T2560 QA 11.17.2023~1.docx

PHILIP D. MURPHY

Governor State of New Jersey

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

DIVISION OF PURCHASE AND PROPERTY

PROCUREMENT BUREAU

33 WEST STATE STREET

P. O. BOX 230

TRENTON, NEW JERSEY 08625-0230

ELIZABETH MAHER MUOIO

Acting State Treasurer

TAHESHA L. WAY.

Lt. Governor

AMY F. DAVIS, ESQ.

Acting Director https://www.njstart.gov

November 17, 2023

To: All Interested Bidders

Re: Bid Solicitation # 23DPP00813 Bid Solicitation Self-Funded E-Government Applications and Services

Bid Amendment #3

The following constitutes Bid Amendment #3 to the above referenced Bid Solicitation:

· Answers to electronic questions submitted during the first electronic Question and Answer period;

· Additions, deletions, clarifications, and modifications were made to the Bid Solicitation; please refer to the Revised Bid Solicitation entitled “T2560 Revised Bid Solicitation 11/17/2023” The following additions and/or revisions are included in the Revised Bid Solicitation:

· Section 1.4, Order of Precedence of Contractual Terms

· Section 4, Scope of Work

· Section 4.4.1, Pricing Structure for New Applications (Price Lines 1-20)

· Section 5.3, Ownership of Material

· Section 6.34, Incident Response

· Section 7.2, Insurance

· Section 7.2.1, Professional Liability Insurance

· Section 7.2.2, Cyber Breach Insurance

· Section 7.2.3, Limitation of Liability

· Section 9, Glossary; and

· Vendor electronic questions for the second electronic Question and Answer period will be received until 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on December 4, 2023. Questions that will be considered will be limited only to subject matter related to the following:

· The additions and/or revisions to Revised Bid Solicitation Sections listed above; please refer to “T2560 Revised Bid Solicitation 11/17/2023.”

Please refer to Bid Solicitation Section 1.3.1, Electronic Question and Answer Period, for more information related to submitting electronic questions.

It is the sole responsibility of the Bidder to be knowledgeable of all of the additions, deletions, clarifications, and modifications to the Bid Solicitation and/or the New Jersey Standard Terms and Conditions relative to this Bid Solicitation as set forth in all Bid Amendments.

All other instructions, terms, and conditions of the Bid Solicitation shall remain the same.

Bid Solicitation #23DPP00813 Bid Solicitation Self-Funded E-Government Applications and Services

Answers to Questions

Where applicable, each question references the appropriate Bid Solicitation section.

Note: Some questions may have been paraphrased in the interest of readability and clarity.

Section Reference Question (Bolded) and Answer

Please be advised that all Quotes shall be submitted electronically through NJSTART.

Yes. Prior to the Quote Opening Deadline, a Bidder should review the documents comprising the submitted Quote to ensure that all of the required documents have been completed and attached. Oftentimes a Quote is deemed non-responsive because a Bidder fails to attach a required form or attaches a blank form. To review a submitted a Quote, a Bidder should log into NJSTART and review each document attached to the Quote submission. Instructions on how to review a submitted Quote can be found in the Quick Reference Guide entitled How to Review a Submitted Quote, which is available on the NJSTART Vendor Support Page under Vendor Reference Guides.

Yes. Prior to the Quote Opening Deadline, a Bidder should review the documents comprising the submitted Quote to ensure that all of the required documents have been completed and attached. Oftentimes a Quote is deemed non-responsive because a Bidder fails to attach a required form or attaches a blank form. To review a submitted a Quote, a Bidder should log into NJSTART and review each document attached to the Quote submission. Instructions on how to review a submitted Quote can be found in the Quick Reference Guide entitled How to Review a Submitted Quote, which is available on the NJSTART Vendor Support Page under Vendor Reference Guides.

As stated in Bid Solicitation Section 2.2, Exceptions to the State of NJ Standard Terms and Conditions (SSTC): "Questions regarding the State of New Jersey Standard Terms and Conditions and exceptions to mandatory requirements MUST be posed during the Electronic Question and Answer period and shall contain the Bidder's suggested changes and the reason(s) for the suggested change(s)." Moreover, as stated in Bid Solicitation Section 3.11, Bidder proposed terms or conditions that conflict with those contained in the State of New Jersey Standard Terms and Conditions may render a Quote non-responsive contained in the Bid Solicitation, as defined in Section 2.0 of this Bid Solicitation, or that diminish the State's rights under any Blanket P.O. resulting from the Bid Solicitation, may render a Quote non-responsive."

It is not mandatory for Bidders to submit the checklist with their Quote; however, it is mandatory to submit certain forms that are within the checklist with the Quote or the Quote will be deemed nonresponsive. Please refer to Section 3.13 Forms, Registrations and Certifications to be submitted with Quote for additional information.

It is not mandatory for the Source Disclosure Form to be submitted with the Quote, however, the State highly encourages Bidders to fill out the Source Disclosure Form with the Quote.

The Security Questionnaire form is not mandatory with Quote submission; however, the State highly encourages Bidders to fill out the Security Questionnaire with the Quote.

The Business Registration Certificate (“BRC”) is not required to be submitted with the Quote. However, pursuant to Section 3.13 Business Registration, “In accordance with N.J.S.A. 52:32-44(b), a Bidder and its named Subcontractors must have a valid Business Registration Certificate (“BRC”) issued by the Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services prior to the award of a Contract.” Bidders are strongly advised to register prior to submitting a Quote, and either: (1) include a copy of the BRC with the Quote submission or (2) upload a copy of the BRC to the NJSTART Vendor Profile page prior to the Quote Opening Date. The State will not award a Contract absent a valid BRC on file for the awardee and its intended Subcontractors.

The Certificate of Insurance is not required with the Quote submission; however, the State highly encourages Bidders to submit the Certificate of Insurance / Acord form with the Quote.

Yes, proof of Affirmative Action compliance is required with Quote submission. As stated in Bid Solicitation Section 3.13.10 Affirmative Action, “[t]he intended Contractor must submit a copy of a New Jersey Certificate of Employee Information Report, or a copy of Federal Letter of Approval verifying it is operating under a federally approved or sanctioned Affirmative Action program. If the Contractor is not in possession of either a New Jersey Certificate of Employee Information Report or a Federal Letter of Approval, it must complete and submit the Affirmative Action Employee Information Report (AA-302).”

No, Bidders shall submit a Quote that addresses all parts of the Scope of Work.

None, but the State has a need to continue its efforts to bring everyday transactions between the State and its citizens, businesses, employees, local governments, and other parties who interact with the State, hereinafter referred to as “Customers,” using the Internet. Benefits to the State include reduced operating expenses and more effective, efficient communication channels. Customers will benefit from the convenience of transactions with the State 24 hours per day, seven (7) days per week online (i.e. anytime) and anywhere with a guaranteed uptime of 99.9%, with the exception of planned maintenance.

The State has a need to continue its efforts to bring everyday transactions between the State and its citizens, businesses, employees, local governments, and other parties who interact with the State, hereinafter referred to as “Customers,” using the Internet. Benefits to the State include reduced operating expenses and more effective, efficient communication channels. Customers will benefit from the convenience of transactions with the State 24 hours per day, seven (7) days per week online (i.e. anytime) and anywhere with a guaranteed uptime of 99.9%, with the exception of planned maintenance.

The State has a need to continue its efforts to bring everyday transactions between the State and its citizens, businesses, employees, local governments, and other parties who interact with the State, hereinafter referred to as “Customers,” using the Internet. Benefits to the State include reduced operating expenses and more effective, efficient communication channels. Customers will benefit from the convenience of transactions with the State 24 hours per day, seven (7) days per week online (i.e. anytime) and anywhere with a guaranteed uptime of 99.9%, with the exception of planned maintenance.

No, the State does not save or categorize data in this manner.

No, the State will not be considering a move away from a self-funded model for some applications and services. Bid Solicitation requirements are as stated.

The State intends to award up to three (3) Contracts to those responsible Bidders whose Quotes, conforming to this Bid Solicitation are most advantageous to the State of New Jersey, price and other factors considered, pursuant to Bid Solicitation Section 8.9 Evaluation Criteria.

The delivery method will be dependent on the application being developed and the Using Agency. The State will have sole discretion of the delivery method and the Contractor(s) shall provide the required services through either:

A. A State hosted system, on State-provided servers, located at a State facility;

B. The State’s cloud tenant with State-provided network access; or C. Through a Contractor(s)-hosted system on Contractor(s)-provided servers at a Contractor(s) facility with Contractor(s)-provided network access.

The purpose of this Bid Solicitation is to solicit Quotes for an application service provider (ASP) to provide e-Government Applications and services based on a “self-funded” model for New Jersey State (State) government agencies. Additionally, no extensions for the current Contract remain.

Please see the response to Question #12 above.

The myNewJersey is an interface (‘portal’) that allows users to log in with one ID and Password to access many services, including Premier Business Services. Premier Business Services is a convenient one-stop access to all New Jersey electronic tax filings, payment services, and particular business applications. The Contractor(s), when required, shall utilize and/or work with the State to enhance these web services for Contractor(s)-hosted applications or where application requirements demand more functionality.

Bidders may include the documentation and information requested in Sections 3.15 to 3.25 within the Technical Quote, or separately. The items that are mandatory are designated as a “shall” or “must” (of the noted sections, see Sections 3.15 and 3.24), while the items that are not mandatory are designated as a “should.” Bidders are highly encouraged to submit information relevant to Sections 3.15 – 3.25 with the Quote (as part of the Technical Quote or otherwise), as responses or the lack thereof can impact technical scoring and potentially affect an award.

Yes, where appropriate and as determined by an architectural review of the application/user community.

Applications are currently built on jQuery, JavaScript, Bootstrap, and CSS.

In general, the State follows an agile methodology when building applications with the contractor. Therefore, the State has not done a Function Point Analysis to determine the number of average function points.

The State does not save or categorize average usage for each application in this manner. However, transactional volumes may vary widely between applications. For example, one application could process fewer than 100 transactions per month on average while another application could process more than 250,000 transactions per month.

No, technical support is currently provided by the Contractor and the State expects the awarded Contractor(s) to continue with providing help desk support. Business application support is provided by State user agencies.

Please reference RFP Section: 4.1 SCOPE OF WORK – OVERVIEW for additional information.

Yes, where appropriate and as determined by an architectural review of the application/user community.

The State’s current Contractor for Bid Solicitation # 15-X-23638, T-2560 is Tyler Technologies, Inc. (f/k/a NICUSA Inc).

Additionally, does the State have existing capability and solution architecture views that they would be willing to provide to bidders?

No, the State is unable to provide the requested information to Bidders.

Yes, the in-scope services include PHI.

This Contract will be open to use by all State Agencies at their discretion.

No, the State is unable to provide the requested information to Bidders.

The Contractor(s) may assist the State in major marketing activities associated with the implementation of e-Government applications. Marketing activities may include publicizing the State's e-Government program as a whole and efforts designed to bolster usage of e-Government services. The Contractor(s) may assist the State in marketing the advantages and benefits of e-Government services to Using Agencies and potential Customers. All marketing initiatives conducted by the Contractor(s) must be approved by the Treasurer’s Office before being released.

The Contractor(s) may notify Customers of new or enhanced services via e-mails, web page banners and/or other publication methods.

The Contractor(s) may provide a full-time resource that is available for marketing and business development at no cost to the State.

Please reference Bid Solicitation Section: 4.13 - MARKETING AND PUBLICIZING E-GOVERNMENT TRANSACTIONS for additional information.

Data collection, usage, storage, and protection of Personal Data are in accordance with all applicable international, federal and state statutory and regulatory requirements, as amended from time to time, including, without limitation, those for HIPAA, Tax Information Security Guidelines for Federal, State, and Local Agencies (IRS Publication 1075), New Jersey State tax confidentiality statute, the New Jersey Privacy Notice found at NJ.gov, N.J.S.A. § 54:50-8, New Jersey Identity Theft Prevention Act, N.J.S.A. § 56:11-44 et. seq., the federal Drivers’ Privacy Protection Act of 1994, Pub.L.103-322, and the confidentiality requirements of N.J.S.A. § 39:2-3.4. Contractor shall also conform to PCI DSS, where applicable.

Please reference Bid Solicitation Section: 6.7 – PRIVACY for additional information.

The Contractor(s) shall work with the State Contract Manager and Using Agencies to create a project plan as a deliverable for each Statement of Work.

Please reference Bid Solicitation Section: 4.6.1 - STATEMENT OF WORK – DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINES for additional information.

No, the State does not save or categorize data in this manner.

Pursuant to Section 6.7 Privacy, data collection, usage, storage, and protection of Personal Data are in accordance with all applicable international, federal and state statutory and regulatory requirements, as amended from time to time, including, without limitation, those for HIPAA, Tax Information Security Guidelines for Federal, State, and Local Agencies (IRS Publication 1075), New Jersey State tax confidentiality statute, the New Jersey Privacy Notice found at NJ.gov, N.J.S.A. § 54:50-8, New Jersey Identity Theft Prevention Act, N.J.S.A. § 56:11-44 et. seq., the federal Drivers’ Privacy Protection Act of 1994, Pub.L.103-322, and the confidentiality requirements of N.J.S.A. § 39:2-3.4. Contractor shall also conform to PCI DSS, where applicable.

The State shares data with other State Agencies; however, the State does not share data with the private sector. The public can purchase data/documents pursuant to certain statutes.

Yes, where appropriate and as determined by an architectural review of the application/user community. The State expects that the contractor(s) and any third party payment processor is fully PCI DSS compliant.

Pursuant to Section 3.13.8, Subcontractor Utilization Plan, Bidders intending to use Subcontractor(s) shall list all subcontractors on the Subcontractor Utilization Plan form or may list the Subcontractor(s) on the “Subcontractor” Tab in NJSTART.

For a Quote that does NOT include the use of any Subcontractors, the Bidder is automatically certifying that, if selected for an award, the Bidder will be performing all work required by the Contract.

Additionally pursuant to Section 5.3, E., Ownership of Material, unless otherwise specified in the Bid Solicitation that the State, on its own, will acquire and obtain a license to Third Party Intellectual Property, Contractor shall secure on the State’s behalf, in the name of the State and subject to the State’s approval, a license to Third Party Intellectual Property sufficient to fulfill the business objectives, requirements and specifications identified in the Contract at no additional cost to the State beyond that in the Quote price. In the event Contractor is obligated to flow-down commercially standard third party terms and conditions customarily provided to the public associated with Third Party Intellectual Property and such terms and conditions conflict with Bid Solicitation requirements, including the SSTC, the State will accept such terms and conditions with the exception of the following: indemnification, limitation of liability, choice of law, governing law, jurisdiction, and confidentiality. The Bid Solicitation including the SSTC shall prevail with respect to such conflicting terms and conditions. In addition, the State will not accept any provision requiring the State to indemnify a third party or to submit to arbitration. Such terms are considered void and of no effect. Third party terms and conditions necessary for Contractor’s performance of the Work shall, if necessary, be submitted with the Quote, and such terms and conditions must comply with Bid Solicitation Section 1.4 – Order of Precedence of Contractual Terms. If Contractor uses Third Party Intellectual Property, Contractor must indemnify the State for infringement claims with respect to the Third Party Intellectual Property. Contractor agrees that its use of Third Party Intellectual Property shall be consistent with the license for the Third Party Intellectual Property, whether supplied by the Contractor, secured by the State as required by the Bid Solicitation, or otherwise supplied by the State.

No, the State will not permit off-shore development. Please see Section 3.7 of the State Standard Terms and Conditions, Service Performance within U.S. which reads in part; “A shift to performance of services outside the United States during the term of the contract shall be deemed a breach of contract.”

Yes, where appropriate and as determined by an architectural review of the application/user community.

State personnel will be responsible for the processing of cash, check and money order transactions. For Contractor(s)-hosted applications the Contractor(s) must provide its own enterprise e-payment web services. The Contractor(s), when required, shall utilize and/or work with the State to enhance these web services for Contractor(s)-hosted applications or where application requirements demand more functionality.

Please reference Bid Solicitation Section: 4.12 - MERCHANT SERVICES for additional information.

No, the Quotes submitted shall conform to the bid solicitation requirements as stated. ,

The State declines to revise Section 5 in this way. The State is bound to its responsibilities and reserves all rights as noted throughout the Bid Solicitation. The State declines to include an automatic Approval mechanism for Work performed under this Contract.

No, the State does not accept any proposed revision to the identified section.

The State accepts this proposed modification. Please see Revised Bid Solicitation Section 6.34, dated 11/17/2023.

This question does not include any proposed revision to the identified section for the State to consider.

The State has agreed to revise this section. Please see Revised Bid Solicitation Sections 7.2.1, and 7.2.2, dated 11/17/2023.

The State cannot answer this question as posed, without additional information. However, please be advised that the Indemnification obligations of the Standard Terms and Conditions have been amended by Bid Solicitation Section 7.1, and the applicable Limitation of Liability is addressed in Section 7.2.3 of the Bid Solicitation.

The State accepts this proposed modification. Please see Revised Bid Solicitation Section 7.23, dated 11/17/2023.

The State does not accept any proposed revision to the identified section. Terms and conditions on publicly bid procurements must be consistent for all potential Bidders, and cannot be based on a single vendor’s terms.

Please refer to Sections 1.4 Order of Precedence of Contractual Terms, which states that other negotiated documents and/or third party documents can be incorporated into the Contract if included with the Quote and accepted by the State.

Please refer to the revised Bid Solicitation dated 11/17/2023 Section 5.3 for additional information.

Replacement: Subcontractors engaged specifically by [VENDOR] to provide individual services to the State will be identified in a SOW or order upon request. Reason: [VENDOR] is a SaaS company that engages several vendors to provide systems, infrastructure and other services generally to support [VENDOR] business.

The State does not accept any proposed revision to the identified section. There is a standing requirement for the Contractor to identify any and all Subcontractors prior to their performing any work under this Contract.

The State does not accept any proposed revision to the identified section. Terms and conditions on publicly bid procurements must be consistent for all potential Bidders, and cannot be based on a single vendor’s terms.

In accordance with N.J.S.A. 52:34-13.2, all services required under this Contract shall be performed in the U.S.

The State does not accept any proposed revision to the identified section. Terms and conditions on publicly bid procurements must be consistent for all potential Bidders, and cannot be based on a single vendor’s terms. However, please be advised that the Indemnification obligations of the Standard Terms and Conditions have been amended by Bid Solicitation Section 7.1, and the applicable Limitation of Liability is addressed in Section 7.2.3 of the Revised Bid Solicitation, dated 11/17/2023.

This is a continuation of Question #50. Please see question #50 for reference

This is a continuation of Question #50. Please see question #50 for reference

This is a continuation of Question #50. Please see question #50 for reference

This question does not include any proposed revision to the identified section for the State to consider.

The State does not accept this proposed deletion of the identified section. Terms and conditions on publicly bid procurements must be consistent for all potential Bidders, and cannot be based on a single vendor’s terms.

The State does not accept this proposed revision to the identified section. Terms and conditions on publicly bid procurements must be consistent for all potential Bidders, and cannot be based on a single vendor’s terms.

This question does not include any proposed revision to the identified section for the State to consider. The State does not accept any revision to the identified section.

This question does not include any proposed revision to the identified Section for the State to consider. The Parties’ rights and obligations shall be as stated.

The State does not accept this proposed revision to the identified section.

The State does not accept this proposed revision to the identified section.

This question does not include any proposed revision to the identified section for the state to consider. The Parties’ rights and obligations shall be as stated.

The State does not accept any proposed revision to the identified section. Terms and conditions on publicly bid procurements must be consistent for all potential Bidders, and cannot be based on a single vendor’s terms.

The State does not accept this proposed revision to the identified section. For clarity, the determination of whether the contractor has “satisfactorily completed or delivered” the work for which payment is sought will be made “in accordance with the terms of the Contract” utilizing the “supporting documentation” submitting by the Contractor.

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