T3030 Final Bid Solicitation 10.1.26.docx

Bid Solicitation #

25DPP01105

T3030 Equipment Master Lease Purchasing Financing Facility

Due Date For Electronic Questions Refer to Bid Solicitation Section 2.1 for more information.

Optional Pre-Quote Submission Conference Refer to Bid Solicitation Section 2.5 for more information.

Mandatory/Optional Site Visit Refer to Bid Solicitation Section 2.4 for more information.

N/A

N/A

Quote Opening Date Refer to Bid Solicitation Section 3 for more information.

Dates are subject to change. All times contained in the Bid Solicitation refer to Eastern Time.

All changes will be reflected in Bid Amendments to the Bid Solicitation posted on www.njstart.gov.

SET-ASIDES

Small Business Set-Aside For Goods and Services:

☐ I ☐ II ☐ III

For Construction:

☐ IV ☐ V ☐ VI

☒ Not Applicable ☐ Entire Contract ☐ Partial Contract ☐ Subcontracting Only ☐ Preference

☐ Entire Contract ☐ Partial Contract ☐ Subcontracting Only ☐ Preference

Bid Solicitation Issued By:

State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury Division of Purchase and Property Trenton, New Jersey 08625‑0230 On Behalf of:

State of New Jersey Office of Public Finance

Date: 5/18/20263/19/2026

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ATTACHMENT 1 – Terms and Conditions for T3030 Equipment Master Lease ATTACHMENT 2 – Standard Procurement Forms Packet Appendix 1 – State Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement Appendix 2 – Equipment Master Lease Payment Process-Flow Chart Appendix 3 – Payment Price Sheet Appendix 4 – Weekly Payment Schedule for LOC #11 Appendix 5 – Form 8038-GC and Form 8038-G Revised as of 10.2021 Appendix 6 – 490 SOFR Curve Bloomberg Service (SAMPLE) Appendix 7 – LOC #9 Weekly Payment Amounts iii

INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY OF THE BID SOLICITATION

This Bid Solicitation is issued by the Department of the Treasury, Division of Purchase and Property (Division), Procurement Bureau, on behalf of the Department of the Treasury, Office of Public Finance (OPF). Quotes submitted in response to this Bid Solicitation shall be through the State of New Jersey’s eProcurement system, NJSTART. Bidders are advised to thoroughly read all sections of this Bid Solicitation and follow all instructions.

Bidders are strongly encouraged to visit the NJSTART Vendor Support Page, which contains Quick Reference Guides (QRGs), supporting videos, a glossary of NJSTART terms, and helpdesk contact information. Bidders should utilize the QRGs before attempting to submit a Quote through NJSTART. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to ensure that the Quote and attachments have been properly submitted. Inquiries concerning the use of NJSTART may be directed to njstart@treas.nj.gov. The Division will not respond to substantive questions related to the Bid Solicitation or any other Contract via this email address.

PURPOSE, AND INTENT AND BACKGROUND

The purpose of this Bid Solicitation is to solicit Quotes for a Contractor or “Lessor” to provide Lease purchase financing for the acquisition of certain State selected Equipment projects, under a State Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement. The Contractor/Lessor is expected to enter into the State Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement with the Division on behalf of the OPF, attached hereto as Appendix 1 State Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement, including all of its exhibits (Exhibit A Equipment Schedule, Exhibit B Certificate of Acceptance, Exhibit C-1 Opinion of Attorney General of the State of New Jersey, and Exhibit C-2 Opinion of Special Tax Counsel to the State of New Jersey), hereinafter collectively referred to as the “State Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement” or “Master Lease”. The Bidder shall be responsible for reading and understanding the entire Master Lease, including its exhibits, and must comply with it if the Bidder is awarded the Contract. The Master Lease, including its exhibits, to the extent revised during the Electronic Question and Answer Period described in Section 2.1, shall thereafter be subject to non-material changes only.

It is the intent of the State of New Jersey (State) to award a Contract to that responsible Bidder whose Quote, conforming to this Bid Solicitation is most advantageous to the State, price and other factors considered. The State will only consider proposals from primary source lenders. Brokers or other third party funding sources should not respond to this Bid Solicitation. The State may award any or all price lines. The State, however, reserves the right to separately procure individual requirements that are the subject of the Contract during the Contract term, when deemed by the Director of the Division (Director) to be in the State’s best interest.

Quotes will be evaluated and awarded in accordance with Bid Solicitation Section 8 – Quote Evaluation and Award. The State intends to award one (1) Contract to provide Lease purchase financing for the acquisition of certain State selected Equipment projects, under the Master Lease.

The Terms and Conditions for T3030 Equipment Master Lease included with this Bid Solicitation will apply to this Contract. These terms are in addition to the terms and conditions set forth in this Bid Solicitation and should be read in conjunction with them unless the Bid Solicitation specifically indicates otherwise. See Section 1.4 of this Bid Solicitation for the order of precedence for the Contract documents.

Subcontracting is not permitted under this Bid Solicitation.

BACKGROUND

This is a re-procurement of the State Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement facility under T3030 – Equipment Master Lease Purchase Financing. A new Bid Solicitation is required because all available funding under the current Contract T3030, which expired on October 11, 2024, has been allocated to projects. Bidders interested in reviewing the expiring Contract’s specifications and pricing information may do so by following the instructions below. Bidders should not rely upon or use data or information from the expiring Contract when preparing a response to this Bid Solicitation as this Bid Solicitation addresses the State’s current requirements.

· Go to: www.njstart.gov

· Select “Advanced” at the top of the screen to access the advanced search feature;

· Select “Contracts” from the Document Type drop down menu;

· Check the “Include Expired” box;

· Enter “T3030” in the “Description” field and click “Search”

· The expired Contract will appear under “Results”

This will be the State’s eleventh State Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement.

The Contract resulting from this Bid Solicitation, including the executed Master Lease, will provide the State with Lease financing to acquire Equipment in an amount up to $100 million to be drawn down over a period of three (3) years. The initial three (3) year base period may be referred to as the “Term”. The State, however, is not obligated to utilize the full amount available. This Contract may be extended for up to three (3) additional one (1) year periods, by mutual written consent of the Lessor and the Director, upon the same terms and conditions and pricing at the rates in effect in the last year of the Contract or rates more favorable to the State (see Section 5.1 Contract Term and Extension Option). Thereafter, the Master Lease cannot be drawn upon to finance or refinance Equipment; however, the Master Lease and the Equipment Leases entered thereunder will continue for the terms stated therein (see Section 4.0 Scope of Work) and the State’s repayment obligations will be as stated in Section 4.3 Funding and Section 4.7 Payment by the State to the Lessor of this Bid Solicitation.

Under this financing facility arrangement, the State will enter into the Master Lease (as amended by any Bid Amendments pursuant to Section 2.3) with the Lessor. Thereafter, the State and the Lessor will enter into an Equipment Lease (as hereinafter defined) for each piece of Equipment (as hereinafter defined) or Equipment Group (as hereinafter defined) purchased, substantially in the form of Exhibit A and Exhibit B which are included in Appendix 1 State Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement. An agreement similar to the State’s Master Lease has been utilized over the past 25 years in numerous transactions and is widely accepted in the financial community.

Bidders interested in the State’s most current Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) may review it at:

NJFRFY2024Complete.pdf

CONTRACT AMOUNT

The estimated amount of the Contract, if stated, shall not be construed as either the maximum or minimum amount which the State shall be obliged to utilize.

Under the financing facility arrangement, the Lessor shall provide an amount up to $100 million, to be drawn down during the drawdown term (as defined in Section 4.5 of this Bid Solicitation), and used to pay the costs of the Equipment projects. The State, however, will not be obligated to drawing down the full amount of the financing facility.

ORDER OF PRECEDENCE OF CONTRACTUAL TERMS

The Contract awarded, and the entire agreement between the parties, as a result of this Bid Solicitation shall consist of: (1) the final Bid Solicitation, (2) Terms and Conditions for T3030 Equipment Master Lease, (3) the Quote, and if applicable (4) any Bidder responses to clarifications; (5) a Bidder’s Best and Final Offer, (6) other negotiated document, and/or (7) third party document. In the event of a conflict in the terms and conditions among the documents comprising this Contract, the order of precedence, for purposes of interpretation thereof, shall be as listed from highest ranking to lowest ranking as noted above.

Any other terms or conditions, not included with the Bidder’s Quote and accepted by the State, shall not be incorporated into the Contract awarded. Any references to external documentation, including those documents referenced by a URL, including without limitation, technical reference manuals, technical support policies, copyright notices, additional license terms, etc., are subject to the terms and conditions of the Bid Solicitation and the Terms and Conditions for T3030 Equipment Master Lease. In the event of any conflict between the terms of a document incorporated by reference, the terms and conditions of the Bid Solicitation and the Terms and Conditions for T3030 Equipment Master Lease shall prevail.

INTRASTATE COOPERATIVE PURCHASING

Not applicable to this procurement.

PRE-QUOTE SUBMISSION INFORMATION

The Bidder assumes sole responsibility for the complete effort required in submitting a Quote and for reviewing the Quote submission requirements and the Scope of Work requirements.

ELECTRONIC QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD

The Division will electronically accept questions and inquiries from all potential Bidders via the “Q&A” Tab of the Bid Solicitation in NJSTART. Questions should be directly tied to the Bid Solicitation Section, the Master Lease and/or any exhibits or schedules to the Master Lease, the State-Supplied Price Sheet, Form or Attachment; and should reference the specific Bid Solicitation Section or document page number and section number, including the Master Lease and/or any of its exhibits or schedules, to which it relates.

Additionally, the following should be adhered to when submitting electronic questions:

A. Questions should be asked in consecutive order, from beginning to end, following the organization of the Bid Solicitation and if applicable, the Master Lease; and B. The Bidder should review Appendix 1 State Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement, including all of its exhibits (Exhibit A Equipment Schedule, Exhibit B Certificate of Acceptance, Exhibit C-1 Opinion of Attorney General of the State of New Jersey, and Exhibit C-2 Opinion of Special Tax Counsel to the State of New Jersey) and must provide proposed changes, if any, during the Q&A period. All proposed changes to Appendix 1 must be emailed to: T3030EquipmentMasterLease@treas.nj.gov

The cut-off date for electronic questions and inquiries relating to this Bid Solicitation is indicated on the Bid Solicitation cover page. In the event that questions are posed by Bidders, answers to such questions will be issued by Bid Amendment.

A Bidder shall not contact the Using Agency and/or the Procurement Specialist directly, in person, by telephone or by e-mail, concerning this Bid Solicitation, prior to Contract award.

EXCEPTIONS TO THE STATE OF NJ STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS (SSTC)

Questions regarding, and exceptions to the Terms and Conditions for T3030 Equipment Master Lease, Appendix 1 State Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement, including all of its exhibits (Exhibit A Equipment Schedule, Exhibit B Certificate of Acceptance, Exhibit C-1 Opinion of Attorney General of the State of New Jersey, and Exhibit C-2 Opinion of Special Tax Counsel to the State of New Jersey), 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). The Terms and Conditions for T3030 Equipment Master Lease, and the Master Lease, including its exhibits, to the extent revised during the Electronic Question and Answer Period described in Section 2.1, shall thereafter be subject to non-material changes only.

The Bidder should carefully review in addition to the Bid Solicitation, Attachment 1 – Terms and Conditions for T3030 Equipment Master Lease, including, but not limited to clauses pertaining to Indemnification, State’s right to terminate, and Mergers. Bidders shall submit only during the Electronic Question and Answer Period any objections or proposed changes to the aforementioned documents.

BID AMENDMENTS

In the event that it becomes necessary to clarify or revise this Bid Solicitation, such clarification or revision will be by Bid Amendment. Any Bid Amendment will become part of this Bid Solicitation and part of any Contract awarded. Bid Amendments will be posted as a file attachment on the “Summary” page of the Bid Solicitation in NJSTART after the cut-off date.

There are no designated dates for release of Bid Amendments. Those Bidders who are on the bid holder list either through commodity code registration in NJSTART or by acknowledging the bid in NJSTART should receive notification of any Bid Amendment(s). If a Bidder is not on the bid holder list, Bid Amendments are still viewable on the “Summary” page of the Bid Solicitation in NJSTART.

It is the sole responsibility of the Bidder to be knowledgeable of all Bid Amendments related to this procurement. An interested Bidder should check the NJSTART “Open Bids” Tab on a daily basis to ensure review of the most updated information.

MANDATORY/OPTIONAL SITE VISIT

Not applicable to this procurement.

OPTIONAL PRE-QUOTE CONFERENCE

The date and time of the Optional Pre-Quote Conference is indicated on the Bid Solicitation cover sheet. Attendees may attend the Optional Pre-Quote Conference with the following video conference and/or call-in details:

Phone Number: 1-856-338-7074 Access Code: 805 412 834#

To join the meeting click on the below link:

T3030 Optional Pre-Quote Conference | Meeting-Join | Microsoft Teams

Meeting ID: 224 425 131 072 14 Passcode: Jc2e73SK

The Optional Pre-Quote Conference will be recorded and become part of the procurement record. Anyone who is unable to attend the Pre-Quote Conference can access and review it.

The purpose of the Optional Pre-Quote Conference is to address procedural questions regarding the Bid Solicitation and Bidder Quote Submission Requirements only. In addition, it is to allow the State to:

A. Provide a structured and formal opportunity to explain certain information regarding the Master Lease, mandatory requirements, and negotiation of terms through the Electronic Question and Answer Period.

B. To emphasize to all Bidders attending the Optional Pre-Quote Conference, that the Bidders should carefully review the Bid Solicitation, Attachment 1 – Terms and Conditions for T3030 Equipment Master Lease, including, but not limited to clauses pertaining to Indemnification, State’s right to terminate, and Mergers, and Appendix 1 - State Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement, including all of its exhibits. Bidders shall submit only during the Electronic Question and Answer Period any objections or proposed changes to the aforementioned documents.

No substantive questions regarding the Bid Solicitation Scope of Work will be accepted or answered during the pre-Quote conference. All questions are to be submitted during the Electronic Question and Answer Period.

PRE-QUOTE DOCUMENT REVIEW

The following are publicly available documents that a Bidder should review in order to prepare and submit an accurate and comprehensive Quote:

ATTACHMENT 1 – Terms and Conditions for T3030 Equipment Master Lease Appendix 1 – State Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement Appendix 2 – Equipment Master Lease Payment Process-Flow Chart Appendix 3 – Payment Price Sheet Appendix 4 – Weekly Payment Schedule for LOC #10 Appendix 5 – Form 8038-GC and Form 8038-G Revised as of 10.2021 Appendix 6 – 490 SOFR Curve Bloomberg Service (SAMPLE) Appendix 7 – LOC #9 Weekly Payment Amounts

QUOTE SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

QUOTE SUBMISSION

In order to be considered for award, the Quote must be received electronically by the Division’s Proposal Review Unit, through NJSTART, by the required date and time.

The date and time of the Quote opening are indicated on the Bid Solicitation cover sheet and on the “Summary” Tab of the Bid Solicitation webpage within NJSTART. If the Quote opening deadline has been revised, the new Quote opening deadline will be shown on the posted Bid Amendment and on the “Summary” Tab of the Bid Solicitation webpage within NJSTART. Quotes not received prior to the Quote opening deadline shall be rejected.

Quotes will be publicly opened and announced by telephone conference on the date and time of the quote opening.

(Dial-in phone number: 888-204-5984 / Access code: 2602305)

When submitting a Quote through NJSTART, do not use any symbols (i.e., #, @, $, &, *) in the filename as this may prevent the Quote from being properly uploaded. Uploaded files must be compatible with Microsoft Office and/or Adobe software applications. DO NOT UPLOAD files with extensions such as .zip, .numbers, or .pages.

When uploading the documents to NJSTART, the Bidder should select the “Confidential” option in NJSTART for attachments on the “Attachments” Tab to request that the documents not be displayed publicly through NJSTART. Marking an attachment as "Confidential" in NJSTART shall not constitute the Bidder's designation of the attachment as exempt from public disclosure under the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., or the common law right to know.

BIDDER RESPONSIBILITY

The Bidder assumes sole responsibility for the complete effort required in submitting a Quote in response to this Bid Solicitation. No special consideration will be given after Quotes are opened because of a Bidder’s failure to be knowledgeable as to all of the requirements of this Bid Solicitation. The State assumes no responsibility and bears no liability for costs incurred by a Bidder in the preparation and submittal of a Quote in response to this Bid Solicitation or any pre-contract award costs incurred.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF QUOTE INFORMATION

On the date and time Quotes are due under the Bid Solicitation, all information concerning the Quotes submitted may be publicly announced and shall be available for inspection and copying except otherwise noted:

A. Information appropriately designated as proprietary and/or confidential in a Bidder’s Quote shall not be available for inspection and copying; and B. Where negotiation is contemplated, only the names and addresses of the Bidders submitting Quotes will be announced, and the contents of the Quotes shall not be available for inspection and copying until the Notice of Intent to Award is issued by the Director.

QUOTE ERRORS

In accordance with N.J.A.C. 17:12-2.11 “Proposal errors,” a Bidder may withdraw its Quote as described below.

QUOTE WITHDRAWAL PRIOR TO QUOTE OPENING

A Bidder may withdraw its Quote submission in NJSTART prior to the Quote opening; however, Bidders should note that while withdrawn NJSTART Quotes remain viewable by the Bidder on its Vendor Profile Homepage, they are removed from the Division’s view and cannot be considered for Contract award. The Bidder may submit a revised Quote as long as the Quote is received prior to the announced date and time for Quote submission. Bidders may refer to the QRG “Submit a Quote” for additional instructions.

QUOTE WITHDRAWAL AFTER QUOTE OPENING, BUT PRIOR TO CONTRACT AWARD

If, after the Quote opening, but before Contract award, a Bidder discovers an error in its Quote, the Bidder may make a written request to the Procurement Bureau to withdraw its Quote, or a portion thereof, from consideration for award. If the Bidder’s request to withdraw is made in good faith, and the State will not be significantly prejudiced by granting the withdrawal of the Quote beyond the loss of the benefit of the bargain to the State of the withdrawing Bidder’s offer, the request shall be granted. Evidence of the Bidder’s good faith in making this request can be demonstrated by one (1) or more of the following factors: A mistake is so significant that to enforce the Contract resulting from the Quote would be unconscionable; that the mistake relates to a material feature or term of the Contract; and that the mistake occurred notwithstanding the Bidder’s exercise of reasonable care. After Quote opening, while pursuant to the provisions of this section a Bidder may request to withdraw its Quote and the Director may in his/her discretion allow said Bidder to withdraw it, the Division also may take notice of repeated or unusual requests to withdraw by a Bidder and take those prior requests to withdraw into consideration when evaluating the Bidder’s future Quotes.

The Quote withdrawal request must include the Bid Solicitation Number, Bid Solicitation Title, and the Quote submission date and should be sent to Procurement.Bureau@treas.nj.gov.

If, during a Quote evaluation process, an obvious pricing error made by a potential Contract awardee is found, the Director or his/her designee shall issue written notice to the Bidder. The Bidder will have up to five (5) Business Days after receipt of the notice to confirm its pricing. If the Bidder fails to respond, its Quote shall be considered withdrawn, and no further consideration shall be given to it.

JOINT VENTURE

If a Joint Venture is submitting a Quote, the agreement between the parties relating to such Joint Venture should be submitted with the Joint Venture’s Quote. Authorized signatories from each party comprising the Joint Venture must sign the Offer and Acceptance Page. Each party to the Joint Venture must individually complete and comply with all the forms and certification requirements in Bid Solicitation Section 3 – Quote Submission Requirements.

SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE CONTRACTS

Not applicable to this procurement.

DISABLED VETERANS’ BUSINESS SET-ASIDE CONTRACT

Not applicable to this procurement.

BID SECURITY

Not applicable to this procurement.

BIDDER ADDITIONAL TERMS SUBMITTED WITH THE QUOTE

A Bidder may submit additional terms as part of its Quote. Additional terms are Bidder-proposed terms or conditions that do not conflict with the scope of work required in this Bid Solicitation, the terms and conditions of this Bid Solicitation, or the Terms and Conditions for T3030 Equipment Master Lease. Bidder proposed terms or conditions that conflict with those contained in the Terms and Conditions for T3030 Equipment Master Lease will render a Quote non-responsive. It is incumbent upon the Bidder to identify and remove its conflicting proposed terms and conditions prior to Quote submission.

Quotes including Bidder proposed additional terms may be accepted, rejected, or negotiated, in whole or in part, at the State’s sole discretion.

If Bidder intends to propose terms and conditions that conflict with the Terms and Conditions for T3030 Equipment Master Lease, those Bidder proposed terms and conditions shall only be considered if submitted and agreed to pursuant to the Electronic Question And Answer procedure. Bidders shall not submit exceptions or modifications as part of the Quote or on the “Terms and Conditions” Tab through NJSTART.

QUOTE CONTENT

The Quote should be submitted with the attachments organized in the following manner:

· Forms

· Technical Quote

· State-Supplied Price Sheet

A Bidder should not password protect any submitted documents. Use of URLs in a Quote should be kept to a minimum and shall not be used to satisfy any material term of a Bid Solicitation. If a preprinted or other document included as part of the Quote contains a URL, a printed copy of the information should be provided and will be considered as part of the Quote.

NOT FORMS, REGISTRATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS TO BE SUBMITTED WITH QUOTE

A Bidder is required to complete and submit the following forms. As an alternative to uploading certain forms with the submitted Quote, a Bidder may complete several certifications electronically in NJSTART on the “Terms and Categories” Tab within the Vendor Profile. Those forms that may be completed on the NJSTART “Terms and Categories” Tab are noted below. Additionally, a Bidder may attach completed forms to the Vendor Profile. Refer to QRGs “Vendor Forms” and “Attaching Files” for additional instructions. VENDOR QUICK REFERENCE GUIDES

3.13.1 OFFER AND ACCEPTANCE PAGE

The Bidder should complete and submit the Offer and Acceptance Page with the Quote. The Offer and Acceptance Page must be signed by an authorized representative of the Bidder. If a Bidder does not submit the form with the Quote, the Bidder must comply within seven (7) Business Days of the State’s request or the State may deem the Quote non-responsive.

3.13.2 OWNERSHIP DISCLOSURE FORM

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:25-24.2, in the event the Bidder is a corporation, partnership or limited liability company, the Bidder must disclose all 10% or greater owners by (a) completing and submitting the Ownership Disclosure Form with the Quote; (b) if the Bidder has submitted a signed and accurate Ownership Disclosure Form dated and received no more than six (6) months prior to the Quote submission deadline for this procurement, the Division may rely upon that form; however, if there has been a change in ownership within the last six (6) months, a new Ownership Disclosure Form must be completed, signed and submitted with the Quote; or, (c) a Bidder with any direct or indirect parent entity which is publicly traded may submit the name and address of each publicly traded entity and the name and address of each person that holds a 10 percent or greater beneficial interest in the publicly traded entity as of the last annual filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission or the foreign equivalent, and, if there is any person that holds a 10 percent or greater beneficial interest, also shall submit links to the websites containing the last annual filings with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission or the foreign equivalent and the relevant page numbers of the filings that contain the information on each person that holds a 10 percent or greater beneficial interest. N.J.S.A. 52:25-24.2.

NOTE: In lieu of completing and submitting the paper-based form, the Bidder has the option to complete this form online in NJSTART on the “Terms and Categories” Tab.

A Bidder’s failure to submit the information required by N.J.S.A. 52:25-24.2 will result in the rejection of the Quote as non-responsive and preclude the award of a Contract to said Bidder.

3.13.3 DISCLOSURE OF INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES IN IRAN FORM

The Bidder should submit Disclosure of Investment Activities in Iran form to certify that, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:32-58, neither the Bidder, nor one (1) of its parents, subsidiaries, and/or affiliates (as defined in N.J.S.A. 52:32-56(e)(3)), is listed on the Department of the Treasury’s List of Persons or Entities Engaging in Prohibited Investment Activities in Iran and that neither the Bidder, nor one (1) of its parents, subsidiaries, and/or affiliates, is involved in any of the investment activities set forth in N.J.S.A. 52:32-56(f). If the Bidder is unable to so certify, the Bidder shall provide a detailed and precise description of such activities as directed on the form. If a Bidder does not submit the form with the Quote, the Bidder must comply within seven (7) Business Days of the State’s request or the State may deem the Quote non-responsive.

NOTE: In lieu of completing and submitting the paper-based form, the Bidder has the option to complete this certification online in NJSTART on the “Terms and Categories” Tab.

3.13.4 DISCLOSURE OF INVESTIGATIONS AND OTHER ACTIONS INVOLVING BIDDER FORM

The Bidder should submit the Disclosure of Investigations and Other Actions Involving Bidder Form, with its Quote, to provide a detailed description of any investigation, litigation, including administrative complaints or other administrative proceedings, involving any public sector clients during the past five (5) years, including the nature and status of the investigation, and, for any litigation, the caption of the action, a brief description of the action, the date of inception, current status, and, if applicable, disposition. If a Bidder does not submit the form with the Quote, the Bidder must comply within seven (7) Business Days of the State’s request or the State may deem the Quote non-responsive.

NOTE: In lieu of completing and submitting the paper-based form, the Bidder has the option to complete this certification online in NJSTART on the “Terms and Categories” Tab.

3.13.5 MACBRIDE PRINCIPLES FORM

The Bidder should submit the MacBride Principles Form. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:34-12.2, a Bidder is required to certify that it either has no ongoing business activities in Northern Ireland and does not maintain a physical presence therein or that it will take lawful steps in good faith to conduct any business operations it has in Northern Ireland in accordance with the MacBride principles of nondiscrimination in employment as set forth in N.J.S.A. 52:18A-89.5 and in conformance with the United Kingdom’s Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act of 1989, and permit independent monitoring of their compliance with those principles. If a Bidder does not submit the form with the Quote, the Bidder must comply within seven (7) Business Days of the State’s request or the State may deem the Quote non-responsive.

NOTE: In lieu of completing and submitting the paper-based form, the Bidder has the option to complete this certification online in NJSTART on the “Terms and Categories” Tab.

3.13.6 SERVICE PERFORMANCE WITHIN THE UNITED STATES

Not Applicable to this procurement.

3.13.7 CONFIDENTIALITY/COMMITMENT TO DEFEND

Pursuant to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., or the common law right to know, Quotes can be released to the public in accordance with N.J.A.C. 17:12-1.2(b) and (c).

The Bidder should submit a completed and signed Confidentiality/Commitment to Defend Form with the Quote. In the event that the Bidder does not submit the Confidentiality form with the Quote, the State reserves the right to request that the Bidder submit the form after Quote submission.

After the opening of sealed Quotes, all information submitted by a Bidder in response to a Bid Solicitation is considered public information notwithstanding any disclaimers to the contrary submitted by a Bidder. Proprietary, financial, security and confidential information may be exempt from public disclosure by OPRA and/or the common law when the Bidder has a good faith, legal/factual basis for such assertion.

When the Bid Solicitation contains a negotiation component, the Quote will not be subject to public disclosure until a notice of intent to award a Contract is announced.

As part of its Quote, a Bidder may request that portions of the Quote be exempt from public disclosure under OPRA and/or the common law. The Bidder must provide a detailed statement clearly identifying those sections of the Quote that it claims are exempt from production, and the legal and factual basis that supports said exemption(s) as a matter of law. The State will not honor any attempts by a Bidder to designate its State-Supplied Price Sheet, Price List/Catalog, and/or the entire Quote as proprietary and/or confidential, and/or to claim copyright protection for its entire Quote. If the State does not agree with a Bidder’s designation of proprietary and/or confidential information, the State will use commercially reasonable efforts to advise the Bidder. Copyright law does not prohibit access to a record which is otherwise available under OPRA.

The State reserves the right to make the determination as to what to disclose in response to an OPRA request. Any information that the State determines to be exempt from disclosure under OPRA will be redacted.

In the event of any challenge to the Bidder’s assertion of confidentiality that is contrary to the State’s determination of confidentiality, the Bidder shall be solely responsible for defending its designation, but in doing so, all costs and expenses associated therewith shall be the responsibility of the Bidder. The State assumes no such responsibility or liability.

In order not to delay consideration of the Quote or the State’s response to a request for documents, the State requires that Bidder respond to any request regarding confidentiality markings within the timeframe designated in the State’s correspondence regarding confidentiality. If no response is received by the designated date and time, the State will be permitted to release a copy of the Quote with the State making the determination regarding what may be proprietary or confidential.

3.13.8 SUBCONTRACTOR UTILIZATION PLAN

Not applicable to this procurement. Subcontracting is not permitted under this Bid Solicitation.

3.13.8.1 SMALL BUSINESS AND/OR DISABLED VETERANS’ BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTING SET-ASIDE CONTRACT Not applicable to this procurement. Subcontractors are not permitted under this Bid Solicitation. This Contract is only allowed to be awarded to a primary source lender pursuant to Bid Solicitation Section 1.1.

3.13.9 RESERVED

3.13.10 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

The 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/they must complete and submit the Affirmative Action Employee Information Report (AA-302). Information, instruction and the application are available at https://www.state.nj.us/treasury/contract_compliance/index.shtml.

3.13.11 RESERVED

3.13.12 STATE OF NEW JERSEY SECURITY DUE DILIGENCE THIRD-PARTY INFORMATION SECURITY QUESTIONNAIRE Not applicable to this procurement.

3.13.13 BUSINESS REGISTRATION

In accordance with N.J.S.A. 52:32-44(b), a Bidder 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. A Bidder should verify its Business Registration Certification Active status on the “Maintain Terms and Categories” Tab within its profile in NJSTART. In the event of an issue with a Bidder’s Business Registration Certification Active status, NJSTART provides a link to take corrective action.

3.13.14 Certification of Non-Involvement in Prohibited Activities in Russia or Belarus The Bidder should submit the Certification of Non-Involvement in Prohibited Activities in Russia or Belarus Form. Pursuant to P.L.2022, c.3, a person or entity seeking to enter into or renew a contract for the provision of goods or services shall certify that it is not Engaging in Prohibited Activities in Russia or Belarus as defined by P.L.2002, c.3, sec. 1(e). If a Bidder does not submit the form with the Quote, the Bidder must comply within seven (7) Business Days of the State’s request or the State may deem the Quote non-responsive.

TECHNICAL QUOTE

The Bidder shall describe its approach and plans for providing and administering the financing facility as described in the Scope of Work. The Bidder must set forth its understanding of the requirements of this Bid Solicitation and its approach to successfully complete the Contract. The Bidder should include the level of detail it determines necessary to assist the Evaluation Committee in its review of the Bidder’s Quote.

MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW

The Bidder shall set forth its overall technical approach and plans to meet the requirements of the Bid Solicitation in a narrative format. This narrative should demonstrate to the Evaluation Committee and the State that the Bidder understands the objectives that the Contract is intended to meet, the nature of the required work, and the level of effort necessary to successfully complete the Contract. The narrative should demonstrate that the Bidder’s approach and plans to undertake and complete the Contract are appropriate to the tasks and subtasks involved.

CONTRACT MANAGEMENT

The Bidder should describe its specific plans to administer the financing facility to be provided under the Contract to ensure the State’s goals are met with a satisfactory way. The plan should include the Bidder’s approach to communicate with the State Contract Manager.

CONTRACT SCHEDULE

Not applicable to this procurement.

MOBILIZATION PLAN

Not applicable to this procurement.

ORGANIZATIONAL EXPERIENCE

The Bidder should include information relating to its organization, personnel, and experience, including, but not limited to, references, together with contact names and telephone numbers, evidencing the Bidder’s qualifications, and capabilities to perform the services required by this Bid Solicitation. The Bidder should include the level of detail it determines necessary to assist the Evaluation Committee in its review of Bidder’s Quote.

LOCATION

The Bidder should include the address of the Bidder’s office where responsibility for managing the Contract will take place. The Bidder should include the email address, the telephone number and name of the individual to contact.

ORGANIZATION CHARTS

Not applicable for this procurement.

RESUMES

Detailed resumes should be submitted for all management, supervisory, and key personnel to be assigned to the Contract. Resumes should emphasize relevant qualifications and experience of these individuals in successfully completing Contracts of a similar size and scope to those required by this Bid Solicitation. Resumes should include the following:

A. The individual's previous experience in completing each similar Contract;

B. Beginning and ending dates for each similar Contract;

C. A description of the Contract demonstrating how the individual's work on the completed Contract relates to the individual's ability to contribute to successfully providing the services required by this Bid Solicitation; and D. With respect to each similar Contract, the name and address of each reference together with a person to contact for a reference check and a telephone number.

EXPERIENCE WITH CONTRACTS OF SIMILAR SIZE AND SCOPE

The Bidder shall describe its experience as a provider of a financing facility of the type described in the Scope of Work. The Bidder should provide a comprehensive list of contracts of similar size and scope that it has successfully completed. In addition, the Bidder should provide a description of up to three (3) contracts of similar size and scope that it has successfully completed and it considers most relevant to this Bid Solicitation. The descriptions should show how the contracts relate to the ability of the firm to complete the services required by this Bid Solicitation. For each of the three (3) contracts listed, the Bidder should provide contact information of references for the other contract party. Beginning and ending dates should also be given for each contract.

The Bidder must provide details of any negative actions taken by other contracting entities against them in the course of performing these contracts including, but not limited to, receipt of letters of potential default, default, cure notices, termination of services for cause, or other similar notifications/processes. Additionally, the Bidder should provide details, including any negative audits, reports, or findings by any governmental agency for which the Bidder is/was the contractor on any contracts of similar scope.

FINANCIAL CAPABILITY OF THE BIDDER

The Bidder should provide sufficient financial information to enable the State to assess the financial strength and creditworthiness of the Bidder and its ability to undertake and successfully complete the Contract. In order to provide the State with the ability to evaluate the Bidder’s financial capacity and capability to undertake and successfully complete the Contract, the Bidder should submit the following:

A. For publicly traded companies the Bidder should provide copies or the electronic location of the annual reports filed for the two most recent years; or B. For privately held companies the Bidder should provide the certified financial statement (audited or reviewed) in accordance with applicable standards by an independent Certified Public Accountant, including a balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flow, and all applicable notes for the most recent calendar year or the Bidder’s most recent fiscal year.

If the information is not supplied with the Quote, the State may still require the Bidder to submit it. If the Bidder fails to comply with the request within seven (7) Business Days, the State may deem the Quote non-responsive.

A Bidder may designate specific financial information as not subject to disclosure when the Bidder has a good faith legal/factual basis for such assertion. The State reserves the right to make the determination to accept the assertion and will so advise the Bidder.

MUNICIPAL SECURITIES RULEMAKING BOARD (MSRB) G-37 REPORTS – POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND PROHIBITIONS ON MUNICIPAL SECURITIES BUSINESS The Bidder should provide the last two (2) G-37 Forms the firm has filed and if applicable, G-38t Form for solicitation of municipal securities business. Instructions for G-37 Form and G-38t Form can be found at the MSRB’s website at www.msrb.org. If the G-37 and/or G-38t requirements are not applicable to the Bidder and the Bidder is not required to complete either form, an authorized officer of the Bidder should provide a letter explaining why it is not required to complete the G-37 and/or the G-38t forms. At a minimum, the letter should specify that the Bidder is not acting as a broker dealer (within the meaning of Rules G-37 and G-38) in connection with the Line of Credit or the Equipment Leases to be entered into pursuant to the Line of Credit. If a Bidder does not submit the forms / reports or letter with the Quote, the Bidder must comply within seven (7) Business Days of the State’s request or the State may deem the Quote non-responsive.

0. STATE-SUPPLIED PRICE SHEET INSTRUCTIONS

The Bidder must submit its pricing using the State-Supplied Price Sheet accompanying this Bid Solicitation and located on the “Attachments” Tab. Failure to submit all information required may result in the Quote being considered non-responsive. Each Bidder is required to hold its pricing firm fixed through the issuance of the Contract.

A. Any fees or expenses of the Lessor shall be included within the interest rates on the State-Supplied Price Sheet for price line numbers 1 through 3. Also, refer to Sections 4.4 Interest Rate and 4.8 Payment by the State to the Lessor, when completing these price lines.

B. For pricing purposes, the State will post seven (7) to ten (10) Business Days before the actual Quote Opening Date via Bid Amendment on NJSTART, a screenshot of the 490 SOFR Curve on the Bloomberg Service prior to 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The shortcut code to reach this 490 SOFR Curve is “ICVS 490”. This reference is provided so all Bidders are utilizing the same SOFR Swap Rate when preparing a price quote. For example purposes, please see Appendix 6 - 490 SOFR Curve (SAMPLE).

C. The Bidder must insert the percentage of the appropriate SOFR Swap Rate as a firm fixed price in all price lines in the attached State-Supplied Price Sheet. This may be done as either a discount or premium to the SOFR Swap Index. The Bidder should make certain that the financing rate is presented as a percentage of the appropriate SOFR Swap Rate and not as an interest rate. Bidders may also submit a spread on the price line provided. The spread should be presented in basis points (bp).

D. For each interest rate quote used provided in the preparation of a price quote, the Bidder must refer to the corresponding bid SOFR Swap Rate as referenced on the 490 SOFR Curve swap rate on Bloomberg Service ICVS 490. That is, the interest rate quote referenced to for the 3-year term must be based off the 3-year bid SOFR Swap Rate; the interest rate quote referenced to for the 4-year term must be based off the 4-year bid SOFR Swap Rate; and the interest rate quote referenced to for the 5-year term must be based off the 5-year bid SOFR Swap Rate. Please round all percentages to four (4) decimal places.

Any price changes including hand written revisions or "white-outs" must be initialed. Failure to initial price changes shall preclude a Contract award from being made to the Bidder pursuant to N.J.A.C. 17:12-2.2(a)(8).

3.26.1 SOFT COSTS

Bidders should disclose their internal policies, including any restrictions, regarding financing Soft Costs. (See Section 4.12 and State-Supplied Price Sheet). Soft Costs are items such as software/hardware maintenance, programming, design and training, that are usually small additions to the price of the Equipment.

3.26.2 PREPAYMENT

The State will have the option to prepay…