Federal Legislative Advocate Contract

1. APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Executive Director to execute contract with Alcalde & Fay, subject to approval by Agency Counsel, in an amount not to exceed $201,850, to provide federal legislative advocacy services for the period from June 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024; 
2. APPROVE the use of Reserve funds budgeted to this purpose; and 
3. AUTHORIZE the Executive Director to take such other further actions as may be necessary to fulfill the intent of the contract, including approvals of future modifications or amendments that do not significantly alter the scope of work, or change the approved contract term or amount.

In response to the Request for Qualifications for federal legislative advocacy services four Statements of Qualifications were received by the deadline. A staff team reviewed the qualifications and recommend selection of Alcalde & Fay for this contract due to their demonstrated success and proven relationships with relevant parties in Washington, DC, their strategy for accomplishing TAMC priorities and meeting TAMC needs, and their reasonable budget for the work.

This contract budget includes a monthly retainer of $5,000, a $50 per month budget for expenses to be reimbursed based on receipts, and an annual allowance of $5,000 for long-distance travel, via pre-approval, over the contract term of three years and one month.  The total contract not-to-exceed amount is $201,850.

Pursuant to Board direction on March 24, staff published a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for federal legislative advocacy services. The RFQ specified that the contract would be for a three-year period, expiring June 30, 2024, with the option for the Board to extend the contract by an additional two years with satisfactory performance.

TAMC received four Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) in response to this RFQ by the deadline:

• Alcalde & Fay
• Ballard Spahr
• Nossaman 
• Thomas Walters

The SOQs were rated and ranked based on the criteria in the RFQ:

• Knowledge of federal transportation issues and advocacy experience (20 points)
• Relationships with key federal decision-makers (20 points)
• Demonstrated success in obtaining federal funding (20 points)
• Understanding of TAMC needs and priorities (20 points)
• References (10 points)
• Cost (10 points)

A staff team reviewed the qualifications and recommend selection of Alcalde & Fay for this contract due to their demonstrated success and proven relationships with relevant parties in Washington, DC, their strategy for accomplishing TAMC priorities and meeting TAMC needs, and their reasonable budget for the work. Attached is the draft contract with scope of work and budget.

Based on the need work as soon as possible on the submittal of federal earmark requests, staff recommends initiating the contract as of June 1, rather than the standard July 1 fiscal year start date.