Online Business and Legal Investigative Platform

The Maryland Department of Labor is soliciting bids on an online business and legal investigative platform under IFB BPM058165, with bids due October 30, 2026. The platform must deliver unlimited continuous access to comprehensive business and legal research services, including federal and state judicial decisions, statutes, regulations, legislative history, Maryland-specific administrative content, COMAR publications, and coverage across labor and employment practice areas. The contract requires a five-year minimum term supporting 60 Government Professional users with advanced search, navigation, training, technical support, and user management functionality.

Vendors must submit the Maryland Living Wage Requirements Affidavit of Agreement (Attachment G) with their bids. This contract is designated a Tier 1 Living Wage contract applicable to Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore Counties, plus Baltimore City. Contractors subject to the living wage provision must comply throughout the initial term and all renewals; exemptions apply to nonprofits, public service companies, contractors with ten or fewer employees and contract value under $500,000, or contractors with more than ten employees and contract value under $100,000.

Pricing submissions must include fully loaded monthly and annual charges for each contract year with mandatory annual increase caps of 3.0% for Year 2 and 4.0% for Years 3 through 5. All costs—labor, overhead, administrative expenses—must be included in the submitted rates with no additional compensation beyond those rates. Optional future work items not guaranteed as base award include non-subscribed product charges, usage overage fees, additional investigative seats beyond the base 60, License Plate Recognition subscription add-ons, and post-minimum-term renewal charges. Renewal pricing must be provided at least 60 days before each renewal term.

The sample contract incorporates the IFB, the bidder's bid and technical proposal, and a contract affidavit; performance obligations commence upon Notice to Proceed. Payment is due within 30 days of proper invoice receipt, or 15 days for Small Business Reserve contracts. For IT contracts, contractor liability for non-patent claims is limited to the greater of a multiple of total contract value or $1,000,000. Bidders must list all current or prior state contracts from the last five years (Attachment M) and submit a Pre-Bid/Proposal Conference Response Form (Attachment 2) if attending. All times are Eastern Time Zone as observed by Maryland.