DVD when requested by a party with appropriate standing.

I. The hearing officer assigned by CONTRACTOR will provide two full standing dates each month for certain types of hearings and other hearing dates can be set by calling or emailing such hearing officer to arrange scheduling in accordance with timelines and other needs.

J. Depending on the particular Sacramento County Code and/or California Public Resources Code requirements for service of decisions, decisions may be sent directly to the parties by the hearing officer, or they may be emailed in Word or PDF format to the appropriate COUNTY representative for service on the parties. In the latter procedure, the COUNTY may not alter or amend the decision other than to place a date on the decision that matches the date the

COUNTY actually serves the decision.

K. COUNTY shall maintain the hearing calendar and hearing files, provide hearing related notices to the parties, and provide interpreters if necessary. The COUNTY shall provide the hearing file to CONTRACTOR at least 1 day prior to the hearing date.

5.5. Pricing

CONTRACTOR shall be compensated at the rate of listed per hour for the assigned hearing officer to prepare for the hearing, to conduct the hearing, to prepare and issue a written decision, and to perform any other services described in this agreement. The hourly rate includes overhead expenses such as secretarial, telephone, photocopy, postage, travel to and from the Service Location, and related costs.

CONTRACTOR may be reimbursed for additional charges for reasonable and incidental costs such as extraordinary postage or copying, or providing a CD, DVD, or other record of a hearing to a party. Any such additional charges must be approved in writing by the County Executive or his designee prior to being incurred. If duly approved, reimbursement for such charges are as follows:

Costs include postage (actual costs), outgoing FAX (cost: $0.20/page), copying (cost: $0.20/page), local mileage (current IRS rate) and parking fees.

Invoices: The hearing officer assigned by CONTRACTOR shall prepare itemized invoices for each hearing conducted and work related thereto. At a minimum, invoices must include the date of each service, the type of service performed, and time billed for each service rounded up to the nearest quarter of an hour. Invoices shall be submitted to COUNTY no later than the fifteenth (15th) day of the month following the date in which a written decision is rendered. COUNTY shall pay CONTRACTOR within thirty

(30) days after receipt of an appropriate and correct invoice sent to County of Sacramento, 700 H Street, Suite 7650 Sacramento, CA 95814-1280. COUNTY may change the address to which subsequent invoices shall be sent by giving written notice designating a change of address to CONTRACTOR, which shall be effective upon receipt.

6. Vendor Submissions

6.1. Proposal Requirements*

Did you read through and confirm that you met all of the proposal requirements?

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

6.2. Do your current Hearing Officers hold active membership in good standing with the California State Bar?*

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

6.3. Please indicate their Bar Numbers with The State Bar of California.* *Response required

6.4. Do your current Hearing Officers have a minimum of four (4) years experience in conducting and/or representing parties in state or local government administrative hearings and/or judicial evidentiary hearings?*

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

6.5. How many years has your firm been in business?*

*Response required

6.6. How many staff members (Hearing Officers) does your firm employ?* *Response required

6.7. What is your standard lead time for officer availability?* *Response required

6.8. Outline experience in conducting and/or representing parties in state or local government administrative hearings and/or judicial evidentiary hearings.*

*Response required

6.9. Outline experience in conducting and/or representing parties in Sacramento County as it relates to Sacramento County Code and California Public Resource Code?*

*Response required

6.10. Do you provide online hearings and describe your experience? What digital platforms do you commonly use in online hearings?*

*Response required

6.11. What type of reports or documentation do you provide after hearings?

Provide report samples.*

*Response required

6.12. Optional: Vendor Proposal Documents

6.13. Please confirm that your company will accept the County's contract terms and conditions ☐ Please confirm

6.14. Confidential Company Information (if applicable)

The County will treat all information submitted in a proposal as available for public inspection once the

County has selected a contractor. If you believe that you have a legally justifiable basis under the

California Public Records Act (Government Section 6250 et. seq.) for protecting the confidentiality of any information contained within your proposal, you must identify any such information, together with the legal basis of your claim in your proposal, and present such information in this section as part of your response package. Click "File Upload" below to upload your confidential documents.

6.15. Contractor Certification of Compliance*

WHEREAS it is in the best interest of Sacramento County that those entities with whom the County does business demonstrate financial responsibility, integrity and lawfulness, it is inequitable for those entities with whom the County does business to receive County funds while failing to pay court-ordered child, family and spousal support which shifts the support of their dependents onto the public treasury.

Therefore, in order to assist the Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services in its efforts to collect unpaid court-ordered child, family and spousal support orders, the following certification must be provided by all entities with whom the County does business:

CONTRACTOR hereby certifies that either:

☐ (a) the CONTRACTOR is a government or non-profit entity (exempt)

☐ (b) the CONTRACTOR has no Principal Owners (25% or more) (exempt)

☐ (c) each Principal Owner (25% or more), does not have any existing child support orders

☐ (d) CONTRACTOR’S Principal Owners are currently in substantial compliance with any court-ordered child, family and spousal support order, including orders to provide current residence address, employment information, and whether dependent health insurance coverage is available. If not in compliance, Principal Owner has become current or has arranged a payment schedule with the

Department of Child Support Services or the court.

*Response required

6.16. Contractor Certification of Compliance Cont...*

New CONTRACTOR shall certify that each of the following statements is true:

A. CONTRACTOR has fully complied with all applicable state and federal reporting requirements relating to employment reporting for its employees; and

B. CONTRACTOR has fully complied with all lawfully served wage and earnings assignment orders and notices of assignment and will continue to maintain compliance.

NOTE: Failure to comply with state and federal reporting requirements regarding a contractor's employees or failure to implement lawfully served wage and earnings assignment orders or notices of assignment constitutes a default under the contract; and failure to cure the default within 90 days of notice by the County shall be grounds for termination of the contract. Principal Owners can contact the

Sacramento Department of Child Support Services at 1-866-901-3212, by writing to P.O. Box 269112, Sacramento, 95826-9112, or via the Customer Connect website at www.childsup.ca.gov.

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

6.17. Solicitation Exceptions*

Please list all exceptions below referring to name of specific section and (where applicable) paragraph, subsection number, or other identifier. For each exception, please quote the statement(s) to which you are taking an exception, for reference during bid analysis. Exceptions considered excessive or affecting vital terms, conditions or specifications may reduce or eliminate your prospects for award.

Please include the following with every exception (if your company has no exceptions, type "N/A" in this field):

A. Page #

B. Section#/Title

C. Exception Description

*Response required

6.18. Non-Collusion Affidavit*

I state that I am authorized to make this affidavit on behalf of my firm, and its owners, directors, and officers. I am the person responsible in my firm for the price(s) and the amount of this proposal.

I state that:

A. The price(s) and amount of this proposal have been arrived at independently and without consultation, communication or agreement with any other contractor, bidder or potential bidder, except as disclosed below in the exceptions field (accept with exceptions).

B. That neither the price(s) nor the amount of this proposal, and neither the approximate price(s) nor approximate amount of this proposal, have been disclosed to any other firm or person who is a bidder or potential bidder, and that they will not be disclosed before proposal opening.

C. No attempt has been made or will be made to induce any firm or person to refrain from submitting a proposal on this contract, or to submit a proposal higher than this proposal, or to submit any intentionally high or noncompetitive proposal/bid or other form of complementary proposal.

D. The proposal by my firm is made in good faith and not pursuant to any agreement or discussion with, or inducement from, any firm or person to submit a complementary or other noncompetitive proposal.

E. My firm, its affiliates, subsidiaries, officer, directors and employees are not currently under investigation by any governmental agency and have not in the last five years been convicted of or found liable for any act prohibited by State or Federal law in any jurisdiction, involving conspiracy or collusion with respect to bidding on any public contract.

F. No current or previous employee of the County of Sacramento (employed by County of

Sacramento within the last calendar year) has been involved or is currently involved in any manner, directly or indirectly, with bidder’s response or considerations in responding to this request.

I understand and my firm understands and acknowledges that the above representations are material and important, and will be relied upon by the County of Sacramento in awarding the contract(s) for which this proposal is submitted. I understand and my firm understands that any misstatement in this affidavit is and shall be treated as fraudulent concealment from the County of Sacramento of the true facts relating to the submission of proposals/bids for this contract. Any violation of this certification shall render bidder’s response invalid. In such a case, bidder’s response will be immediately disqualified.

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

6.19. Customer References*

Include three (3) Company references here:

Reference 1

• Agency/Company Name

• Year(s) of Service

• Contract Value

• Name of Reference

• Title of Reference

• Email Address & Phone Number

• Brief Description of Service

Reference 2

• Agency/Company Name

• Year(s) of Service

• Contract Value

• Name of Reference

• Title of Reference

• Email Address & Phone Number

• Brief Description of Service

Reference 3

• Agency/Company Name

• Year(s) of Service

• Contract Value

• Name of Reference

• Title of Reference

• Email Address & Phone Number

• Brief Description of Service

*Response required

6.20. Risk Assessment Questionnaire*

Please download the below documents, complete, and upload.

• Risk_Assessment_Questionnai...

*Response required https://government-project.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/14692/69c0247d-f232-4964-94df-52ab07e78aa1_Risk_Assessment_Questionnaire.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=ASIA47RIURE4EB7DOAV4%2F20240719%2Fus-west-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20240719T214105Z&X-Amz-Expires=72000&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEF0aCXVzLXdlc3QtMiJHMEUCIDH6e5srINqZhbkodWcv6D6413a7s3u3PY%2B4ZWss3kC7AiEAzgu%2B4KyovDD0iSZ1tv4aySD6jllZU6pBNBpNU5KQbg4qgwUINhACGgw4OTIzNjQ2ODc2NzIiDJqgx83RYIzWGH2ggyrgBPh%2Bz8CY3LEVzuxz7oI2YgkZY%2B906WNW8jfWAjitxfSRIJKkmMWSWj6bJKR3Xpm9DJyVEZAnQr6lC6R4n8WpzrfwGRWZk%2F5tTODxIp8yH%2FRqKHHx9YvhSfuxCRkr4NKuzl8LQpKGHtxSpK2CFzwVUw7%2FZCVKWbNrl716ad0EWJuA%2BBzZqP9EoadbmPZdCUjSQq6rm91qYGNhZHHH6E7YGaqOxJ7vCtIjHBIpp8m46BOgXK1zwlBg76VfW%2BGRq0WB4ZQLac1wc4XE5GmqUcxnOCE%2ByeB27BPQXQm3RHSEV6So1ig9M%2FLHp7qVhF4REUKJahiUPOsl5HaZPmedrhmjfbJrsVKC8BOsf25t8fdMC8pN6%2BCxt9Cmv4QMFNKKUsxkzf1akwdiu%2FdP7g1yUWDtNFqCHAqm%2FuyB1isJIjp4RZBoSXuYlbwcgU25z%2BUJHngb8p%2F8isNCK7u1Cq25Of4oitzTig9xmtbdXSknVlbk9JGffGIoVs9wSN6KI93%2Brs9m%2FBuYCO%2F3zGNcY6ZpZ9SKzJBoJwF5eBtg6wytsSSMQnD6%2BrxVmT7JIh3yHuWoAiLkx0HFlpiWbWmAHd3mw6%2FCBveE6WNNqdLdkP%2FjQ%2BxZQ%2FE6hRoa0uKrkXYyH6YrHKlm9xajiDThX4XZPoaV3lsBpCKIoazkV1gqgno1PuXgXlaGJ7on7e5%2BLoaUshSalodRRaR%2BeZSJYpusqp0J%2B0prI0vQfIW8jttZ815ZiVvb8xGkqVNsSJQtRnHqdzIBdBCkPX2bDiUuooWe1AyfIhgpkUd4TYzDM3q%2F31%2BtMhU9Gqh%2BML2e67QGOpsBlLmcd%2FZCAyhu0gHlZJc8vwGzJmLPrpNLiccRppx%2FANqI7QrFg4DaUP7RXqZMVYfyQpp4igViIe%2FYkFRX3K37wPib0%2BHBXrleQimQLt2T6d60Tl58tPZQBxXTu5DMGNCYQucJ66%2FYvparkrygd4sFTF8TOfLo4OmIwGyz2YEW1MDUm%2BcOHJ7P8pmviaTAAHorlZsks23hQcbPJj0%3D&X-Amz-Signature=29d2ca65873cdc1d2eb9de09d8aac472b83d46b8c60184e07dec7d4ea3be7866&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&response-content-disposition=attachment%3B%20filename%3D%22Risk_Assessment_Questionnaire.pdf%22&x-id=GetObject

7. Pricing Table

HEARING OFFICER SERVICES

CONTRACTOR shall be compensated at the rate of listed per hour for the assigned hearing officer to prepare for the hearing, to conduct the hearing, to prepare and issue a written decision, and to perform any other services described in this agreement. The hourly rate includes overhead expenses such as secretarial, telephone, photocopy, postage, travel to and from the Service Location, and related costs.

Line Item Description Quantity Unit of

Measure Unit Cost Total

1 Hearing Officer Services 1 hr

8. Final Acceptance

Equipment/Supplies/Services

The County of Sacramento will agree to final acceptance only after the supplied equipment, product or service is tested and is found to perform within acceptable standards of operation, is in compliance with all published and implied performance standards, and is considered by the County to be ready for practical application.

9. Sacramento County Standard Terms and Conditions

A. BID/QUOTE/PROPOSAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS: All of the terms and conditions of the bid, quote, or proposal against which this agreement is applied, are hereby incorporated.

B. SALES TAX NOT INCLUDED: Unless otherwise definitely specified, the unit prices do not include

California sales and use tax or Sacramento County sales and use tax.

C. INVOICING & PAYMENT: Upon timely submission of itemized invoices by vendor/contractor, payment shall be made per the terms of this agreement and for the prices stipulated for supplies delivered and/or services rendered after inspection and acceptance. Deductions, if any, may be made from payment as provided by this agreement. Payment on partial deliveries may be made whenever amounts due so warrant or when requested by the vendor/contractor and approved by the County. In connection with any cash (payment) discount specified in this agreement, time will be computed from the date of complete delivery of the supplies, equipment or services as specified, or from date correct invoices are received by County, whichever is later. For the purpose of earning the discount, payment is deemed to be made on the date of mailing of the County warrant or check.

D. HOLD HARMLESS: The vendor/contractor shall hold the County of Sacramento, its officers, agents, servants and employees harmless from liability of any nature or kind because of use of any copyrighted, or uncopyrighted composition, secret process, patented or unpatented invention, articles or appliances furnished or used under this order, and agrees to defend, at his own expense, any and all actions brought against the County of Sacramento or himself because of the unauthorized use of such articles.

E. DEFAULT BY VENDOR/CONTRACTOR: In case of default by vendor/contractor, the County of

Sacramento may procure the articles or services from other sources and may deduct from any monies due, or that may thereafter become due to the vendor/contractor, the difference between the price named in the contract or purchase order and actual cost thereof to the County of Sacramento. Prices paid by the County shall be considered the prevailing market price at the time such purchase is made.

Periods of performance may be extended if the facts as to the cause of delay justify such extension in the opinion of the Purchasing Agent.

F. RIGHT TO AUDIT: The County of Sacramento reserves the right to verify, by examination of vendor/contractor’s records, all invoiced amounts when firm prices are not set forth in the purchase agreement.

G. ASSIGNMENT: This contract or purchase order is not assignable by vendor/contractor either in whole or in part, without the prior written approval of the County.

H. SUCCESSORS: This agreement shall be binding upon to the benefit of the successors and assigns of the respective parties hereto.

I. F.E.T. EXEMPTION: County is exempt from Federal excise tax pursuant to Internal Revenue Code 26

U.S.C. §4221(a)(4).

J. CHARGES NOT INCLUDED ON FACE NOT ACCEPTABLE: No charge will be accepted for packing, boxing, or cartage, except as specified in the Notice of Award. Freight collect shipments will not be accepted.

Merchandise will not be accepted if payment is to be made at the time of delivery.

K. TITLE/RISK OF LOSS: Title, ownership, and risk of loss or damage of the Goods shall be in accordance with Delivery/FOB Terms on Page 1 of the contract. The Goods are delivered to, inspected and accepted by County, except when such loss or damage is due to the fault or negligence of County.

L. ALL UNDERSTANDINGS IN WRITING: It is mutually understood and agreed that no alteration or variation of price, quantity, supplies and/or services, and any terms of this contract shall be valid unless made in writing and signed by the parties hereto, and that no oral understandings or agreements shall be binding.

M. FORCE MAJEURE: The parties will not be held liable for delays or failure in fulfillment of conditions of purchase order or contract resulting from events beyond the reasonable control of such parties. Such events include, but are not be limited to strikes, riots, acts of war, epidemics, acts of government, fire, power failures, nuclear events, earthquakes, acts of terrorism, severe weather events and other disasters.

N.VENDOR/CONTRACTOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS: County’s standard terms and conditions shall govern any contract awarded. If, after award of contract, vendor/contractor provides additional terms or conditions, and there is a conflict between the terms and conditions of the parties, County’s terms and conditions shall govern.

O. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSURANCES: Vendor/contractor shall take all reasonable precautions to ensure that any hardware, software, and/or embedded chip devices used by vendor/contractor in the performance of services under this agreement, other than those owned or provided by County, shall be free from viruses. Nothing in this provision shall be construed to limit any rights or remedies otherwise available to County under this agreement.

P.COMPLIANCE WITH FAMILY SUPPORT ORDERS: Vendor/contractor hereby certifies that it's principal owner(s) is in substantial compliance with Sacramento County's DCSS Program, federal and state laws regarding lawfully served orders for child, family and spousal support, including wage reporting and assignment of wages. (Failure to comply with such orders and cure the default within 90 days of notice by the County shall be grounds for termination of the contract or purchase order.

Q. COMPLIANCE WITH ALL LAWS, LICENSES AND PERMITS: In the performance of their duties, Vendor/contractor shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and county statutes, ordinances, regulations, directives, and laws and this contract shall be deemed to be executed within the State of

California and construed with and governed by the laws of the State of California. Vendor/contractor shall possess and maintain all necessary licenses, permits, certificates and credentials required by the laws of the United States, the State of California, County of Sacramento and all other appropriate governmental agencies, including any certification and credentials required by County. Failure to comply with all laws, licenses and permits shall be deemed a breach of this Agreement and constitutes grounds for the termination of this Contract.

R. FOREIGN CURRENCY: In the event vendor invoices submitted to the County of Sacramento is received in foreign currency, vendor understands and agrees the County of Sacramento will pay in US Dollars via wire, ACH, or check payment method. The County of

Sacramento's payment of US Dollars will be calculated using the currency exchange rate on the invoice date, regardless of date paid, or received by vendor. The County of Sacramento calculates US

Dollars based on the exchange rate on such invoice date provided by the Oanda currency converter site: http://www1.oanda.com/lang/en/currency/converter/.

http://www1.oanda.com/lang/en/currency/converter/

10. Additional Terms and Conditions

10.1. Additional Terms and Conditions

Bidder Responsibility: You are expected to be thoroughly familiar with all specifications and requirements of this bid. Your failure or omission to examine any relevant form, article, site or document will not relieve you from any obligation regarding this bid. By submitting a response, you are presumed to concur with all terms, conditions and specifications of this bid unless you have specifically, by section number, raised objection.

Awards:

1. The County of Sacramento reserves the right to:

1. award responses received on the basis of individual items, or groups of items, or on the entire list of items;

2. reject any or all responses, or any part thereof;

3. waive any informality in the responses; and

4. accept the response that is in the best interest of the County. The Purchasing Agent's decision shall be final.

2. Preference for Sacramento County Products. In purchases by the County of Sacramento, price and quality being equal, preference must be given to Sacramento County products (Charter of the County of Sacramento, sec. 83); also, ". . . preference must be given to the lowest responsible local bidder offering to supply such items for purchase which are raised, grown, manufactured, fabricated, processed or assembled in Sacramento County . . ." (Sacramento

County Code, sec. 2.56.060).

3. Preference for California-made materials. Pursuant to Sections 4330-4333 of the Government

Code, the County, in awarding the purchase, must prefer supplies partially manufactured, grown or processed in California, price, fitness and quality being equal. In order to receive preference, responses must clearly specify the item(s) for which preference is claimed and the preference applicable.

Taxes:

1. Include any sales, use, or federal excise taxes in your response as separate line item(s).

2. If your company is outside California and collects sales tax, please state the amount as a separate item if the County is to remit the tax.

3. Items purchased for resale will show the County's resale permit number on the purchase order.

4. Exemption certificates will be furnished when federal excise tax is exempted.

Brand Names: Brand names and numbers, when used, are for reference to indicate the character or quality desired. Equal items will be considered, provided your offer clearly describes the article. Offers for equal items must state the brand and number, or level of quality. The determination of the

Purchasing Agent as to what items are equal is final and conclusive. When brand, number, or level of quality is not stated by bidder, the offer will be considered exactly as specified.

Samples: Samples of articles, when required, must be furnished free of cost. Samples may be retained for future comparison. Samples which are not destroyed by testing or which are not retained for future comparison will be returned upon request at your expense.

Termination:

1. County may terminate any resulting contract without cause upon thirty (30) days written notice to the other party. Notice shall be deemed served on the date of mailing. If notice of termination for cause is given by County to contractor and it is later determined that contractor was not in default or the default was excusable, then the notice of termination shall be deemed to have been given without cause pursuant to this paragraph (A).

2. County may terminate any resulting contract for cause immediately upon giving written notice to contractor, should contractor materially fail to perform any of the covenants contained in resulting contract in the time and/or manner specified. In the event of such termination, County may proceed with the work in any manner deemed proper by County. If notice of termination for cause is given by County to contractor and it is later determined that contractor was not in default or the default was excusable, then the notice of termination shall be deemed to have been given without cause pursuant to paragraph (A) above.

3. County may terminate or amend any resulting contract immediately upon giving written notice to contractor, 1) if advised that funds are not available from external sources for resulting contract or any portion thereof, including if distribution of such funds to the County is suspended or delayed; 2) if funds for the services and/or programs provided pursuant to resulting contract are not appropriated by the State; 3) if funds in County's yearly proposed and/or final budget are not appropriated by County for resulting contract or any portion thereof; or 4) if funds that were previously appropriated for resulting contract are reduced, eliminated, and/or re-allocated by County as a result of mid-year budget reductions.

4. If any resulting contract is terminated under paragraph A or C above, contractor shall only be paid for any services completed and provided prior to notice of termination. In the event of termination under paragraph a or c above, contractor shall be paid an amount which bears the same ratio to the total compensation authorized by resulting contract as the services actually performed bear to the total services of contractor covered by resulting contract, less payments of compensation previously made. In no event, however, shall County pay contractor an amount which exceeds a pro rata portion of the resulting contract total based on the portion of the resulting contract term that has elapsed on the effective date of the termination.

5. Contractor shall not incur any expenses under any resulting contract after notice of termination and shall cancel any outstanding expenses obligations to a third party that contractor can legally cancel.

Public Agency Participation: It is intended that any other public agency including those identified in the solicitation (i.e., city, district, public authority, public agency, municipality and other political sub-division or public corporation of California) located in California shall have the option to participate in any award made as a result of this solicitation. The County of Sacramento shall incur no financial responsibility in connection with orders issued or delivered by another public agency. Each public agency using this contract shall accept sole and full responsibility for placing of orders and making payments to the contractor. In addition to the above, the contractor shall provide the same level of indemnification and insurance protection to each of the participating agencies ordering products and/or services under any award made as a result of this solicitation.

Out of State Vendors Providing Services to the County of Sacramento: Recent state legislation requires the County to withhold seven percent (7%) of all income paid to certain independent contractors who do not reside in California. (Rev. & Tax. Code §18662; Cal. Admin. Code §§18662-1-18662-14.) This provision does not apply if the total amount paid for services in a given year is less than $1,500. It also does not apply if the contractor is: a) a corporation with a principal place of business in California; b) a partnership with a permanent place of business in California; c) a corporation qualified through the

Secretary of State to do business in California; or d) an individual with a permanent residence in the

State of California.

FTB Waiver -The contractor can apply to the FTB for a waiver from this withholding requirement. An FTB waiver will generally be granted when the nonresident contractor has a current history of filing

California tax returns and/or is currently making estimated tax payments to the FTB. An FTB waiver request is made on FTB Form 588, which can be faxed to the FTB at (916) 845-4831.

Payments (E-Payables)

The County of Sacramento has partnered with Bank of America to implement a card payment program, ePayables, offered to County’s suppliers/contractors/vendors. This preferred payment method will reduce paper waste and expedite payments to recipients. Traditional forms of payment (hardcopy checks) remain.

ePayables will not affect payment terms and conditions of any existing contract. Once an invoice is approved for payment, an electronic remittance advice will be sent to the recipient’s email instead of a hardcopy check. The remittance advice will include statement-type information such as: invoice numbers, dates, and invoice amounts. Payments can be retrieved with a County designated account number assigned to the contractor. For more information, go to www.bankofamerica.com/epayablesvendors or contact the Sacramento County Department of Finance at 916-874-7411 (epayables@saccounty.gov).

Late Payments: Should the county be late in making payments against invoices submitted correctly and timely, any interest levied by the vendor for payments shall be limited by the Section 926.10 of the

California Government Code.

Reports:

1. CONTRACTOR shall, without additional compensation therefor, make fiscal, program evaluation, progress, and such other reports as may be reasonably required by COUNTY concerning

CONTRACTOR's activities as they affect the contract duties and purposes herein. COUNTY shall explain procedures for reporting the required information.

http://www.bankofamerica.com/epayablesvendors

2. CONTRACTOR agrees that, pursuant to Government Code section 7522.56, CONTRACTOR shall make best efforts to determine if any of its employees or new hires providing direct services to the county are members of the Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System (SCERS).

CONTRACTOR further agrees that it shall make a report bi-annually (due no later than January

31st and July 31st) to the COUNTY with a list of its employees that are members of SCERS along with the total number of hours worked during the previous 6 months. This report shall be forwarded to where Notice is sent pursuant to resulting contract.

10.2. Indemnification (services)

To the fullest extent permitted by law, for work or services provided under this Agreement, CONTRACTOR shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless County, its governing Board, officers, directors, officials, employees, and authorized volunteers and agents, (individually an “Indemnified

Party” and collectively “Indemnified Parties”), from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, losses, liabilities, damages, and all expenses and costs incidental thereto (collectively “Claims”), including cost of defense, settlement, arbitration, expert fees, and reasonable attorneys' fees, resulting from injuries to or death of any person, including employees of either party hereto, and damage to or destruction of property, or loss of use or reduction in value thereof, including the property of either party hereto, and recovery of monetary losses incurred by County directly attributable to the performance of CONTRACTOR, arising out of, pertaining to, or resulting from the negligent acts, errors, omissions, recklessness, or willful misconduct of CONTRACTOR, its employees, or CONTRACTOR’s subcontractors at any tier, or any other party for which CONTRACTOR is legally liable under law.

The right to defense and indemnity under this Section arises upon occurrence of an event giving rise to a

Claim and, thereafter, upon tender in writing to CONTRACTOR. CONTRACTOR shall defend Indemnified

Parties with counsel reasonably acceptable to County. Notwithstanding the foregoing, County shall be entitled, on its own behalf, and at the expense of CONTRACTOR, to assume control of its defense or the defense of any Indemnified Party in any legal action, with counsel reasonably selected by it. Should

County elect to initially assume control of its defense, or the defense of any Indemnified Party, it does so without prejudice to its right to subsequently request that CONTRACTOR thereafter assume control of the defense and pay all reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs incurred thereby.

This indemnity obligation shall not be limited by the types and amounts of insurance or self-insurance maintained by CONTRACTOR or CONTRACTOR’s subcontractors at any tier.

Nothing in this indemnity obligation shall be construed to create any duty to, any standard of care with reference to, or any liability or obligation, contractual or otherwise, to any third party.

The provisions of this indemnity obligation shall survive the expiration or termination of the Agreement.

11. Environmental Purchasing Policy

COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO

ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE PURCHASING

GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (“EPP”) policy is to support the purchase of recycled and environmentally preferable products, and reduce waste to minimize…