OGC-2026-24 Request for Proposals.docx

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

For

OUT OF STATE LIEN ENFORCEMENT

Issued by

THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA

For

PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

RFP NUMBER:

OGC-2026-24

DATE OF ISSUANCE

November 4, 2026

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR

Out of State Lien Enforcement Department of Revenue, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART V - STANDARD CONTRACT FOR LEGAL SERVICES

APPENDIX A – PROPOSAL COVER SHEET

APPENDIX B – COST SUBMITTAL

APPENDIX C – TRADE SECRET CONFIDENTIAL PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

NOTICE

APPENDIX D – STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS/CONFLICTS/TECHNICAL

QUESTIONNAIRE

APPENDIX E – PERSONNEL EXPERIENCE BY KEY POSITION

APPENDIX F – PROJECT REFERENCES

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

The Commonwealth will make every effort to adhere to the following schedule:

Deadline to submit Questions via email to:

Jordan Kiessling @ jkiessling@pa.gov

4:00 p.m.

4:00 p.m.

Sealed proposals must be received by the Issuing Office at:

ra-gcrfpresponse@pa.gov

4:00 p.m.

PART I

GENERAL INFORMATION

I-1. Purpose. This request for proposals (“RFP”) provides sufficient information to enable interested law firms (“Firms”) to prepare and submit proposals for the Governor’s Office of General Counsel’s (“OGC”) consideration to satisfy a need for Out of State Lien Enforcement Services for the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue (“Department”).

This RFP is issued pursuant to Executive Order 2015-2 dated January 20, 2015, and in accordance with Section 518 of the Commonwealth Procurement Code, 62 P.S. § 518 and Part III Chapter 8 of the DGS Procurement Handbook.

I-2. Issuing Office. The Governor’s Office of General Counsel (“Issuing Office”) has issued this RFP on behalf of the Commonwealth. The sole point of contact in the Commonwealth for this RFP shall be:

Mrs. Jordan M. Kiessling, Issuing Officer Governor’s Office of General Counsel 30 N. Third Street, Suite 200 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17101 jkiessling@pa.gov

Please refer all inquiries to the Issuing Officer.

I-3. Scope. This RFP contains instructions governing the requested proposals, including the requirements for the information and material to be included; a description of the service to be provided; requirements which Offerors must meet to be eligible for consideration; general evaluation criteria; and other requirements specific to this RFP.

I-4. Problem Statement. The Issuing Office is seeking proposals, on behalf of the Department, to procure the services of an Offeror to enforce collection of out of state tax debt. Traditional collection tools such as dunning notices, telephone calls, levy, and referral to a third-party collection agency have limited expectation of resolution. States are increasingly reliant on taxes reported and paid by out of state taxpayers. As an example, Pennsylvania customers make purchases online from out of state sellers. The state tax debt associated with out of state taxpayers should increase in a corresponding way. The need for out of state lien enforcement services remains paramount for protecting the Commonwealth’s best interests.

Additional detail is provided in Part IV of this RFP.

I-5 Type of Contract. If the Issuing Office enters into a contract as a result of this RFP, it will be a requirements contract with negotiated compensation containing the Contract Terms and Conditions as shown in Part IV of the RFP. The compensation to be rendered under this RFP shall be through a contingent fee based upon actual collections.

I-6 Rejection of Proposals. The Issuing Office reserves the right, in its sole and complete discretion, to reject any proposal received as a result of this RFP.

I-7. Incurring Costs. The Issuing Office is not liable for any costs the Offeror incurs in preparation and submission of its proposal, in participating in the RFP process or in anticipation of award of the contract.

I-8. Questions & Answers. If an Offeror has any questions regarding this RFP, the Offeror must submit the questions by email (with the subject line “OGC-2026-24 Question”) to the Issuing Officer named in Part I, Section I-2 of the RFP. If the Offeror has questions, they must be submitted via email no later than the date indicated on the Calendar of Events. The Offeror shall not attempt to contact the Issuing Officer by any other means. The Issuing Officer shall post the answers to the questions on the PA eMarketplace website by the date stated on the Calendar of Events. An Offeror who submits a question after the deadline date for receipt of questions indicated on the Calendar of Events assumes the risk that its proposal will not be responsive or competitive because the Commonwealth is not able to respond before the proposal receipt date or in sufficient time for the Offeror to prepare a responsive or competitive proposal. When submitted after the deadline date for receipt of questions indicated on the Calendar of Events, the Issuing Officer may respond to questions of an administrative nature by directing the questioning Offeror to specific provisions in the RFP. To the extent that the Issuing Office decides to respond to a non-administrative question after the deadline date for receipt of questions indicated on the Calendar of Events, the answer must be provided to all Offerors through an addendum.

All questions and responses as posted on the PA eMarketplace website are considered as an addendum to, and part of, this RFP in accordance with RFP Part I, Section I-9. Each Offeror shall be responsible to monitor the PA eMarketplace website for new or revised RFP information. The Issuing Office shall not be bound by any verbal information nor shall it be bound by any written information that is not either contained within the RFP or formally issued as an addendum by the Issuing Office. The Issuing Office does not consider questions to be a protest of the specifications or of the solicitation. The required protest process for Commonwealth procurements is described on the DGS website at:

https://www.dgs.pa.gov/Documents/Procurement%20Forms/Handbook/Pt1/Pt%20I%20Ch%2058%20Bid%20Protests.pdf

I-9. Addenda to the RFP. If the Issuing Office deems it necessary to revise any part of this RFP before the proposal response date, the Issuing Office will post an addendum to the PA eMarketplace website. It is the Offeror’s responsibility to periodically check the website for any new information or addenda to the RFP. Answers to the questions asked during the Questions & Answers period also will be posted to the website as an addendum to the RFP.

I-10. Response Date. To be considered for selection, electronic copies of proposals must arrive at the Issuing Office on or before the time and date specified in the RFP Calendar of Events. The Issuing Office will not accept proposals via facsimile transmission.

I-11. Proposals. To be considered, Offerors should submit a complete response to this RFP to the Issuing Office, using the format provided in Part II. The Offeror must provide in two (2) separate attachments, a copy of the Technical Submittal and a copy of the Cost Submittal. Offerors must also provide a redacted version of the Technical Submittal, including Financial Capability information, in Microsoft Office or Microsoft Office-compatible format.

Offerors should ensure that there is no costing information in the Technical Submittal. Offerors should not reiterate technical information in the cost submittal. The Offeror shall make no other distribution of its proposal to any other Offeror or Commonwealth official or Commonwealth Law Firm. Each proposal page should be numbered for ease of reference. An official authorized to bind the Offeror to its provisions must sign the proposal. If the official signs the Proposal Cover Sheet (Appendix A to this RFP) and the Proposal Cover Sheet is attached to the Offeror’s proposal, the requirement will be met. For this RFP, the proposal must remain valid for 120 days or until a contract is fully executed. If the Issuing Office selects the Offeror’s proposal for award, the contents of the selected Offeror’s proposal will become, except to the extent the contents are changed through Best and Final Offers or negotiations, contractual obligations.

Each Offeror submitting a proposal specifically waives any right to withdraw or modify it, except that the Offeror may withdraw its proposal by written notice received at the Issuing Office’s address for proposal delivery prior to the exact hour and date specified for proposal receipt. An Offeror may modify its submitted proposal prior to the exact hour and date set for proposal receipt only by submitting a new sealed proposal or sealed modification which complies with the RFP requirements.

I-12. Economy of Preparation. Law Firms should prepare proposals simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of the Law Firm's ability to meet the requirements of the RFP.

I-13. Alternative Proposals. The Issuing Office has identified the basic approach to meeting its requirements, allowing Offerors to be creative and propose their best solution to meeting these requirements. The Issuing Office will not accept alternative technical proposals but, as provided in Section II-3 and Appendix B, will consider alternative cost proposals.

I-14. Clarifications. Law Firms may be required to make an oral or written clarification of their proposals to the Issuing Office to ensure thorough mutual understanding and Law Firm's responsiveness to the solicitation requirements. The Issuing Office will initiate requests for clarification. Clarifications may occur at any stage of the evaluation and selection process.

I-15. Prime Contractor Responsibilities. The contract will require the selected Law Firm to assume responsibility for all services offered in its proposal whether it produces them itself or by subcontract. The Issuing Office will consider the selected Law Firm to be the sole point of contact with regard to contractual matters.

I-16. Proposal Contents.

A. Confidential Information. The Commonwealth is not requesting, and does not require, confidential proprietary information or trade secrets to be included as part of any Offerors’ submissions in order to evaluate proposals submitted in response to this RFP. Accordingly, except as provided herein, Offerors should not label proposal submissions as confidential or proprietary or trade secret protected. Any Offeror who determines that it must divulge such information as part of its proposal must submit the signed written statement described in subsection C. below and must additionally provide a redacted version of its proposal, which removes only the confidential proprietary information and trade secrets, for required public disclosure purposes.

B. Commonwealth Use. All material submitted with the proposal shall be considered the property of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and may be returned only at the Issuing Office’s option. The Commonwealth has the right to use any or all ideas not protected by intellectual property rights that are presented in any proposal regardless of whether the proposal becomes part of a contract. Notwithstanding any Offeror copyright designations contained on proposals, the Commonwealth shall have the right to make copies and distribute proposals internally and to comply with public record or other disclosure requirements under the provisions of any Commonwealth or United States statute or regulation, or rule or order of any court of competent jurisdiction.

C. Public Disclosure. After the award of a contract pursuant to this RFP, all proposal submissions are subject to disclosure in response to a request for public records made under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know-Law, 65 P.S. § 67.101, et seq. If a proposal submission contains confidential proprietary information or trade secrets, a signed written statement to this effect must be provided with the submission in accordance with 65 P.S. § 67.707(b) for the information to be considered exempt under 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(11) from public records requests. Refer to Appendix C of the RFP for a Trade Secret Form that may be utilized as the signed written statement, if applicable.

I-17. Discussions. While not required, the Issuing Office reserves the right to conduct discussions with any responsible Law Firm to determine the Law Firm’s qualifications for further consideration. Discussions shall not disclose any information derived from proposals submitted by other Law Firms.

I-18. News Releases. Law Firms shall not issue news releases, Internet postings, advertisements or any other public communications pertaining to this Engagement without prior written approval of the Issuing Office, and then only in coordination with the Issuing Office.

I-19. Restriction of Contact. From the issue date of this RFP until the Issuing Office selects a proposal for award, the Issuing Officer is the sole point of contact concerning this RFP. Any violation of this condition may be cause for the Issuing Office to reject the offending Law Firm’s proposal. If the Issuing Office later discovers that the Law Firm has engaged in any violations of this condition, the Issuing Office may reject the offending Law Firm's proposal or rescind its contract award. Law Firms must agree not to distribute any part of their proposals beyond the Issuing Office. A Law Firm who shares information contained in its proposal with other Commonwealth personnel and/or competing Law Firm personnel may be disqualified.

I-20. Issuing Office Participation. Law Firms shall provide all services, supplies, facilities, and other support necessary to complete the identified work. The Issuing Office will not provide office space or logistical support.

I-21. Term of Contract. The term of the contract will commence on the Effective Date and will end three years (3) from the Effective Date. The Commonwealth may renew the Contract for up to an additional two (2) years, in single year increments.

I-22. Offeror’s Representations and Authorizations. By submitting its proposal, each Offeror understands, represents, and acknowledges that:

1. All of the Offeror's information and representations in the proposal are material and important, and the Issuing Office may rely upon the contents of the proposal in awarding the contract(s). The Commonwealth shall treat any misstatement, omission or misrepresentation as fraudulent concealment of the true facts relating to the Proposal submission, punishable pursuant to 18 Pa. C.S. § 4904.

A. The Offeror has arrived at the price(s) and amounts in its proposal independently and without consultation, communication, or agreement with any other Offeror or entity, except for subcontractors that the Offeror plans to utilize for this contract.

B. The Offeror has not disclosed any aspect of its proposal to any other entity, except for subcontractors that the Offeror plans to utilize for this contract, and it shall not disclose any of these items on or before the proposal submission deadline applicable to this RFP.

1. The Offeror has not attempted, nor will it attempt, 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 or other form of complementary proposal.

1. The Offeror makes its proposal 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.

1. To the best knowledge of the person signing the proposal for the Offeror, the Offeror, its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, and employees are not currently under investigation by any governmental agency and have not in the last four years been convicted or found liable for any act prohibited by State or Federal law in any jurisdiction, involving conspiracy or collusion with respect to bidding or proposing on any public contract, except as the Offeror has disclosed in its proposal.

1. To the best of the knowledge of the person signing the proposal for the Offeror and except as the Offeror has otherwise disclosed in its proposal, the Offeror has no outstanding, delinquent obligations to the Commonwealth including, but not limited to, any state tax liability not being contested on appeal or other obligation of the Offeror that is owed to the Commonwealth.

1. The Offeror is not currently under suspension or debarment by the Commonwealth, any other state or the federal government, and if the Offeror cannot so certify, then it shall submit along with its proposal a written explanation of why it cannot make such certification.

1. The Offeror has not made, under separate contract with the Issuing Office, any recommendations to the Issuing Office concerning the need for the services described in its proposal or the specifications for the services described in the proposal.

1. Each Offeror, by submitting its proposal, authorizes Commonwealth agencies to release to the Commonwealth information concerning the Offeror's Pennsylvania taxes, unemployment compensation and workers’ compensation liabilities.

J. Once the Issuing Officer receives a fully signed Appointment letter back from the Offeror, services can be performed, and Offeror will be paid for services rendered dating back to the date of the Appointment letter.

I-23. Use of Electronic Versions of this RFP. This RFP is being made available by electronic means. If an Offeror electronically accepts the RFP, the Offeror acknowledges and accepts full responsibility to insure that no changes are made to the RFP. In the event of a conflict between a version of the RFP in the Offeror’s possession and the Issuing Office’s version of the RFP, the Issuing Office’s version shall govern.

[The remainder of this page is intentionally left blank.]

PART II

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Offerors must submit their proposals in the format, including heading descriptions, outlined below. To be considered, the proposal must respond to all requirements in this part of the RFP. Offerors should provide any other information thought to be relevant, but not applicable to the enumerated categories, as an appendix to the Proposal. All cost data relating to this proposal should be kept separate from and not included in the Technical Submittal. Each Proposal shall consist of the following two separately attached submittals:

A. Technical Submittal, which shall be a response to RFP Part II, Section II‑1;

B. Cost Submittal, in response to RFP Part II, Section II‑3; and

The Issuing Office reserves the right to request additional information which, in the Issuing Office’s opinion, is necessary to assure that the Offeror’s competence, number of qualified employees, business organization, and resources are adequate to perform according to the RFP.

The Issuing Office may make investigations as deemed necessary to determine the ability of the Offeror to perform the Engagement and/or any potential conflicts the Offeror may have that could impact their provision of legal services to the Commonwealth, and the Offeror shall furnish to the Issuing Office all requested information and data. The Issuing Office reserves the right to reject any proposal if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of, such Offeror fails to satisfy the Issuing Office that such Offeror is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the RFP and to complete the Engagement as specified.

II-1. Technical Submittal. Using the task descriptions in Part IV of this RFP and Appendix D, Statement of Qualifications/Conflicts/Technical Questionnaire, as your reference point, explain the Offeror’s experience, including experience of the personnel that will perform the work, and the service you will provide under this Engagement. Complete and submit Appendix D, Statement of Qualifications/Conflicts/Technical Questionnaire, Appendix E, Personnel Experience, and Appendix F, Project References, as part of your Technical Submittal. In addition, provide a narrative demonstrating the Offeror’s knowledge of the engagement at issue as well as an analysis of the Offeror’s plan of action consistent with the Part I, Section I-4 and Part IV of the RFP. The Technical Submittal shall be submitted as a separate attachment, separated from the Cost Submittal.

II-2. Standard Legal Services Contract Terms and Conditions.

By submitting a proposal, including the cost proposal, in response to this RFP, the Offeror agrees that it accepts all of the terms and conditions of the legal services contract set out in Part V of the RFP. The Issuing Office will reject any proposal that is conditioned on the negotiation of the terms and conditions of the legal services contract set out in Part V of the RFP.

II-3. Cost Submittal.

The information requested in this Part II, Section 3 shall constitute the Cost Submittal. The Cost Submittal – Appendix B, shall be submitted as a separate attachment, separated from the Technical Submittal. Offerors should not include any assumptions in their Cost Submittals. If the Offeror includes assumptions in its Cost Submittal, the Issuing Office may reject the proposal. Offerors should direct in writing to the Issuing Office pursuant to Part I, Section I-8, of this RFP any questions about whether a cost or other component is included or applies. All Offerors will then have the benefit of the Issuing Office’s written answer so that all proposals are submitted on the same basis.

Offerors may include alternate pricing proposals; however, only the information proposed in the Cost Submittal will be used to evaluate the Offeror's cost proposal. The Commonwealth may negotiate with the selected Offeror on the compensation structure of the contract.

The Commonwealth shall pay a contingent fee on collections made by the Offeror on cases placed with the Offeror. The Commonwealth shall not pay any additional costs or fees nor shall the Offeror add any additional fees, costs, or amounts owed to the assigned account.

The Department will reimburse the selected Offeror for work satisfactorily performed after execution of a written contract and the start of the contract term, in accordance with contract requirements, and only after the Issuing Office has received a signed Appointment letter back from the Offeror. At that point the Offeror will be paid for services rendered dating back to the date of the Appointment letter.

PART III

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

III-1. Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements. To be eligible for selection, a proposal must be:

A. Timely received from an Offeror;

B. Properly signed by the Offeror.

III-2. Technical Nonconforming Proposals. The two (2) Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements set forth in Section III-1 above (A & B) are the only RFP requirements that the Commonwealth will consider to be non-waivable. The Issuing Office reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (1) waive any other technical or immaterial nonconformities in an Offeror’s proposal, (2) allow the Offeror to cure the nonconformity, or (3) consider the nonconformity in the scoring of the Offeror’s proposal.

III-3. Evaluation. The Issuing Office has selected a committee of qualified personnel to review and evaluate timely submitted proposals and to submit recommendations to the Contracting Officer.

III-4. Evaluation Criteria. The following criteria will be used in evaluating each proposal:

A. Technical: The Issuing Office has established the weight for the Technical criterion for this RFP as 80% of the total points. Evaluation will be based upon the following, in equal order of importance:

i. Understanding the Problem

ii. Offeror’s Qualifications

iii. Proposed Personnel Qualifications

iv. Soundness of Approach

Notwithstanding the number of hours provided for purposes of cost evaluation noted herein and in the cost submittal, as part of the Understanding the Problem and Soundness of Approach portions of its technical submission Firms must provide the anticipated number of hours Firms envision working on this engagement given the description of the scope of requested services in the Statement of Work.

As part of your technical submission, provide a narrative demonstrating the Law Firm’s knowledge of the engagement at issue as well as an analysis of the Law Firm’s plan of action consistent with the problem statement and the Statement of Work.

The final technical scores are determined by giving the maximum number of technical points available to the proposal with the highest raw technical score. The remaining proposals are rated by applying the Technical Scoring Formula set forth at the following webpage:

RFP_SCORING_FORMULA (pa.gov)

B. Cost: The Issuing Office has established the weight for the Cost criterion for this RFP as 25% of the total points. The cost criterion is rated by giving the proposal with the lowest total cost the maximum number of Cost points available. The remaining proposals are rated by applying the Cost Formula set forth at the following webpage:

RFP_SCORING_FORMULA (pa.gov)

Firms should be advised that based upon the formula set forth above, a Cost submittal that is more than double that of the lowest responsible Firm’s bid risks receiving zero (0) points for Cost.

III-5. Offeror Responsibility. To be deemed responsible for purposes of this engagement, an Offeror must submit a responsive proposal and possess the capability to fully perform the contract requirements in all respects and the integrity and reliability to assure good faith performance of the contract.

A. In order for an Offeror to be considered responsible for this RFP and therefore eligible for award, the total score for the technical submittal of the Offeror’s proposal must be greater than or equal to 80% of the available technical points. Should an Offeror’s proposal not receive a score greater than or equal to 80% of the available technical points, the Offeror will not be considered responsible solely for the purposes of this RFP, and as such, the Offeror’s cost proposal will not be evaluated.

B. Further, the Issuing Office will award a contract only to an Offeror determined to be responsible in accordance with the most current version of Commonwealth Management Directive 215.9, Contractor Responsibility Program.

III-6. Final Ranking and Award.

A. After any discussions conducted with responsible Offerors, the Issuing Office will combine the evaluation committee’s final technical scores and the final cost scores in accordance with the relative weights assigned to these areas as set forth in this Part. The Issuing Office will rank responsible offerors according to the total overall score assigned to each, in descending order.

B. For purposes of this RFP, the Commonwealth will consider making a limited multiple award. In the order of their respective final qualification ranking, the Commonwealth in its sole discretion will determine the number of firms to be awarded a contract based on the number of responsive proposals received from responsible Offerors meeting the technical scoring threshold and with which fair and reasonable compensation can be negotiated as provided below. The Commonwealth may select a contractor from the offeror(s) awarded contracts when services are needed. The selected firm(s) will be required to furnish the services requested by the Commonwealth at the contracted compensation.

C. Pursuant to Section 518 of the Commonwealth Procurement Code, award will be made following negotiation of fair and reasonable compensation. Offerors will be evaluated based upon the evaluation factors set forth in this RFP, and then qualitatively ranked. The Commonwealth may then select the top ranked firm(s) for negotiation. If terms cannot be agreed upon, the Commonwealth may then select the next best qualified firm for negotiation. Award will be made to the responsible Offeror(s) determined to be the best qualified after fair and reasonable compensation has been negotiated.

The Issuing Office will select for negotiations the firm(s) with the highest overall score; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT A FIRM WILL NOT BE SELECTED FOR NEGOTIATION IF THAT FIRM WHOSE PROPOSAL RECEIVED THE LOWEST TECHNICAL SCORE AND HAD THE LOWEST COST OF THE RESPONSIVE PROPOSALS RECEIVED FROM RESPONSIBLE OFFERORS. IN THE EVENT SUCH A PROPOSAL ACHIEVES THE HIGHEST OVERALL SCORE, THE ISSUING OFFICE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ELIMINATE THAT FIRM FROM CONSIDERATION AND NEGOTIATIONS SHALL BE CONDUCTED WITH THE FIRM WITH THE NEXT HIGHEST OVERALL SCORE.

D. If compensation cannot be agreed upon with the best qualified responsible Offeror, then negotiations will be formally terminated with the Offeror. If proposals were submitted by one or more other responsible Offeror(s), negotiations may be conducted with the other responsible Offeror or Offerors in the order of their respective qualification ranking. Contracts may be awarded to the responsible Offeror(s) than ranked as best qualified if the amount of compensation is determined to be fair and reasonable.

E. The Issuing Office has the discretion to reject all proposals or cancel the request for proposals, at any time prior to the time a contract is fully executed, when it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth. The reasons for the rejection or cancellation shall be made part of the contract file.

PART IV

STATEMENT OF WORK

IV-1. Objectives.

General. The purpose of Part IV-1 is to provide an overview of the engagements envisioned as a result of this RFP. Interested Law Firms should use this Part in its technical proposal and in conjunction with the Technical Submission (Appendix D).

A. Introduction

The Department of Revenue (“Department”) seeks the services of a vendor to enforce collection of out of state tax debt. The Department initiated an out of state lien enforcement program in 2018 due to the difficulty with collecting from delinquent taxpayers outside of Pennsylvania. Traditional collection tools such as dunning notices, telephone calls, levy, and referral to a third-party collection agency have limited expectation of resolution. To address this need, the Department continues to require the assistance of a vendor to:

· Perform advanced location services for both out of state tax debtors and their assets;

· Make contact with out of state debtors via letters and phone calls as appropriate;

· File the Department’s judgment lien as appropriate in other states;

· Maintain an active log of all case activities; and

· Take legal action to resolve and collect.

The Department received applicable delegation of authority from the Office of Attorney General to perform enforcement actions against out of state delinquent tax accounts. Payment to a vendor will be based solely on a percentage of collections via the Department’s statutory authority to enter into contingent fee contracts. The Department will not reimburse the vendor for any costs, including expert fees, other than out of state sheriff fees that are required to be prepaid for the sheriff to execute upon the judgment. In that instance, the Department will reimburse the vendor out of the gross collections.

B. Objectives

a. General

· Obtain legal services from a law firm who does not have any conflict of interest to this engagement to provide the Department with an effective collection tool for delinquent out of state individuals and entities.

b. Specific

· Demonstrate best practices for legal enforcement of state tax debt.

· Acquire the desired services with no direct cost to the Department through the use of contingent fee.

· The vendor will not seek reimbursement of any costs from the taxpayer except as described in Section I.

· Avoid and/or mitigate debtor complaints regarding legal enforcement actions.

C. Scope

The Department will retain one vendor to provide the requested services on a monthly referral process. The Department does not guarantee a minimum case volume per month. It is anticipated that the Department will refer 5 to 10 cases per month on average. However, the actual number may be fewer or greater than this estimate.

The selected vendor is responsible for maximizing collections using enforcement tools up to and including executing on judgments in states outside of Pennsylvania at the debtors’ principal business location or where the debtors own property. All vendor services will be compensated through a single contingent fee. The Department will incur no additional cost and will not reimburse the vendor for any cost except as described in Section I.

The vendor will utilize an enforcement strategy that progresses from offering debtors a final opportunity to voluntarily resolve their debts through such mechanisms as a monthly payment plan through exporting the judgment lien to a state where the debtor owns property, has income or assets and executing on the out of state judgment. Proposed legal actions will be reviewed and approved by the Department. The selected vendor may subcontract a case to another law firm subject to the review and approval of the Department and the Office of General Counsel.

Cases will be placed with a vendor with no definitive end date due to the length of time that is often required to collect. The Department retains the authority to direct the vendor to cease all collection efforts on a case at any time and recall the case. If the vendor determines the case is no longer viable, it shall inform the Department, who will recall the case. No fee is required to be paid on recalled cases.

The Department will pay a fee on “directs” (payments received by the Department on cases placed with the vendor). The Department will not pay a fee on any offsets including, but not limited to, Treasury Offset Program (“TOP”), Departmental credit transfers, or Commonwealth of Pennsylvania contractor payments. No fee will be paid on a direct that is received within seven days of referral.

All settlement offers will be forwarded to the Department by the vendor for review and approval. The Department may provide the vendor with a minimal acceptable settlement amount that will empower the vendor to negotiate with the debtor and accept an amount equal to or above that figure.

D. Requirements

The vendor is required to:

· Maintain a managerial level attorney who is Pennsylvania barred on staff throughout the vendor’s participation in the engagement;

· Adhere to Department’s tax confidentiality and security requirements including IRS Pub.1075 requirements (the vendor will be subject to IRS inspection);

· Provide and propose specific candidates for the managing attorney which is defined as “key personnel”;

· Propose specific legal firms and other subcontractors, which will require Department approval, if a case will be referred from the vendor for particular further enforcement;

· Advise the Department of any key personnel changes;

· Disclose debtor and consumer complaints for last 3 years;

· Provide audited financials for the last 3 years; and

· Maintain Pennsylvania tax compliance

The vendor must have the following experience:

· Prior legal enforcement experience as demonstrated by three references including at least one governmental legal enforcement engagement

The vendor key personnel must have the following experience:

· Managing Attorney

· 10 years of collections experience

· 5 years of governmental legal enforcement experience

A detailed resume must be provided by the vendor for the position of managing attorney.

IV-2. Requirements. Within the Technical Submittal (Appendix D), the Offeror shall confirm that each requirement of this RFP shall be met and include an explanation of how the Offeror intends to meet each requirement. Specific attention should be given to Part IV-1, above.

A. Qualifications. The selected Offeror shall address each qualification requirement set forth above and in Appendix D, Statement of Qualifications/Conflicts/Technical Questionnaire.

B. Key Personnel. Key project staffing changes must be approved by the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth reserves the rights to request, at its sole discretion, that the selected Offeror remove and replace counsel or staff from the Engagement.

C. Ongoing Compliance with Qualifications; Removals. The Commonwealth may reject an Offeror’s proposal, or remove or suspend the Offeror for reasons that include, but are not limited to:

1) Unprofessional performance;

2) Being the subject of disciplinary/licensing actions by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court;

3) Filing for protection under federal or state bankruptcy laws;

4) Failure to continue to meet the requirements of this RFP;

5) Failure to pay federal, state and/or local taxes; or

6) Undisclosed conflict of interest.

IV-3. Tasks.

A. Legal Services. The selected Offeror shall provide legal services and perform all tasks necessary to successfully represent the Commonwealth as set forth in Part IV-1, above.

B. Contract Close Out. Prior to close out or termination of the contract, the selected Offeror(s) shall cooperate with the Commonwealth and any subsequent Offeror(s) in any activities related to the transition/turnover of responsibilities.

IV-4. Reports and Project Control.

The selected Offeror(s) shall prepare and submit at the request of the Commonwealth, subject to attorney-client and other applicable privileges, memoranda of law and other documents related to the services performed for this Engagement.