All Proposers must provide the Individual and Corporate disclosures set forth below and complete and sign the Conflict of Interest Certification.
For purposes of this solicitation or any resulting Agreement, the terms used are define here.
“Conflict of Interest” means:
A conflict of interest as defined in this solicitation or any resulting Agreement;
Any activity or interest prohibited by any applicable Federal or State law, including the Political Reform Act, relating to conflicts of interest and any regulation under them; and
Any financial interest or relationship that may impair the ability of the individual or firm to deliver fair unbiased work for the CPUC. A relationship may include any business position such as a director, partner, officer, trustee, employee, or any position of management with any of the Covered Entities or any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate thereof.
“Covered Entities” means:
Any party to Rulemaking (R.) 25-09-004, or the successor proceeding(s) to those proceedings.
“Team Member” includes:
a) any firm (either as a prime or subcontractor) whether incorporated or not, including a sole proprietorship (“Firm Team Member”);
and b) any individual, whether an employee, independent Contractor or other (“Individual Team Member”), if the Firm Team Member or Individual Team Member is performing or supervising work under any resulting Agreement whose work on this project is expected to involve the exercise of judgment.
“Disclose for each Team Member” includes:
Current contracts, subcontracts, employment with, or active proposal(s) before, any of the Covered Entities or any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate thereof. Provide the total amount of payments, duration, and nature of service. In addition, indicate if any Individual Team Member is working on or is expected to work on any of these contracts.
Prior contracts during the last three years with any of the Covered Entities or any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate thereof. Provide the total amount of payments, duration, and nature of service. In addition, indicate if any Individual Team Member worked on those contracts.
Any investment in, or joint venture, partnership, or similar arrangement with, any of the Covered Entities or any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate thereof. For investments list only current investments; for a joint venture, partnership, or similar arrangement list those existing within the past three years. List the entity’s name, the nature, scope and duration of the business arrangement and the total monetary value.
If a Team Member is working for another state agency that is a party to Rulemaking (R.) 25-09-004, or their successor proceeding(s), the Team Member must disclose its contracts with that state agency relating to those proceedings. Provide the total amount of payments, duration, and nature of service.
If a Team Member is currently working on or has done work for the CPUC during the past three years. Provide the total amount of payments, duration, and nature of service.
If (i) any Individual Team Member owns, together with his or her spouse or registered domestic partner, and dependent children, 10% or more of the firm performing the work and (ii) the firm now or within the past 12 months has been under contract with or received income from any of the Covered Entities or its parent, subsidiaries, or affiliates, disclose: the name of the individual; his or her percentage of ownership; cost and length of the contract (or if no contract, the amount of income received and the period over which received); and a brief description of the scope of work. For purposes of this disclosure, a sole proprietor owns 100% of the firm.
If any Individual Team Member has received within the past 12 months (or will receive during any 12-month period) $500 or more of income from a Covered Entity, disclose the individual’s name and the source of income. In response to this question, include the total income of the individual, his or her spouse or registered domestic partner.
If any Individual Team Member has an investment in any Covered Entity worth $2,000 or more, disclose individual’s name and the company in which the investment is held. In response to this question, include the total investments of the individual, his or her spouse, or registered domestic partner, and dependent child.
If any Individual Team Member has received within the past 12-months (or will receive during any 12-month period while performing such work) gifts or travel payments, totaling $470 or more, from any Covered Entity.
Any business position, such as a director, officer, partner, trustee, employee, or any position of management held with any Covered Entity by an Individual Team Member.
Any board membership in a nonprofit organization held with any Covered Entity by an Individual Team Member.
Failure to disclose the above-mentioned could be grounds for disqualification.
Disclosure of any potential conflict of interest by a bidder will not automatically disqualify the bid; all disclosed conflicts will be reviewed and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. As an alternative to the disqualification or termination of a bid because of a conflict of interest, firewall provisions may be requested from the Contractor. This determination is made on a case-by-case basis at the sole discretion of the CPUC once a Contractor is selected. Contractors anticipating a potential conflict of interest are encouraged to submit a firewall or mitigation approach with their proposal, but this is not required for proposal submission. Firewall provisions may include, among other requirements:
- Staff dedicated to CPUC work;
- “Stand-alone” computer networks;
- Physical separation between CPUC workgroups and conflicted workgroups.
The Prime Contractor shall provide a statement, signed by the principal of each participating subcontractor, that the information provided in response to this section is correct to the best of his or her knowledge.
The requirement of disclosure of conflicts of interest is a continuing obligation after award. The successful awardee will be required to avoid conflicts during the term of this Agreement and disclose in writing to CPUC’s Contract Manager or his/her designee(s) any potential or actual conflicts as soon as such conflicts are discovered. The CPUC may, at its option, direct termination of any individual Team Member or the entire Agreement, if such a Conflict of Interest is found.
A Team Member will be disqualified from the solicitation process for any of the following reasons:
- The firm is a party to Rulemaking (R.) 25-09-004, or their successor proceeding(s).
- A Team Member has participated on behalf of the CPUC, directly or indirectly, in any of the negotiations, transactions, planning, arrangement or any part of the decision-making process leading up to this solicitation.