Provision of off-site document shredding services

REQUIRED SOLICITATION CLAUSES

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS

Bidders shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to the IFB in writing. The acknowledgement shall be submitted acknowledging receipt of any amendment to the solicitation by signing and returning the amendment with the bid package, by identifying the amendment number and date in the space provided for this purpose on the bid form, or by letter. The acknowledgment should be received by the agency by the time, date, and at the place specified for receipt of bids. It is the bidder’s sole responsibility to monitor the websites for any updates or amendments to the IFB. Each bidder, offeror or applicant shall submit a written acknowledgement of every amendment to the Agency on or before the submission deadline.

APPLICABLE LAW

The contract shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Mississippi, excluding its conflicts of laws provisions, and any litigation with respect thereto shall be brought in the courts of Mississippi.

APPROVAL

The contract shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Mississippi, excluding its conflicts of laws provisions, and any litigation with respect thereto shall be brought in the courts of Mississippi.

It is understood that if this contract requires approval by the Public Procurement Review Board (“PPRB”) and/or the Department of Finance and Administration Office of Personal Service Contract Review (“OPSCR”), and this contract is not approved by PPRB and/or OPSCR, it is void and no payment shall be made hereunder.

AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS

It is expressly understood and agreed that the obligation of MSDH to proceed under this agreement is conditioned upon the appropriation of funds by the Mississippi State Legislature and the receipt the appropriated funds. If the funds anticipated for the continuing time fulfillment of the agreement are, at any time, not forthcoming or insufficient, regardless of the source of funding, MSDH shall have the right upon 10 business days written notice to Contractor, to terminate this agreement without damage, penalty, cost or expense to the MSDH of any kind whatsoever. The effective date of termination shall be as specified in the notice of termination.

CERTIFICATION OF INDEPENDENT PRICE DETERMINATION

By submitting a bid, proposal or qualification, the bidder or offeror certifies that the prices submitted in response to the solicitation have been arrived at independently and without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other bidder or offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.

COMPLIANCE WITH EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IN EMPLOYMENT POLICY

Contractor understands that the MSDH is an equal opportunity employer and therefore, maintains a policy which prohibits unlawful discrimination based on race, color, creed, sex, age, national origin, physical handicap, disability, genetic information, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws. All such discrimination is unlawful, and Contractor agrees during the term of the agreement that Contractor will strictly adhere to this policy in its employment practices and provision of services.

COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS

Contractor shall comply with, and all activities under this agreement shall be subject to, all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations, as now existing and as may be amended or modified.

CONTRACT RIGHTS

Contract rights do not vest in any party until a contract is legally executed. The MSDH is under no obligation to award a contract following issuance of this solicitation.

E-PAYMENT

Bidder agrees to accept all payments in United States currency via the State of Mississippi’s electronic payment and remittance vehicle. The Agency agrees to make payment in accordance with Mississippi “Timely Payments for Purchases by Public Bodies” laws, which generally provide for payment of undisputed amounts by the Agency within 45 calendar days of receipt of invoice. Mississippi Code Annotated § 31-7-301, et seq.

E-VERIFICATION

If applicable, Bidder represents and warrants that it will ensure its compliance with the Mississippi Employment Protection Act and will register and participate in the status verification system for all newly hired employees. Mississippi Code Annotated §§ 71-11-1 and 71-11-3. Contractor agrees to provide a copy of each verification upon request of the MSDH subject to approval by any agencies of the United States Government. Contractor further represents and warrants that any person assigned to perform services hereafter meets the employment eligibility requirements of all immigration laws.

The breach of this clause may subject Contractor to the following: (1) termination of this contract and exclusion pursuant to Chapter 15 of the Public Procurement Review Board Office of Personal Service Contract Review Rules and Regulations; (2) the loss of any license, permit, certification or other document granted to Contractor by an agency, department, or governmental entity for the right to do business in Mississippi; or (3) both. In the event of such termination, Contractor would also be liable for any additional costs incurred by the Agency due to Contract cancellation or loss of license or permit to do business in the state.

EXPENSES INCURRED IN THE PROCUREMENT PROCESS

All parties participating in the procurement process with regard to this solicitation shall bear their own costs of participation, pursuant to Section 1.4.4 of the Public Procurement Review Board Office of Personal Service Contract Review Rules and Regulations.

MINOR INFORMALITIES AND IRREGULARITIES

The MSDH has the right to waive minor defects or variations of a bid, proposal, qualification or application from the exact requirements of the specifications that do not affect the price, quality, quantity, delivery, or performance of the services being procured and if doing so does not create an unfair advantage for any bidder, offeror or applicant. If insufficient information is submitted by a bidder, offeror or applicant for the MSDH to properly evaluate the offer, the MSDH has the right to require such additional information as it may deem necessary after the submission deadline, provided that the information requested does not change the price, quality, quantity, delivery, or performance time of the services being procured and such a request does not create an unfair advantage for any bidder, offeror or applicant. (Information requested may include, for example, a copy of business or professional licenses, or a work schedule.)

OFFEROR’S OR CONTRACTOR’S REPRESENTATION REGARDING CONTINGENT FEES

By responding to the solicitation, executing the contract the offeror or contractor represents that it has not retained any person or agency on a percentage, commission, or other contingent arrangement to secure this contract. If the offeror or contractor cannot make such a representation, a full and complete explanation shall be submitted in writing [with the offeror’s response, to the Agency prior to contract execution].

PAYMODE

Payments by MSDH using the state’s accounting system shall be made and remittance information provided electronically as directed by the state and deposited into the bank account of Contractor’s choice. The MSDH may, at its sole discretion, require Contractor to electronically submit invoices and supporting documentation at any time during the term of this Agreement. Contractor understands and agrees that the Agency is exempt from the payment of Mississippi taxes. All payments shall be in United States currency.

PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS

This solicitation or contract shall be governed by the applicable provisions of the Public Procurement Review Board Office of Personal Service Contract Review Rules and Regulations, a copy of which is available on the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration’s website (www.dfa.ms.gov). Any [bidder, offeror] responding to a solicitation for personal and professional services and any contractor doing business with a state Agency is deemed to be on notice of all requirements therein.

PROPERTY RIGHTS

Property rights do not inure to any Bidder or Offeror until such time as services have been provided under a legally executed contract. No party responding to this IFB has a legitimate claim of entitlement to be awarded a contract or to the provision of work thereunder. The MSDH is under no obligation to award a contract and may terminate a legally executed contract at any time.

REPRESENTATION REGARDING GRATUITIES

Offeror or Contractor represents that it has not, is not, and will not offer, give, or agree to give any employee or former employee of MSDH a gratuity or offer of employment in connection with any approval, disapproval, recommendation, development, or any other action or decision related to the solicitation and resulting contract. Offeror or Contractor further represents that no employee or former employee of MSDH has or is soliciting, demanding, accepting, or agreeing to accept a gratuity or offer of employment for the reasons previously stated; any such action by an employee or former employee in the future, if any, will be rejected by offeror or contractor. Offeror or Contractor further represents that it is in compliance with the Mississippi Ethics in Government laws, codified at Mississippi Code Annotated §§ 25-4-101 through 25-4-121, and has not solicited any employee or former employee to act in violation of said law.

REQUIRED PUBLIC RECORDS AND TRANSPARENCY

Upon execution of a contract, the provisions of the contract which contain the personal or professional services provided, the unit prices, the overall price to be paid, and the term of the contract shall not be deemed to be a trade secret or confidential commercial or financial information pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated § 25- 61-9(7). The contract shall be posted publicly on www.transparency.ms.gov and shall be available for at the Agency for examination, inspection, or reproduction by the public. The bidder, offeror, applicant or contractor acknowledges and agrees that the MSDH and this contract are subject to the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 codified at Mississippi Code Annotated §§ 25-61-1, et seq. and its exceptions, Mississippi Code Annotated § 79-23-1, and the Mississippi Accountability and Transparency Act of 2008, codified at Mississippi Code Annotated §§ 27-104-151, et seq.

STOP WORK ORDER

The MSDH may, by written order to Contractor at any time, require Contractor to stop all or any part of the work called for by this contract. This order shall be for a period of time specified by the MSDH. Upon receipt of such an order, Contractor shall forthwith comply with its terms and take all reasonable steps to minimize any further cost to the MSDH. Upon expiration of the stop work order, Contractor shall resume providing the services which were subject to the stop work order, unless the MSDH has terminated that part of the agreement or terminated the agreement in its entirety. The MSDH is not liable for payment for services which were not rendered due to the stop work order.

TERMINATION

Termination for Convenience. The MSDH may, when the interests of the Agency so require, terminate this contract in whole or in part, for the convenience of the Agency. The MSDH shall give written notice of the termination to Contractor specifying the part of the contract terminated and when termination becomes effective. Contractor shall incur no further obligations in connection with the terminated work

and on the date set in the notice of termination Contractor will stop work to the extent specified. Contractor shall complete the work not terminated by the notice of termination and may incur obligations as are necessary to do so. Termination for Default. If the MSDH gives the Contractor a notice that the personal or professional services are being provided in a manner that is deficient, the Contractor shall have 30 days to cure the deficiency. If the Contractor fails to cure the deficiency, the MSDH may terminate the contract for default and the Contractor will be liable for the additional cost to the MSDH to procure the personal and professional services from another source. Termination under this paragraph could result in Contractor being excluded from future contract awards pursuant to Chapter 15 of the Public Procurement Review Board Office of Personal Service Contract Review Rules and Regulations. Any termination wrongly labelled termination for default shall be deemed a termination for convenience.