S000000301 Compressed Gas IFB.pdf

Rev 11/2023

STATE OF ARKANSAS

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSFORMATION AND SHARED SERVICES

OFFICE OF STATE PROCUREMENT

501 Woodlane St., Ste. 220

Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1023

INVITATION FOR BID

SOLICITATION DOCUMENT

SOLICITATION INFORMATION

Solicitation Number: S000000301 Solicitation Issued: December 19, 2023

Description: Compressed Gases

Department: Office of State Procurement

SUBMISSION DEADLINE AND DELIVERY OF RESPONSE DOCUMENTS

Bid Opening Date: January 03, 2024 Bid Opening Time: 2:00 p.m., Central Time

Bid responses for this Invitation for Bid must be submitted through ARBuy, the State’s eProcurement system.

It can be accessed at arbuy.arkansas.gov. Bids received after the submission deadline may be rejected as untimely.

LIVE BID OPENING INFORMATION

Teams Meeting Link: Click here to join the meeting Meeting ID: 298 892 111 753 Passcode: GtBtZt Call in (audio only): 501.244.3310 or find a local number Phone conference ID:

TSS OFFICE OF STATE PROCUREMENT CONTACT INFORMATION

TSS OSP Procurement Specialist:

Tiffany Maddox Procurement Specialist’s Direct Phone Number:

501-324-9320

Email Address: Tiffany.Maddox@arkansas.gov TSS OSP’s Main Number: 501-324-9316

TSS OSP Website: transform.ar.gov/procurement

***A PREVIOUS VERSION OF THIS IFB WAS PREVIOUSLY POSTED AS

S000000265 & S000000294. PLEASE READ THE DOCUMENT

CAREFULLY AS SOME REQUIREMENTS HAVE CHANGED.***

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SECTION 1 – INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS

1.1 INTRODUCTION

This Invitation for Bid (IFB) is issued by the TSS Office of State Procurement (TSS OSP) to obtain pricing and a Statewide Contract for Compressed Gases.

1.2 TYPE OF CONTRACT

A. As a result of this IFB, TSS OSP intends to award a contract to a single Contractor (see Contractor

Selection).

B. The anticipated starting date for any resulting contract is January 18, 2024, except that the actual contract start date may be adjusted unilaterally by the State for up to three (3) calendar months. By submitting a signed bid in response to the IFB, the Prospective Contractor represents and warrants that it will honor its bid as being held open as irrevocable for this period.

C. The initial term of a resulting contract will be for one (1) year. Upon mutual agreement by the Contractor and Department, the contract may be renewed by TSS OSP for up to six (6) additional one-year terms or portions thereof, not to exceed a total aggregate contract term of seven (7) consecutive years.

1.3 DEFINITION OF TERMS

A. Unless otherwise defined herein, all terms defined in Arkansas Procurement Law have the same meaning herein.

B. The terms “Invitation for Bid,” “IFB,” and “Solicitation” are used synonymously in this document.

C. “Prospective Contractor” means a responsive and responsible bidder who submits a bid that meets the Requirements and criteria set forth in this Solicitation.

D. “Requirement” means a term, condition, provision, deliverable, Specification, or a combination thereof, that is obligated under the Solicitation, resulting contract, or both.

E. “Shall” and “must” mean the imperative and are used to identify Requirements and Specifications.

F. “Specification” means any technical or purchase description or other description of the physical or functional characteristics, or of the nature, of a commodity or service. “Specification” may include a description of any Requirement for inspecting, testing, or preparing a commodity or service for delivery.

G. “State” means the State of Arkansas. When the term “State” is used herein to reference any obligation of the State under a contract that results from this Solicitation, that obligation is limited to the Department using such a contract.

1.4 CONTRACTOR SELECTION

A. Award is expected to be made to the responsive and responsible Prospective Contractor determined to have submitted the lowest bid that meets the Requirements and criteria set forth in the IFB, based on the Total Annual Cost/Estimated Total Cost, etc. of the Official Bid Price Sheet submitted by the Prospective Contractor.

B. If the State so chooses, negotiations may be conducted with the lowest-bidding, responsive and responsible Prospective Contractor if:

1. All bids received from responsive and responsible bidders exceed available funding; or

2. It appears that additional savings to the state may result from negotiation.

C. If negotiations fail to result in a contract, the State may negotiate with the next lowest-bidding, responsive and responsible Prospective Contractor.

1. The negotiation process may be repeated until an acceptable lower bid price is negotiated, or until such time the State determines negotiations are no longer in the best interest of the state.

2. Negotiations are conducted at the sole discretion of the State.

D. Once the anticipated awardee has been determined, the anticipated award will be posted to ARBuy, generally for a period of fourteen (14) days prior to the issuance of a contract. The postings are anticipated awards only, subject to protest.

E. A contract is not effective prior to final award being made by the State; some contracts may be subject to Legislative review prior to final award.

1.5 CLARIFICATION OF SOLICITATION

A. The Prospective Contractor should notify the TSS OSP Procurement Specialist of any term, condition, etc., that precludes the Prospective Contractor from submitting a Responsive Bid.

Prospective Contractors should note that it is the responsibility of the Prospective Contractor to seek resolution of all such issues, including those relating to the terms and conditions of the contract, prior to the submission of a bid.

B. Prospective Contractors may contact the TSS OSP Procurement Specialist with non-substantive questions at any time prior to the bid opening.

C. An oral statement by TSS OSP will not be part of any contract resulting from this Solicitation and may not reasonably be relied on by any Prospective Contractor as an aid to interpretation unless it is reduced to writing and expressly adopted by TSS OSP.

1.6 RESPONSE DOCUMENTS

A. All bids must be submitted through ARBuy, the State’s eProcurement system. The system can be accessed at arbuy.arkansas.gov.

1. Prospective Contractors must be registered in ARBuy to submit bids.

B. Bid Response Packet

1. Prospective Contractors shall utilize the Bid Response Packet attached to the Solicitation in ARBuy to submit their bids.

2. The following are bid submission Requirements and must be submitted as part of a Prospective Contractor’s bid.

a. Signed Bid Signature Page; signature may be ink or digital.

b. Completed Bid Response Packet, which must be in English.

c. Completed Official Bid Price Sheet attached to Solicitation posting in ARBuy.

i. Pricing must be proposed in U.S. dollars and cents.

ii. Quantities stated are estimates only and are not guaranteed. Prospective Contractor must bid unit price on the estimated quantity and unit of measure specified.

• The State may order more or less than the estimated quantity on term contracts, and the Contractor shall sell to the Department quantities ordered at no more than the bid price.

iii. All charges must be included on the Official Bid Price Sheet and must include all associated cost for the items, delivery, installation, and removal of items and/or services being bid.

iv. If pricing documents do not allow for accurate pricing, Prospective Contractor should notify the TSS OSP Procurement Specialist at least seventy-two (72) hours before the bid opening time.

v. Prices must be firm offers and adjustments may be negotiated at the time of contract renewal/annually/quarterly.

https://arbuy.arkansas.gov/

• A request for a price increase must include supporting documentation demonstrating that the increase in contract price is based on an increased cost to the Contractor and that the proposed pricing is still competitive in the marketplace. The State has the right to approve or deny any request for a price adjustment.

vi. Discount from list bids pricing is not acceptable unless requested elsewhere in the Solicitation.

vii. State and local sales taxes should not be included in the bid price. Trade discounts should be deducted from the unit price and the net price should be shown in the bid.

d. Copy of Prospective Contractor’s Equal Opportunity Policy

i. Pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated § 19-11-104, OSP requires a Prospective Contractor bidding on a state contract to submit a copy of the Prospective Contractor’s Equal Opportunity (EO) Policy. Prospective Contractors not required by law to have an EO Policy must submit a written statement to that effect.

e. Proposed Subcontractors Form (Standard Commodities Contract, section 14)

3. The following items, which must be submitted prior to a contract award to the Prospective Contractor, may also be included with the Prospective Contractor’s bid response:

a. EO 98-04 Contract & Grant Disclosure Form (see Standard Commodities Contract, section 11)

b. Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), if applicable

4. Prospective Contractors should not include any other documents or ancillary information, such as a cover letter or promotional marketing information.

C. Prospective Contractors should not alter any language in Solicitation document(s) or Official Bid Price Sheet provided by the State.

D. Prospective Contractors’ bids cannot be altered or amended after the bid opening except as permitted by law or rule.

E. As requested, Prospective Contractors shall provide clarification regarding Prospective Contractor’s bid response.

F. Prospective Contractors may submit multiple bids.

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SECTION 2 – SPECIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS

2.1 BACKGROUND

The Office of State Procurement issued and awarded a contract for compressed gases on behalf of the Department of Agriculture in 2016. Since the initial award, several other agencies and other public entities have begun to utilize the agreement in a cooperative manner. With the expiration of the current contract through Department of Agriculture, the decision was made to pursue a statewide contract that can be utilized by all state agencies and other qualifying public entities across the state.

2.2 OBJECTIVES AND GOALS

The State seeks to obtain a Statewide Contract to provide compressed gases cylinder delivery in accordance with IFB. The gases to be purchased include those listed on Tab 1 of the Official Bid Price Sheet as well as rental cylinder tanks (Contractor-owned property).

2.3 ESTIMATED QUANTITIES

A Contract resulting from this solicitation shall be an estimated quantity Contract. No specific quantities are represented or guaranteed, and the State provides no guarantee of individual authorized user participation. The Contractor shall furnish all quantities ordered at or below the Contract prices. The individual value of the resultant Contract is indeterminate. Quantities on the Official Bid Price Sheet are for evaluation purposes only.

2.4 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

A. The Contractor shall provide all labor and materials required to deliver, install, and remove contractor-owned gas cylinders, on an as needed basis, throughout the life of the contract.

B. The Contractor shall maintain adequate stock to assure all orders placed against the contract are delivered promptly.

C. The Contractor shall notify the requesting agency within one (1) business day if requested materials are on backorder.

D. The Contractor shall ensure that all gases and cylinders meet Federal Government specifications and amendments thereto.

2.5 REQUIRED GASES

A. The Contractor shall bid all required gases on Table 1 of the Official Bid Price Sheet in order to be considered for award.

B. The minimum purity of any gas must be equal to, or greater than, the stated purity on Table 1 of the Official Bid Price Sheet.

2.6 CYLINDERS

A. The Contractor shall replace any cylinder at no charge if the cylinder doesn’t contain the standard specified pressure awarded.

B. In the event that cylinder sizes change during the life of the awarded contract the Contractor shall communicate the size changes to OSP immediately based on available storage space or change in invoicing.

C. Cylinders must be color coded for easy identification and must be identified by labels as required by the federal law.

D. Cylinders must be shipped utilizing federal based safety regulations. Properly trained personnel shall be utilized with container movements.

E. The Contractor shall provide cylinders that are in good condition with an operable valve or regulator.

Cylinders without valves must be capped.

F. The Contractor shall be responsible for hydrostatically testing all cylinders, in accordance with applicable state and federal laws.

G. The Contractor shall not apply a rental fee to any cylinder two (2) business days after the State has notified the supplier that empty cylinders are ready for return.

2.7 BULK CYLINDERS

A. The Contractor shall provide Bulk tanks in sizes required by the State.

B. The Contractor shall provide the State with a no cost on-site inspection at the specified location that the Bulk tank is to be set.

C. The State will have the site prepared based on the specifications that are provided by the Contractor.

D. The Contractor shall work with previous supplier to arrange a transition for the existing Bulk tanks to stay in place until the de-installation of existing tanks and the installation of new tanks.

E. The Contractor shall attempt to trade, purchase, or sell the Bulk tanks from the incumbent or to the successor Contractor before an absolute exchange is required.

F. The Contractor shall cut off and grind down all pad lockdown bolts from previous Bulk tanks.

G. The Contractor shall work with the State to schedule installation times. State agencies may have different requirements specific to their site and safety compliance.

H. Telemetry System

1. The Contractor shall install and maintain a telemetry system for each rental/lease tank at no additional charge.

2. The telemetry system must monitor and record Bulk gas installations by continuously monitoring tank levels, temperature, pressure, gas purity, and power usage.

3. The State will provide the power and phone line required by the telemetry system.

4. The telemetry system must have the following:

a. A self-diagnosing feature to detect failure

b. An alarm system for tank level and usage

c. A local display with keypad

5. Bulk tanks must be equipped with telemetry that will automatically transmit product levels back to the supplier. This is to ensure the most effective and efficient refill schedule is achieved.

2.8 ELECTRONIC CYLINDER TRACKING/MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

A. The Contractor shall provide all services associated with the implementation and administration of the Electronic Cylinder Tracking/Management Program including the maintenance of a written reporting system for tracking cylinder inventory and status in conjunction with the States requirements for each of its end users or the Arkansas Department of health and Safety.

B. The Contractor shall offer an electronic cylinder tracking/management program that is available online and accessible only through a secure login.

C. The Electronic Cylinder Tracking/Management system must:

1. Support mobile scanners that collect cylinder data via an auto-id technology.

2. Support wireless and batch move communications between the mobile scanner and data center.

3. Be hosted in a secure data center with onsite power generation capabilities for extended periods of power loss.

4. Support time stamping of all records and accurate handling of out-of-sequence mobile scanner synchronization.

5. Provide customizable reports.

2.9 MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS

A. The Contractor shall provide the delivery location with the most up to date version of Material Safety

Data Sheets (MSDS) prior to Contract Award and upon delivery for all materials under the scope of this contract.

B. If there are any changes to the Contractors MSD sheets, the Contractor shall provide a revised MSD sheet to the purchasing authority within 14 calendar days of the revision.

C. To ensure complete evaluation, the Contractor should provide MSD sheets on minimum purities and maximum impurities of gases for each item with the bid response.

D. Failure to provide required documentation may result in rejection of the bid response or termination of any resulting contract. The Contractor should ensure that the literature submitted addresses all points covered in the specifications and will be responsible for submitting supplementary information for any items not completely described by the catalogs.

2.10 INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

Prior to award and prior to any renewal period, the Contractor shall furnish OSP with original certificates and endorsements effecting minimum coverage required below. Certificates and endorsements must refer to policy numbers. All certificates and endorsements must be received and approved by OSP prior to award and must be in effect for the duration of the agreement. OSP reserves the right to require complete copies of all required policies and endorsements.

General Liability/Commercial General Liability Each Occurrence $1,000,000 Medical Expense (Any One Person) $ 5,000 Personal & Adv. Injury $1,000,000 General Aggregate $1,000,000 Products-Comp/Op Aggregate $1,000,000

Worker’s Compensation/Employer’s Liability El Each Accident $ 500,000 El Disease-Policy Limit $ 500,000 El Disease-Each Employee $ 500,000

Automobile Liability Combined Single Limit (Per Accident) $1,000,000

2.11 LICENSES AND PERMITS

A. The Contractor shall at a minimum be ISO9000 certified to ensure gas quality is consistent from cylinder to cylinder. Proof of Certification will be required prior to contract award.

B. The Contractor shall secure and pay for all licenses and permits necessary for the prosecution of the work. The Contractor shall give all notices and comply with all laws, ordinances, and regulations bearing on the conduct of the work (as specified).

2.12 EMERGENCY CONDITIONS

A. Emergency contact information should be provided with bid response. The Contractor shall provide emergency contact information prior to the award of contract.

B. The Contractor shall return the agencies emergency call within two (2) hours from agency leaving message of emergency. Failure to respond within the required timeframe may result in immediate termination of contract.

C. Delivery of emergency-based items will be scheduled between the agency and the Contractor.

Location of emergency items required, the quantities required, and the level of emergency will be supplied by the agency at the time of the emergency contact.

2.13 ADDITIONS TO CONTRACT

A. The State intends to obtain for the duration of this contract or any contract extensions thereof, products that reflect the industry’s latest compressed gas technology. The State recognizes that there may be compressed gas technological modifications and improvements that may become available during the life of this contract that will be unavailable on the date of the contract award.

B. The Contractor may make upgrades consistent with the National Retail Price List; however, all items offered under this IFB must remain within the scope of the contract in price and functionality.

C. New items may be included as they become available during the term of the Contract, after obtaining the approval of OSP, in accordance with the provisions of the resulting contract. Pricing of new items to be introduced at the same or lesser price, including percentage discount, as equally specified items bid.

D. The State reserves the right to determine acceptability of new products offered, based on overall performance and specifications.

E. The Contractor shall not accept any additions, deletions, or changes to the work, before or during the contract, unless an approved change order has been issued by the Office of State Procurement. The State will not be responsible for any additional charges unless an authorized change order has been issued.

SECTION 3 – SOLICITATION TERMS AND CONDITIONS

3.1. ACCEPTANCE OF REQUIREMENTS

A. A Prospective Contractor’s past performance with the State may be used to determine if the Prospective Contractor is responsible (OSP Rule R1:19-11-235).

1. Bids submitted by Prospective Contractors determined to be non-responsible will be rejected.

B. A single Prospective Contractor must be identified as the prime contractor.

1. The prime Contractor shall be responsible for the resulting contract and jointly and severally liable with any of its subcontractors, affiliates, or agents to the State for the performance thereof.

C. By submitting a bid, the Prospective Contractor represents and warrants:

1. That the prices in the bid have been arrived at independently, without any collusion with another competing Prospective Contractor.

a. Collusion violates Arkansas Procurement Law and can lead to suspension, debarment, and can be referred to the Attorney General’s officer for investigation and appropriate legal action (Arkansas Code Annotated § 19-11-240 and 19-11-245).

2. That the Prospective Contractor has not retained a person to solicit or secure the resulting contract upon an agreement or understanding for a commission, percentage, brokerage, or contingent fee, except for retention of bona fide employees or bona fide established commercial selling agencies maintained by the Prospective Contractor for the purpose of securing business.

D. Qualifications, services, and commodities must meet or exceed the required Specifications as set forth in the Solicitation.

3.2. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

A. The Contractor must be registered as a vendor to receive payment and may register online by visiting ark.org/vendor/index and clicking the Start Here button.

B. The Prospective Contractor represents and warrants that, prior to being awarded any executed contract resulting from this solicitation, the Prospective Contractor has taken or shall take all actions necessary to receive payment from the State through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for the services and/or commodities to be provided under any such contract. This includes, without limitation, the following actions:

1. Signing documents authorizing the State to make EFT payments into a bank account designated by the Prospective Contractor.

2. Providing all information requested by the State to set up EFT payments, including either a voided check or a letter from their financial institution that contains the following information:

a. Account holder’s name

b. Account number

c. Routing number

d. Financial institution official’s contact information and signature

3. In the event the EFT information changes, the Contractor shall be responsible for providing the updated information to the State. No interest or late payment penalty will apply if payment is delayed because of the Contractor’s failure to initially provide or update information necessary for the State to make EFT payment.

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C. Pursuant to Arkansas State Procurement Law, the Contractor shall certify that, unless they offer to provide the goods or services for at least twenty percent (20%) less than the lowest certifying Prospective Contractor:

1. They are not engaged in and shall not, during the aggregate term of the resulting contract, engage in a boycott of Israel (Arkansas Code Annotated § 25-1-503),

2. They are not engaged in and shall not, during the aggregate term of the resulting contract, engage in a boycott of an Energy, Fossil Fuel, Firearms, or Ammunition Industry (Arkansas Code Annotated § 25-1-1102).

D. Pursuant to Arkansas Procurement Law, the Contractor shall certify that the Contractor does not employ or contract with illegal immigrants and that the Contractor shall not employ or contract with illegal immigrants during the aggregate term of any contract with the State or any of its departments, institutions, or political subdivisions (Arkansas Code Annotated § 19-11-105).

E. The Contractor shall invoice the State as required by the Department and should not invoice the State in advance of delivery and acceptance of any commodities or services (Arkansas Code Annotated § 19-4-1206).

1. The Contractor should invoice the agency by an itemized list of charges. The Department’s purchase order number and/or the contract number should be referenced on each invoice.

2. Payment will be made in accordance with applicable State of Arkansas accounting procedures upon acceptance of commodities and services by the Department.

3. Payment will be made only after the Contractor has successfully satisfied the Department as to the reliability and effectiveness of the commodities or services purchased as a whole.

F. The Contractor should be able to accept the State’s authorized VISA Procurement Card (p-card) as a method of payment. Price changes or additional fee(s) must not be levied against the State when accepting the p-card as a form of payment.

G. This IFB incorporates all terms of the Standard Commodities Contract Template (found here).

1. The contract template is attached to the Solicitation in ARBuy as a sample for your information only.

2. A Prospective Contractor’s bid may be rejected if a Prospective Contractor takes exception to any terms, conditions, or Requirements in this IFB.

H. The Prospective Contractor shall certify that they are not a company owned in whole or with a majority ownership by the government of the People's Republic of China (a “Scrutinized Company”) and that they do not and shall not during the aggregate term of the resulting contract employ a Scrutinized Company as a contractor (Arkansas Code Annotated § 25-1-1203).

I. The Prospective Contractor agrees and shall adhere to all terms, conditions, and Requirements if selected as the Contractor.

1. Items may only be modified if the legal requirement is satisfied and approved by the State during negotiations.

3.3. GUARANTEES, SAMPLES, AND BRAND NAME REFERENCES

A. By submitting a bid, the Prospective Contractor represents and warrants that goods its sells to the

Department under a resulting contract shall be merchantable.

B. Samples or demonstrators, when requested, must be furnished for inspection free of expense to the State.

1. Each sample should be marked with the Prospective Contractor's name and address, bid or contract number, and item number.

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a. If requested, samples that are not destroyed during reasonable examination will be returned at Prospective Contractor's expense.

b. After reasonable examination, all demonstrators will be returned at Prospective Contractor’s expense.

2. Tests may be performed on samples or demonstrators submitted with the bid or on samples taken from the regular shipment.

a. If products tested fail to meet or exceed all Requirements and Specifications, the cost of the sample used and the reasonable cost of the testing must be borne by the Prospective Contractor.

C. Unless otherwise specified in the Solicitation, a catalog brand name or manufacturer reference used in the Solicitation is descriptive only, not restrictive, and used to indicate the type and quality desired.

1. Bids on brands of like nature and quality will be considered.

a. The State shall have the right to determine whether a substitute offered is equivalent to and meets the standards of the item specified, and the State may require the Prospective Contractor to supply additional descriptive material.

b. Prospective Contractors not bidding an alternate to the referenced brand name or manufacturer shall furnish the product according to brand names, numbers, etc., as specified in the Solicitation.

3.4. DELIVERY: FOB DESTINATION

A. The Contractor shall take all reasonable measures to ensure that commodities purchased must be delivered within thirty (30) days of the Department’s issuance of the relevant purchase order unless otherwise agreed upon in writing.

1. The Contractor shall give the Department immediate notice of any anticipated delays or plant shutdowns that will affect the delivery requirement. The Contractor will not be liable for delays in performance or for non-performance due to unforeseen circumstances or causes beyond the Contractor’s reasonable control.

2. If a delivery date specified in this IFB cannot be met, the Prospective Contractor must state the alternate number of days required to place the commodities in the ordering Department’s designated location.

3. Failure to state the alternate delivery time obligates the Contractor to complete delivery by the Department’s requested date. Extended delivery dates may be considered when in the best interest of the State.

B. All deliveries must be made during normal State work hours.

C. The Contractor shall pay all transportation and handling charges, unless otherwise agreed upon in writing by the Contractor and Department.

D. The Contractor shall bear responsibility for loss or damage that occurs during shipping, prior to the order being received by the Department.

1. Risk of loss of the order will pass to the Department upon Contractor’s delivery of the order conforming to the resulting pursuant to a purchase order.

2. All orders should be properly packaged to prevent damage during shipping.

E. The State assumes no liability for commodities produced, processed, or shipped in excess of the amount specified on the Department’s purchase order.

F. Unless otherwise agreed upon in writing by the Contractor and Department, payment will be made within thirty (30) days of the date of the Contractor’s delivery of product(s) conforming to the resulting contract and receipt of the Contractor’s invoice, whichever is later.

3.5. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

A. The State may inspect any commodities delivered, tendered, or identified to the State as being procured under a resulting contract to determine whether they conform to the contract.

1. The State’s right to inspection may be exercised at any reasonable place and time and in any reasonable manner, as determined in the State’s reasonable discretion, prior to acceptance of and payment for any commodities procured under a resulting contract.

2. If the commodities are found to be conforming as the result of inspection, the State will bear the cost of inspection, if any.

3. If any of the commodities are found to be non-conforming, the State:

a. May elect to recover expenses of inspection, if any, from the Contractor and the Contractor shall bear the cost.

b. The Contractor shall be responsible for the cost of any retrieval, return, or disposal of the commodities. Payment for commodities does not constitute acceptance of the commodities as conforming to the contract if the State has not had a reasonable opportunity to inspect the commodities or in the event of Contractor’s fraud or concealment of defects.

B. The State has the option to return any product(s) within the thirty (30) day timeframe for any reason.

C. The Contractor shall include a total satisfaction return policy for all products and shall not impose any liability on the State for such returns.

3.6. MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS

A. A minority-owned business is defined by Arkansas Code Annotated § 15-4-303 as a business owned by a lawful permanent resident of this State who is:

• African American

• American Indian

• Asian American

• Hispanic American

• Pacific Islander American

• A Service-Disabled Veteran as designated by the United States Department of Veteran Affairs

B. A women-owned business is defined by Act 1080 of the 91st General Assembly Regular Session 2017 as a business that is at least fifty-one percent (51%) owned by one (1) or more women who are lawful permanent residents of this State.

C. The Arkansas Economic Development Commission conducts a certification process for minority-owned and women-owned businesses. If certified, the Prospective Contractor’s Certification Number should be included on the Bid Signature Page.

3.7. PROPRIETARY INFORMATION

A. The release of public records is governed by the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (Arkansas

Code Annotated § 25-19-101 et. seq.).

B. Submission documents pertaining to the Solicitation become the property of the State and may be subject to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

C. In accordance with FOIA, and to promote maximum competition in the State competitive sealed bidding, the State may maintain the confidentiality of certain types of information described in FOIA.

Such information may include trade secrets and other information exempted from public disclosure pursuant to FOIA.

D. Under no circumstances will pricing information submitted in response to an invitation for sealed bids be designated as confidential after the sealed bids have been opened.

E. Consistent with and to the extent permitted under FOIA, any Prospective Contractor may designate appropriate portions of a bid as confidential by submitting a redacted copy of the bid. By so redacting any information contained in the bid, the Prospective Contractor warrants that, after having received such necessary or proper review by counsel or other knowledgeable advisors, it has formed a good faith opinion that the portions redacted are not considered public records under FOIA.

F. If a Prospective Contractor deems part of the information contained in a response not to be a public record, the Prospective Contractor should submit one (1) complete copy of the submission documents from which any proprietary or confidential information has been redacted in their bid response. Except for the redacted information, the redacted copy must be identical to the original copy, reflecting the same pagination as the original and showing the space from which information was redacted.

G. The Prospective Contractor is responsible for identifying all proprietary information and for ensuring the electronic copy is protected against restoration of redacted data.

H. The redacted copy will be open to public inspection under the FOIA without further notice to the Prospective Contractor. If the State deems redacted information to be subject to a public record request under FOIA, the State will endeavor to notify the Prospective Contractor prior to release of the redacted record.

I. The State has no liability to a Prospective Contractor with respect to the disclosure of Prospective Contractor’s confidential or proprietary information ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to FOIA or other applicable law.

3.8. CONVENIENCE FEE

A. Convenience Fee

The Contractor shall remit a convenience fee in the amount of one percent (1%) of all Contract Sales made to State, Departments, and to local entities as defined in Arkansas Code Annotated § 19-11-206 (i.e., local governments, cities, counties, school districts, water districts, and other participants, collectively “State”). The convenience fee is based on the Contractor invoice date and is effective upon the date of execution of the Contract. Contract Sales is defined as gross sale amounts less credits, taxes, regulatory fees, and separately stated shipping charges not included in the unit prices. The State, at its sole discretion, may expand the applicability of this fee after providing notice to Contractors.

Unit prices are inclusive of the convenience fee and the Contractor is not to charge the fee directly to the State in the form of a separate line item. Contracts shall not have separate or different prices for Department customers and local entities as defined in Arkansas Code Annotated § 19-11-206 participants.

D. Quarterly Reporting and Fee Remittance

The Contractor shall submit a Sales Report documenting all contract sales, made to State and such submission, including any supplemental information submitted, is deemed public record.

The Sales Report shall be submitted, and the related convenience fee shall be remitted no later than thirty (30) calendar days after the end of each calendar quarter. The calendar quarters will end March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31. The Sales Report must contain the following information:

1. Complete and accurate details of all sales, credits, returns, refunds, and the like for the reporting quarter

2. Purchasing entity

3. Total of Convenience Fee amount due

4. Such other information as the State may reasonably request.

5. If no Sales were made to State during the reporting quarter, then a report shall be submitted showing zero sales and zero convenience fees due.

E. Payment of Convenience Fee

The Contractor shall timely remit Convenience Fee via Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions, unless otherwise directed by State, to the bank account directed by the State.

Failure to remit convenience fees timely and accurately in accordance with State requirements may result in the Contractor’s commodities and services being made ineligible for purchase by State or any other recourse available, including contract cancellation, or as further provided for by law.

F. Retention and Inspection of Records

The Contractor shall keep records of Sales to State in sufficient detail to enable the State to determine the Convenience Fee payable by the Contractor. State may examine and audit, at its own expense, the Contractor’s sales records and Sales Reports for completeness and accuracy. In the event that such examination reveals underpayment of the Convenience Fee, the Contractor shall immediately pay to the State the amount of deficiency. If the examination reveals an underpayment of 5% or more, then the Contractor shall reimburse the State for the cost of the audit.