14-002828BID Centurylink Public Communications, Inc., D/B/A Century Link vs. Department Of Corrections
 Status: Closed
Recommended Order on Thursday, September 4, 2014.


View Dockets  
Summary: RFP did not require labeled subsections. Agency arbitrarily ranked responses not marked by subsection s omitted. Allowing 2 bidders to exclude commissions from blended rate when RFP said they must be included was arbitrary and capricious.

1STATE OF FLORIDA

4DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

8CENTURYLINK PUBLIC

10COMMUNICATIONS, INC.,

12d/b/a CENTURY LINK,

15Petitioner,

16vs. Case No. 14 - 2828BID

22DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,

25Respondent ,

26and

27GLOBAL TEL*LINK CORPORATION

30AND SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,

34Intervenors .

36_______________________________/

37SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES, INC.,

40Petitioner,

41vs. Case No. 14 - 28 94 BID

49DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,

52Respondent ,

53and

54GLOBAL TEL*LINK CORPORATION

57AND CENTURYLINK PUBLIC

60COMMUNICATIONS, INC.,

62d/b /a CENTURY LINK,

66Intervenors.

67_______________________________/

68RECOMMENDED ORDER

70Administrative Law Judge John D. C. Newton, II , of the

80Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) , heard this case i n

90Tallahassee, Florida, on July 17 and 18, 2014.

98APPEARANCES

99For CenturyLink :

102Michael J. Glazer, Esquire

106Erik Figlio, Esquire

109Ausley and McMullen

112123 South Calhoun Street

116Post Office Box 391

120Tallahassee, Florida 32302 - 0391

125For Department of Corrections :

130James Fortun as, Esquire

134Department of Corrections

137501 South Calhoun Street

141Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 2500

146For Global Tel*Link Corporation:

150Robert H. Hosay, Esquire

154James A. McKee, Esquire

158John A. Tucker, Esquire

162Foley and Lardner LLP

166Suite 900

168106 East College Ave nue

173Tallahassee, Florida 32301 - 7732

178For Securus Technologies, Inc.:

182Eduardo S. Lombard, Esquire

186W. Robert Vezina, III, Esquire

191V ezina, Lawrence and Piscitelli, P.A.

197413 East Park Avenue

201Tallahassee, Florida 32301 - 1515

206STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE

210Is Respond ent, Department of Corrections ' (Department) ,

218Notice of Intent to Award DC RFP - 13 - 031 for Statewide Inmate

232Telecommunication Services to Inte r venor, Global Tel*Link

240Corporation (Global) , contrary to the governing statutes, rules ,

248or policies or to the Depa rtment ' s Request for Proposal

260solicitation specifications?

262PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

264On March 7, 2014, the Department released Request for

273Proposal DC RFP - 13 - 031 (RFP). The RFP sought a vendor to

287contract to provide statewide inmate telecommunication services .

295The RFP sought proposals to provide an inmate telephone system,

305inmate video visitation system, and other required services

313detailed in the document.

317Petitioner, CenturyLink Public Communications, Inc. ,

322d/b/a Century Link (CenturyLink) ; Petitioner, Secu rus

329Technologies , Inc. (Securus) ; Global ; and HomeWav, LLC (HomWav)

337submitted proposals. The Department determined that HomeWav ' s

346proposal was non - responsive. The Department accepted, reviewed,

355and scored the other proposals. The Department posted its n otice

366of intent to award the contract to Global.

374CenturyLink and Securus protested the intended award as

382provided by section 120.57(3), Florida Statutes (2014) . 1/ Both

392protests are consolidated in this proceeding. Securus intervened

400in CenturyLink ' s p rotest, and CenturyLink intervened in Securus ' s

413protest. Global intervened in both protests. On June 18, 2014,

423the Department referred the matter to DOAH for conduct of a

434formal administrative hearing. Securus submitted an Amended

441Petition and proceeded in this cause upon it. 2/

450The Department and Global seek a recommended order upholding

459the decision to award the contract to Global. CenturyLink asks

469for issuance of a n order recommending award of the contract to

481CenturyLink or rejection of all proposa ls. Securus urges

490rejection of all proposals.

494Joint Exhibits 1 through 8, 13 through 1 7, 19,

50421 through 24, 29, 31, 37, 39 through 42, 46 , and 48 were

517received into evidence. CenturyLink presented the testimony of

525Paul Cooper and Shane Phillips. Cent uryLink presented portions

534of the deposition testimony of Jon Creamer and Sandra Jolene

544Bailey. CenturyLink offered Exhibits 1 and 2 and 4 through 8 ,

555all of which were received into evidence. CenturyLink proffered

564Exhibit 3 which was not admitted .

571Secur us presented the testimony of Stephen Viefhaus.

579Securus presented portions of the deposition testimony of Sandra

588Jolene Bailey, Rosalyn Ingram, Shane Phillips, Steve Wilson,

596Randy Agerton, Jon Creamer, Charles Lockwood and Julyn Hussey.

605The deposition ex cerpts were admitted as Securus E xhibits 16

616through 23.

618The Department presented the testimony of Sandra Jolene

626Bailey, Jon Creamer, Julyn Hussey and Charles Lockwood. The

635deposition transcripts of Randy Agerton and Steve Wilson were

644accepted as Departm ent exhibits .

650Global presented the testimony of Steve Montanaro. Global

658also presented portions of the deposition testimony of Paul

667Cooper and Stephen Viefhaus , which were received into evidence as

677Exhibits 26 and 27. Global Exhibits 9, 11 through 13 a nd 23 were

691received into evidence.

694The parties provided cross designations of depositions that

702were admitted into evidence.

706The parties timely filed proposed recommended orders. Those

714proposed orders have been considered in the preparation of this

724Recom mended Order .

728At hearing , the parties raised the issue of whether two

738deviations noted in CenturyLink ' s proposal made its proposal

748non - responsive. Those deviations involved the screen size of

758video visitation kiosk s and the word recognition capability of

768the video visit security features. The parties do not ad dress

779those issues in the proposed recommended orders. They are deemed

789abandoned.

790During these proceedings , there was a dispute about the

799Department permitting Securus to provide complete financia l

807documents after the proposals were opened. No party advance d

817that argument in the proposed recommended order. It is deemed

827abandoned.

828Issues related to a five - point error by Mr. Agerton in his

841scoring of Global ' s project staff and issues about " value added "

853options , offered by each vendor , have also been abandoned by the

864proposed recommended orders.

867FINDING S OF FACT

871Background

8721. The Legislature charged the Department with protecting

880the public through the incarceration and supervision of offenders

889an d rehabilitating offenders through work, programs, and

897services. The Department is required to provide telephone access

906to inmates in its c ustody .

9132. Inmate telecommunication services provide inmates the

920ability to stay in contact with friends and family . The services

932promote and support efforts to help inmates re - enter society by

944fostering communications with the community outside jail and

952prison.

9533. The Department does not pay for these services. The

963inmates and their designated family members and fr iends pay for

974the services.

9764. The contract to provide the telecommunications service

984generates revenue for the Department. The provider pays the

993Department for access to the consumers. The provider charges the

1003inmates and their designees for the serv ice. The provider pays

1014the Department a commission calculated as a percentage of

1023revenues received. The c ommission is calculated as part of the

1034charge for the services and is included in it. The price

1045competition portion of the RFP is based on the price s charged to

1058the inmates and designees and the commissions paid to the

1068Department.

10695. According to the RFP, the State of Florida presently has

1080a total inmate population of approximately 102,000 people. In

1090fiscal year 2010 - 2011, the inmate calling servi ces generated

1101total revenue of $14,180,345 from 9,587,040 calls. In fiscal

1114year 2011 - 2012, the inmate calling services generated total

1124revenue of $13,513,495 from 8,226,577 calls. And in 2012 - 2 013,

1140the inmate calling services generated total revenue of

1148$ 14,749,021 from 8,853,316 calls.

11576. In 2012 Î 2013, interstate calls generated 11.6 percent of

1168calls and 12.9 percent of revenues from the contract.

11777. Securus holds the contract with the Department to

1186provide inmate telephone services and has for over six years.

1196Before February 11, 2014, Securus paid a 35 percent commission to

1207the Department on all of its call revenue from the contract.

1218That changed as of February 11, 2014 , when the Department

1228interpreted a stay ed order of the Federal Communications

1237C ommission (FCC), discussed in more detail later, to prohibit

1247collecting the commissions on interstate calls . The record does

1257not reveal if Securus stopped collecting the commission portion

1266of the rates charged to inmates and their designees.

12758. The Depar tment does not collect commissions because it

1285interprets the FCC order to say that it cannot receive commission

1296revenue because it is a state agency. The Department also

1306declines to accept commissions because it fears finding itself in

1316a position where it may have to refund money which has already

1328been transferred to the general fund, possibly an earlier year ' s

1340general fund.

13429. During the RFP process, Securus was aware of the

1352Department ' s interpretation of the FCC order , because it had

1363negotiated the ch ange to its existing contract to end commission

1374payments . The changes did not affect Securus charging inmates

1384the commission. The Department did not include its

1392interpretation of the order in the RFP , as modified by the

1403Addenda.

140410. Commissions on inte rstate calls are significant revenue

1413for the Department.

141611. This case involves the Department ' s second attempt to

1427award a new contract for inmate telecommunication services.

1435Earlier , the Department issued an I nvitation to N egotiate for

1446these services. C enturyLink, Global, and Securus all responded.

1455The Department negotiated with all three.

14611 2 . The Department initially decided to award the contract

1472to CenturyLink. Eventually , the Department rejected all bids

1480after it determined that the scoring languag e and selection

1490criteria were poorly worded. They were subject to different

1499reasonable interpretations that made how the Department would

1507select the winning vendor unclear and made the playing field for

1518vendors unequal.

15201 3 . The vendors protested the deci sion to reject all bids.

1533In upholding the decision to reject all bids, Administrative Law

1543Judge Scott Boyd found at paragraph 70:

1550The Department concluded that the wording

1556and structure of the ITN and RBAFO did not

1565create a level playing field to evaluate

1572replies because they were confusing and

1578ambiguous and were not understood by

1584everyone in the same way. Vendors naturally

1591had structured their replies to maximize

1597their chances of being awarded the contract

1604based upon their understanding of how the

1611replie s would be evaluated. The Department

1618concluded that vendor pricing might have

1624been different but for the misleading

1630language and structure of the ITN and RBAFO.

1638Global Tel Link Corp . v. Dep ' t of Corr . , Case No. 13 - 3041BID

1655(Fla. DOAH Nov. 1, 2013), adopte d in whole , except for correcting

1667two scrivener ' s errors, FDOC Case No. 13 - 81 (Fla. DOC Nov. 25,

16822013).

1683The Request for Proposals

16871 4 . The Department released the RFP seeking to establish a

1699five - year contract with a vendor to provide inmate

1709telecommunicati ons services on March 7, 2014. The Department

1718subsequently issued Addenda 1, 2, and 3 to the RFP. The Addenda

1730included vendor questions and the Department ' s answers. No

1740vendor protested any term, condition , or specification of the RFP

1750or the Addenda.

17531 5 . The RFP sought vendor proposals to provide an inmate

1765telephone system, video visitation system, and other services for

1774inmates housed in the Department ' s facilities. The requested

1784services included the actual service, system design, equipment,

1792installat ion, training, operation, repair, and maintenance at no

1801cost to the Department. The RFP included security, reporting,

1810auditing, and monitoring requirements. It also established the

1818procurement process, including scoring criteria.

18231 6 . Of the RFP ' s 66 page s , only the commission s ' role in

1841pricing, scoring procedure, the score given Securus for its

1850response to RFP section 3.1 5 , and treatment of refunds are the

1862focus of the disputes in this proceeding at this point.

1872Review and Scoring

18751 7 . The RFP established proposal scoring based upon four

1886categories. The chart below reflects the categories, the tab of

1896the RFP in which the scored categories are described, and the

1907maximum points allowed for category.

1912Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements 0 points

1917Executi ve Summary and Other Proposal Submissions 0 points

1926Category 1 -- Business/Corporate Qualifications (Tab 3) 50 points

1935Category 2 -- Project Staff (Tab 4) 200 points

1944Category 3 -- Technical Response (Tab 6) 400 points

1953Category 4 -- Price Proposal 350 points

1960TO TAL POSSIBLE POINTS 1 , 000 points

19671 8 . The RFP breaks each of the categories into components,

1979each referencing and correlating to specific RFP sections. These

1988are found at RFP " Attachment 4 -- Evaluation Criteria. " For each

1999component, the Evaluation Crite ria posed a question. For

2008example, in Category 3, a question asks " How adequately does the

2019Respondent describe their overall capability and process for

2027providing a video visitation system? "

20321 9 . The RFP provides a maximum score for each scoring

2044component, which range from 15 to 50 points depending on the

2055relative importance of the particular component.

206120 . Each proposal was graded on the following qualitative

2071scale: Omitted , Poor , Adequate , Good , and Exceptional. The RFP

2080associate s a point value with ea ch qualitative description for

2091each particular scoring component. For instance, if a component

2100had a maximum score of 25 points, the scoring framework was as

2112follows: Omitted -- 0; Poor -- 6.25; Adequate -- 12.5; Good -- 18.75;

2125and Exceptional -- 25. A score of z ero meant that a vendor

2138completely omitted any information for the item from which a

2148qualitative assessment could be made.

215321 . The RFP directed the vendors how to generally format

2164and package their proposals. Specifically, RFP Section 5

2172(Proposal Submissi on Requirements) stated:

2177All Project Proposals must contain the

2183sections outlined below. Those sections are

2189called " Tabs. " A " Tab , " as used here, is a

2198section separator, offset and labeled,

2203(Example: " Tab 1, Mandatory Responsiveness

2208Requirements " ), such that the Evaluation

2214Committee can easily turn [t] o " Tabbed "

2221sections during the evaluation process.

2226Failure to have all copies properly " tabbed "

2233makes it much more difficult for the

2240Department to evaluate the proposal.

22452 2 . Vendors were to include seven " tabs " within their

2256proposals:

2257a. Tab 1 Mandatory Responsiveness

2262Requirements

2263b. Tab ansmittal Letter with Executive

2269Summary

2270c. T ab 3 Business/Corporate Qualifications

2276d. Tab 4 Project Staff

2281e. Tab 5 Respondent ' s Financial

2288Documentation

2289f. Tab 6 Techni cal Response

2295g. T ab 7 Minority/Service Disabled Veteran

2302Business Enterprise Certification

23052 3 . The RFP gave further instructions about the contents

2316within each tab. RFP Section 5.6 provided the requirements for

2326Tab 6 , Technical Responses. It required ve ndors to provide a

2337narrative technical response identifying how vendors will meet

2345the scope of services required by the RFP and , more specifically ,

2356the scope of services described in RFP Sections 2 (Statement of

2367Need/Services Sought) and 3 (Scope of Servic es). The RFP did not

2379mandate any other formatting requirements for the contents of

2388Tab 6. This becomes significant in the analysis of Securus ' s

2400response to section 3.15 of the RFP.

24072 4 . The RFP advised that the Department would assign an

2419evaluation commi ttee to evaluate proposals. It did not state how

2430many evaluators would be selected to score proposals or whether

2440evaluators would be responsible for scoring proposals in their

2449entirety or just specific portions.

24542 5 . The Department appointed a team of six evaluators:

2465Jon Creamer, Shane Phillips, Randy Agerton, Steve Wilson, Charles

2474Lockwood, and Richard Law.

24782 6 . Mr. Law, a certified public accountant , reviewed each

2489vendor ' s financial submissions on a pass/fail basis. The other

2500five evaluators scored the technical responses, categories one

2508through three.

25102 7 . Julyn Hussey, the procurement officer, trained the

2520evaluators, except for Mr. Law. She provided the evaluators with

2530a training manual, the RFP, the vendors ' proposals, and scoring

2541sheets. During trai ning , Ms. Hussey instructed the evaluators to

2551review proposals in their entirety to properly evaluate and score

2561their various components.

25642 8 . The Department gave the evaluators approximately eight

2574days to evaluate and score the proposals. The evaluators d id not

2586consult with each other during their evaluation. Each evaluator

2595turned his completed score sheet in to Ms. Hussey. She then

2606compiled the technical response scores.

26112 9 . Ms. Hussey also calculated the price scores by taking

2623the prices from the vend ors ' price sheet submissions and applying

2635the RFP price scoring formula. The Department combined the

2644technical and price scores to calculate each vendor ' s total

2655score.

265630 . G lobal received the highest total score with 2,960.42

2668points. Securus was second with 2,911.04 points. CenturyLink

2677was third with 2,727.94 points. Global outscored Securus by

268749 points on a 3,600 - point scale. Global outscored CenturyLink

2699by 232.48 points. Securus outscored CenturyLink by 183.10

2707points.

2708Commissions, Pricing, and an FCC Order

271431 . The vendors ' price proposal was a critical category of

2726the RFP review and evaluation. It was worth 350 of the 1 , 000

2739points available. Only the technical response could score more

2748points, 400. Of the 350 points, 300 points were directed tow ard

2760the inmate telephone service price proposal and 50 points were

2770for the video visitation service price proposal.

27773 2 . The RFP subdivides the inmate telephone service points

2788into 150 possible points for the provider offering the highest

2798commission payment s to the Department; 125 points for the lowest

2809intralata, interlata, intrastate , and interstate per - minute

2817rates; and 25 points for the lowest local and local extended area

2829per - minute rates. The vendor with the most favorable numbers in

2841each subcategory r eceived the maximum points. The rest received

2851a percentage of the maximum points based on a ratio between their

2863bid and the most favorable bid

28693 3. RFP Section 3.8.3, " Rate and Call Charge Requirement s " 3/

2881provided:

2882For the price sheet, the Respondent shall

2889establish a separate single, blended rate per

2896minute, inclusive of all surcharges and

2902department commission rate on the price sheet

2909(attachment 5) for the inmate telephone

2915service and the video visitation service .

2922Local and local extended area service ca lls

2930shall be billed as local calls and shall not

2939exceed $0.50 for a 15 minute phone call.

2947For the price sheet, the Respondent shall

2954establish a single, blended rate per minute,

2961inclusive of all surcharges, for all calls on

2969the North American Dialing Plan, including

2975intralata, interlata, intrastate, and

2979interstate calls which shall not exceed the

2986maximum rate per minute allowed by the

2993Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and

2998appropriate regulatory authority during the

3003time the call is placed. In additio n to the

3013FCC, vendors can contact the state consumer

3020protection agency, Better Business Bureau, or

3026State Attorney General ' s Office to obtain

3034maximum rate per minute information.

3039Note: In accordance with Federal

3044Communications Commission 47 CFR Part 64

3050[WC Docket No. 12 - 375; FCC 13 - 113] -- Rates for

3063Interstate Calling Services -- effective

3068February 11, 2014, no commission shall be

3075paid on revenues earned through the

3081completion of interstate calls of any type

3088received from the Contract

3092Call charges for internati onal calls shall

3099not exceed the maximum rate allowed by the

3107appropriate regulatory authority during the

3112time the call is placed.

3117Local call charges for coin - operated

3124telephone calls at the Work Release Centers

3131shall not exceed thirty - five cents (.35) per

3140local call plus the Local Exchange Carrier

3147(LEC) charges, which vary between LEC ' s.

3155Long distance call charges for coin - operated

3163phones at the Work Release Centers shall be

3171at the same rates for inmate telephone calls.

3179The Contractor shall agree that char ges for

3187calls shall include only the time from the

3195point at which the called party accepts the

3203call and shall end when either party returns

3211to an on - hook condition or until either party

3221attempts a hook flash. There shall be no

3229charges to the called party for any setup

3237time.

3238The Contractor shall not charge, pass on, or

3246pass through to the customer paying for

3253collect or prepaid calls any charges referred

3260to as Local Exchange Carrier ' s (LEC ' s) or

3271Competitive Local Exchange Carrier ' s (CLEC ' s)

3280billing costs, o r any bill rendering fee or

3289billing recovery fee. The Contractor shall

3295also ensure that LEC ' s and CLEC ' s do not

3307charge or pass on to the customer any

3315additional fee or surcharges for billing.

3321The Contractor shall be responsible for any

3328such LEC or CLEC s urcharges incurred if

3336billing through the LEC or CLEC.

3342In addition, the Contractor shall not charge,

3349pass on, or pass through to the customer

3357paying for the collect, prepaid calls or

3364video visitation visits any of the following

3371charges and/or fees:

3374Bill Statement Fee, Funding Fee, Mail - In

3382Payment Fee, Western Union Payment Fee,

3388Refund Fee, Regulatory Recovery Fee, Wireless

3394Admin Fee, Single Bill Fee, Paper Statement

3401Fee, Account Setup Fee, Account Maintenance

3407Fee, Inactive Account Fee, Account Close - Out

3415F ee, Non - Subscriber Line Charge, Inmate

3423Station Service Charge, Third - Party Payment

3430Processing Fee, State Regulatory Recovery

3435Fee, Check/Money Order Processing Fee,

3440Biometric Service Charges, JPay Payment Fee,

3446Federal Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee,

3451Regulator y and Carrier Cost Recovery Fee,

3458Validation Surcharge or Wireless Termination

3463Surcharge.

3464The Contractor shall ensure, inmates ' family

3471and friends utilizing the Florida Relay

3477Service to receive calls from inmates are

3484charged the same rates as those family and

3492friends receiving calls from inmates not

3498utilizing this service. [ emphasis added ] .

35063 4 . The Department intended for the boldface note to advise

3518responding vendors that the vendor would not pay commissions on

3528interstate call revenues. The language rai sed questions which

3537the Department replied to in the Addenda issued after the RFP

3548issued.

35493 5 . None of the Addenda modified the plain statement in

3561section 3.8.3 that " the Respondent shall establish a separate

3570single, blended rate per minute, inclusive of al l surcharges and

3581department commission rate on the price sheet (attachment 5) for

3591the inmate telephone service. "

35953 6 . Section 7.3.1 of the RFP established the requirements

3606for commission and monthly payments. It states:

3613The Contractor shall pay to the Depa rtment a

3622monthly commission based on the percentage of

3629gross revenues as determined through this RFP

3636process. The Department will begin to

3642receive payment for a facility on the date

3650the Contractor assumes responsibility for the

3656operation of that facility ' s inmate

3663telecommunication service in accordance with

3668the Final Transition and Implementation Plan.

36743 7 . Sections 7.3.2 through 7.3.4 contain additional

3683requirements for commission payments, supporting documentation

3689for the commission calculation, and pena lty , if the vendor does

3700not timely make the final commission payment a t the end of the

3713contract. They make the importance of commission payments to the

3723Department clear.

37253 8 . Attachment 5 is a mandatory form for vendors to provide

3738their proposed call an d c ommission rates. It contains the same

3750boldface note about the FCC order as section 3.8.3.

375939 . The form solicited a blended rate and a single

3770commission rate for telephone service s .

377740 . FCC, 47 C . F . R . Part 64 ( WC Docket No. 12 - 375;

3796FCC 13 - 113 ) (FCC ord er), referred to in RFP Section 3.8.3 and

3811Attachment 5, is a commission decision and regulation , effective

3820May 31, 2013, addressing a need for reform in what the FCC

3832determined were " egregious interstate long distance rates and

3840services " in the inmate tele communications business. The FCC

3849identified paying commissions to correctional institutions and

3856including them in the rates charged inmates and their famil ies

3867and other designees as a significant factor contributing to

3876unreasonably high rates for inmate t elecommunications services.

3884The decision also addresse d surcharges and fees. The FCC

3894determined that inmate telecomm unications charges must be cost -

3904based and that commission payments, among other things, could not

3914be included in the costs. The FCC adopt ed subpart FF to

392647 C.F.R. p art 64 of its regulations to regulate inmate calling

3938services.

393941 . The FCC included in subpart FF , section 64.010 , titled ,

3950c ost - based rates for inmate calling services. It states: " All

3962rates charged for Inmate Calling Services and all Ancillary

3971Charges must be based only on costs that are reasonably and

3982directly related to the provision of ICS [inmate calling

3991services]. " This is the rule implementing the FCC ' s decision

4002that commission payments are not included in the reasonabl y and

4013directly related costs.

40164 2 . The FCC made clear that it was not prohibiting payment

4029of or collection of commissions, only prohibiting including them

4038in the costs determining the fee paid by inmates and their

4049designees.

40504 3 . The FCC addressed this in pa ragraph 56 of the order,

4064which states:

4066We also disagree with ICS providers '

4073assertion that the Commission must defer to

4080states on any decisions about site commission

4087payments, their amount, and how such revenues

4094are spent. We do not conclude that ICS

4102prov iders and correctional facilities cannot

4108have arrangements that include site

4113commissions. We conclude only that, under

4119the Act, such commission payments are not

4126costs that can be recovered through

4132interstate ICS rates. Our statutory

4137obligations relate to the rates charged to

4144end users Ï the inmates and the parties whom

4153they call. We say nothing in this Order

4161about how correctional facilities spend their

4167funds or from where they derive. We state

4175only that site commission payments as a

4182category are not a co mpensable component of

4190interstate ICS rates. We note that we would

4198similarly treat " in - kind " payment

4204requirements that replace site commission

4209payments in ICS contracts.

42134 4 . Providers of inmate calling services, including all

4223three vendors in this procee ding, sought review of the decision

4234and regulation by the United States Court of Appeals for the

4245D istrict of Columbia C ircuit. The court stayed section 64.010 ,

4256along with sections 64.6020, and 64.6060.

42624 5 . F ollowing release of the RFP, the Department rece ived

4275and answered inquiries from vendors. The inquiries, the

4283Department ' s responses, and changes to the RFP are contained in

4295Addenda 1, 2, and 3 to the RFP. Rates and commissions received a

4308fair amount of attention in the process.

43154 6 . In response to inqu iries about section 3.8.3 and

4327Attachment 5, the Department changed both with Addendum 2. The

4337questions and Department responses follow .

43434 7 . Question No. 4 states :

4351Page 30: 3.8.3 - Rate and Call Charge

4359Requirements and Attachment 5 Î Blended Call

4366Rates . Regarding the blended rate (inclusive

4373of all surcharges) to be bid Î the current

4382wording could be opportunistically

4386misinterpreted in a few different ways:

4392First in the treatment of per - call versus

4401per - minute fees, based on our understanding,

4409one bidder c ould possibly offer a flat $1.80

4418per call fee for non - local inmate telephone

4427calls and claim to have the same blended rate

4436($1.80/15 minutes = $0.12) as someone bidding

4443$0.12 per minute with no per - call fee. This

4453could occur even though calls average les s

4461than 15 minutes (and many calls are less than

447010 minutes), meaning these two offers are not

4478comparable in terms of overall cost to family

4486members.

4487Second, the RFP wording could also possibly

4494be interpreted as allowing a Contractor to

4501set different rates for different call types

4508(collect/prepaid, intraLATA/interstate) and

4511then averaging them using assumptions they

4517define.

4518Question 1: To minimize cost to family

4525members and make offers comparable, would the

4532Department please explicitly disallow

4536per - call f ees for the inmate telephone system

4546(for example, per - call setup charges,

4553per - call surcharges), allowing only a true

4561per - minute rate?

4565Question 2: If no to Question 1, would the

4574Department require separate disclosure of

4579per - call fees and per - minute rates?

4588Question 3: Would the Department please

4594verify that ALL non - local domestic calls --

4603intraLATA, interLATA, and interstate, for

4608both collect and prepaid - Î must be charged at

4618an identical rate?

46214 8 . Answer No. 4 states:

4628Question 1: Per this Addendum #2, the

4635following revisions will be made to Section

46423.8.3:

4643In 3rd paragraph after first sentence add :

4651The Respondent shall establish a separate

4657single, blended rate per minute inclusive of

4664all surcharges for all local and local

4671extended area calls. These per mi nute rates

4679delete: which

4681Delete 4th paragraph beginning with Note.

4687In 6th paragraph first sentence revised to

4694read: Local call charges for coin - operated

4702telephone calls at the Work Release Centers

4709shall not exceed forty - five cents (.45) per

4718local call plus the Local Exchange Carrier

4725(LEC) charges, which vary between LEC ' s.

4733In 9th paragraph following In addition, the

4740Contractor shall not charge, pass on, or pass

4748through to the customer paying for the

4755collect, prepaid calls or video visitation

4761visits any of the following charges and/or

4768fees: Add Pre - call setup charges, Pre - call

4778surcharges,

4779Delete last paragraph;

4782Question 2: Not applicable,

4786Question 3: Confirmed, per Section 3.8.3 all

4793non - local and local extended area calls must

4802be charged at an iden tical rate.

48094 9 . Question No. 5 states :

4817Attachment 5 - Price Sheet .

4823Page 30 -- Section 3.8.3 states that on the

4832price sheet, the Respondent will provide a

" 4839single, blended rate per minute, inclusive

4845of all surcharges . . . . " Attachment 5

4854states " Blended T elephone Rate for All

4861Calls . . . " To eliminate ambiguity, would

4869the Department consider changing the language

4875in Attachment 5 to read " Blended Telephone

4882Rate Per Minute for All Calls . . . ? " [sic]

489250. Answer No. 5 states :

4898Attachment 5 will be revised t o include

" 4906Blended Telephone Rate Per Minute for All

4913Calls " .

491551 . Question No. 6 states :

4922Page 30: 3.8.3 - Rate and Call Charge

4930Requirements . The fourth paragraph states

4936that " In accordance with Federal

4941Communications Commission 47 CFR Part 64

4947[WC Docket No. 12 - 375; FCC 13 - 113] -- Rates for

4960Interstate Calling Services -- effective

4965February 11, 2014, no commission shall be

4972paid on revenues earned through the

4978completion of interstate calls of any type

4985received from the Contract. "

4989Respectfully, this interpretati on of the

4995FCC ' s Order is incorrect. The Order, without

5004question, does not prohibit the payment of

5011commissions on interstate calls. Also, rules

5017regarding future cost - based regulation

5023(including consideration of commissions in

5028rate - setting) have been staye d by the D.C.

5038Circuit Court of Appeals, and FL DOC

5045interstate rates are well below the FCC rate

5053caps that have been left in place by the

5062Court. This is why most providers have

5069continued to pay commissions on interstate

5075calling, in compliance with their co ntracts.

5082Q. Will the State consider removing this

5089paragraph from the RFP in order to ensure

5097revenue for the State and a level playing

5105field across providers?

51085 2 . Answer No. 6:

5114Section 3.8.3 and Attachment 5 -- Price Sheet

5122is amended, per this Addendum to remove the

5130paragraph. In addition, Section 7.3.1 has

5136also been amended, per this Addendum, to

5143state that commissions will be paid in

5150accordance with all Federal, State and Local

5157regulations and guidelines.

51605 3 . Further questions and clarifications followe d. They

5170are found in Addendum 3 to the RFP.

51785 4 . Question No. 2 states :

5186In Addendum No. 2; Answer #4 Revises Section

51943.8.3 by revising the 3 rd paragraph

5201Instructions are to add the following

5207language:

5208The Respondent shall establish a separate

5214single, blen ded rate per minute inclusive of

5222all surcharges for all local and local

5229extended area calls. These per minute rates

5236( delete : which)

5240For the price sheet, the Respondent shall

5247establish a single, blended rate per minute,

5254inclusive of all surcharges, for all calls on

5262the North American Dialing Plan, including

5268intralata, interlata, intrastate, and

5272interstate calls which shall not exceed the

5279maximum rate per minute allowed by the

5286Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and

5291appropriate regulatory authority durin g the

5297time the call is placed. The Respondent

5304shall establish a separate single, blended

5310rate per minute inclusive of all surcharges

5317for all local and local extended area calls.

5325These per minute rates ( deIete [sic]: which).

5333I n addition to the FCC, vendor s can contact

5343the state consumer protection agency, Better

5349Business Bureau, or State Attorney General ' s

5357Office to obtain maximum rate per minute

5364information.

5365The instructions to add " These per minute

5372rates (delete: which) " does not fit with the

5380instructio ns. The word " which " is not

5387included in this area of paragraph 3.

5394Question #2: Can the Department please

5400clarify?

54015 5 . A nswer No. 2 states :

5410To further clarify 3.8.3, paragraph 3 is

5417revised to read as follows:

5422For the price sheet, the Respondent shall

5429e stablish a single, blended rate per minute,

5437inclusive of all surcharges, for all calls on

5445the North American Dialing Plan, including

5451intralata, interlata, intrastate, and

5455interstate calls. The Respondent shall also

5461establish a separate single, blended rat e per

5469minute inclusive of all surcharges for all

5476local and local extended area calls. Both of

5484these per minute rates shall not exceed the

5492maximum rate per minute allowed by the

5499Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and

5504appropriate regulatory authority d uring the

5510time the call is placed. In addition to the

5519FCC, vendors can contact the state consumer

5526protection agency, Better Business Bureau, or

5532State Attorney General ' s Office to obtain

5540maximum rate per minute information.

55455 6 . Question No. 3 states :

5553Ques tion: Is the Department requiring the

5560successful Respondent to pay commissions on

5566revenues generated through the completion of

5572interstate calls?

55745 7. Answer No. 3 states :

5581The Department ' s position is that the

5589collection of commission rates will be

5595determi ned by the FCC ruling 47 CFR Part 64

5605[WC docket no. 12 - 375; FCC13 - 113].

5614For purposes of this solicitation the

5620Department requests respondents submit a

5625commission rate for interstate calls. The

5631Department will comply with any future FCC

5638ruling.

56395 8 . Quest ion No. 10 states :

5648Section 7.3.1 was revised to include:

" 5654Commissions will be paid in accordance with

5661all Federal, State and Local regulations and

5668guidelines. " There are no Federal, State, or

5675Local regulations and guidelines which

5680require phone vendors t o pay commissions on

5688interstate calling. Thus, in not paying

5694commissions on interstate calling, there

5699would be no violation of any Federal, State,

5707or Local regulation or guideline. The

5713requirement as to whether or not commissions

5720will be paid on intersta te calling must come

5729from FL DOC and must be clearly indicated in

5738the RFP. If not clearly indicated one way or

5747another, we fear some vendors may have an

5755unfair advantage as commissions are not

5761currently being paid and there does not seem

5769to be a complianc e issue with the current

5778contract which requires such commissions.

5783a. Please, clearly specify whether or not

5790commissions are required to be paid on

5797interstate calls.

57995 9. Answer No. 10 states :

5806Please see answer to question 3.

581260. The Department never def initively stated whether it

5821would ultimately collect commissions on interstate revenues. Nor

5829did it provide a means for vendors to propose rates or

5840commissions based upon whatever the Department concluded were the

5849most likely scenarios resulting from the FCC order and appeal.

5859But the Department ' s RFP persisted in the RFP requirement that

5871the bidders must include the commission in the calculation of

5881their blended rate for the price proposal. This stands in

5891contrast to the RFP ' s lengthy list of items , such as bill

5904statement fees, paper statement fee s , and account setup fee s,

5915which could not be included in the rate. These are i t e ms , like

5930the commissions , that the FCC order said could not be part of the

5943fee base.

594561. A vendor , who did not calculate the commi ssion in the

5957blended rate , would have a significant price advantage over a

5967vendor who included the commission in its blended rate. It could

5978propose lower rates and/or higher commissions while maintaining

5986its profit margin. That is because although the pr ice sheet

5997identifies a commission, the commission is not accounted for in

6007the blended rate.

601062. CenturyLink included payment of a commission rate of

601965.3 percent on interstate calls in the blended rate it provided

6030on Attachment 5. This action is a reasona ble application of the

6042statements of the RFP and the Addenda about blended rates,

6052commissions, and the cryptic statement about plans to follow the

6062FCC order.

60646 3. CenturyLink proposed a blended rate that did " establish

6074a separate single, blended rate per m inute, inclusive of all

6085surcharges and department commission rate . "

60916 4. If CenturyLink had not included the commission payment

6101on interstate calls in its blended rates, it could have bid

6112higher commissions, lower rates, or a combination of both.

61216 5. Secur us identified a commission percentage for all

6131calls of 73 percent on its Attachment 5 price sheet. Securus did

6143not include the cost of paying a commission on interstate calls

6154in calculating the blended rate that it submitted. This allowed

6164Securus to subm it a lower blended rate tha n it would otherwise

6177have had to submit to achieve the same revenue from the contract.

61896 6. The blended rate that Securus proposed did not

" 6199establish a separate single, blended rate per minute, inclusive

6208of all surcharges and depa rtment commission rate . "

62176 7. Global identified a commission percentage of 46 percent

6227for all calls in its Attachment 5 price sheet. In determining

6238the proposed rates for interstate calls, Global did not include

6248or assume payment of the commission percenta ge rate. This

6258allowed it to submit lower blended rates and/or a higher

6268commission rate.

62706 8. G lobal did not intend to or think it would be required

6284to pay commission rates on interstate calls. This was based on

6295its evaluation of the FCC order , the appeal , and the Department ' s

6308decision not to accept commission payments on interstate calls

6317under its current contract with Securus. This is why it did not

6329include the commission as a cost when calculating the blended

6339rate.

63406 9. Global chose to take the business risk that its

6351evaluation of the FCC order would be correct. If it was

6362incorrect and a commission payment was required, G lobal was

6372prepared to make the payment , even though it would not have been

6384collected from inmates and their designees through the blend ed

6394rate.

639570. The blended rate proposed by Global did not " establish

6405a separate single, blended rate per minute, inclusive of all

6415surcharges and department commission rate . "

64217 1. Ms. Hussey applied the formula in the RFP to determine

6433points awarded each vend or for its price proposal. This

6443calculation was a ministerial function that did not call for any

6454exercise of judgment or discretion.

64597 2. The overall cost ranking scores were: Global 280.42,

6469Securus 276.04, and CenturyLink 232.94.

647473. The scores for the commission s were: Global 94.52,

6484Securus 150, and CenturyLink 134.18.

648974. The scores for the blended rates for inmate telephone

6499services that included interstate services were: Global 125,

6507Securus 56.25, and CenturyLink 50.90. This difference reflects

6515the vendors ' differing treatment of commissions when proposing

6524their blended rates.

65277 5. The Department did not know during the evaluation

6537process that Global and Securus had not included or assumed

6547payment of the commission in its proposed rates for inter state

6558calls. The Department learned this during discovery in this

6567proceeding.

65687 6. Not including commission payments on interstate calls

6577in the proposed blended rate was contrary to the instructions of

6588the RFP.

6590Securus Response to RFP Section 3.15

65967 7 . The Department awarded Securus zero points for the

6607question of " [h] ow adequate is the Respondent ' s plan to meet the

6621performance measures outlined in section 3.15 of the RFP? " This

6631criterion related to the performance measures of RFP Section 3.15,

6641for which pr oposals could earn 125 total points. The difference

6652between zero and the possible maximum points would have made a

6663difference in winning and losing the contract award for Securus.

66737 8 . The score of zero is a factual finding by the Department

6687that Securus ' s 600 - plus - page proposal had no information from

6701which evaluators could qualitatively assess the proposal by that

6710criterion.

67117 9 . A score of zero is not a qualitative assessment , like a

6725score of " poor " or " exceptional. " A score of zero reflects a

6736finding th at information is completely absent.

674380 . T he e valuation c riteria score sheet, RFP Attachment 4,

6756provided factors to be considered in evaluating and scoring

6765proposals. It presented the factors to evaluators in the form of

6776questions to evaluators. For sect ion 3.15 , the question and

6786accompanying scores allowed were: How adequate is the

6794Respondent ' s plan to meet the performance measures outlined in

6805section 3.15 of this RFP? ( Omitted - 0 ; Poor - 6.25; Adequate - 12.5;

6820Good - 18.75; and Exceptional - 25. )

68288 1 . Because t he Department allowed each evaluator to score

6840this factor, a total of 125 points was ultimately available to the

6852vendors.

68538 2 . RFP Section 3.15 provides :

68613.15 Performance Measures

6864Upon execution of this contract, Contractor

6870agrees to be held accountable fo r the

6878achievement of certain performance measures

6883in successfully delivering services under

6888this Contract. The following Performance

6893Measure categories shall be used to measure

6900Contractor ' s performance and delivery of

6907services.

6908Note: the Contractor shal l comply with all

6916contract terms and conditions upon execution

6922of contract and the Department may monitor

6929each site upon implementation of services at

6936that site to ensure that contract

6942requirements are being met. The Department

6948reserves the right to add/d elete performance

6955measures as needed to ensure the adequate

6962delivery of services.

69651) Performance Outcomes and Standards; and

69712) Other Contract Requirements.

6975A description of each of the Performance

6982Measure categories is provided below :

69888 3. RFP Section 3.15 was divided into two components.

6998Section 3.15.1 listed key " Performance Outcomes and Standards "

7006deemed most critical to the success of the contract and required

7017that " the contractor shall ensure that the stated performance

7026outcomes and standards are met. " The k ey elements were :

7037(1) Completion of Routine Service, (2) Completion of Major

7046Emergency Repair Service, and (3) Commission and Call/Video

7054Visitation Detail Report (Invoice Documentation).

70598 4. The first is RFP Section 3.15.1. It provides:

70693.15.1 Performance Outcomes and Standards

7074Listed below are the key Performance Outcomes

7081and Standards deemed most crucial to the

7088success of the overall desired inmate

7094telecommunication service. The contractor

7098shall ensure that the stated performance

7104outcomes a nd standards (level of achievement)

7111are met. Performance shall be measured as

7118indicated, beginning the second month after

7124which service has been fully implemented.

71301. Completion of Routine Services

7135Outcome: All requests for routine service

7141(as defined in Section 1.22) shall be

7148completed within twenty - four (24) hours of

7156request for service from the Department,

7162unless otherwise instructed by the

7167Department.

7168Measure: Compare the date/time that service

7174is completed to the date/time that the

7181request for s ervice was received from the

7189Department by the Contractor. ( Measure

7195Monthly).

7196Standard: Ninety percent (90%) of routine

7202service requests shall be completed within

7208twenty - four (24) hours of notice from the

7217Department.

72182. Completion of Major Emergency R epair

7225Service

7226Outcome: A ll major emergency repair service

7233(as outlined in Section 3.10.8) shall be

7240completed within twelve (12) hours of request

7247for repair from the Department, unless

7253otherwise instructed by the Department.

7258Measure: Compare the date/ti me that major

7265emergency repair service is completed to the

7272date/time that the request for major

7278emergency repair service was received from

7284the Department by the Contractor. ( Measure

7291Monthly).

7292Standard: Ninety percent (90%) of routine

7298service requests sh all be completed within

7305twelve (12) hours of notice from the

7312Department.

73133. Commission and Call/Video Visitation

7318Detail Report (Invoice Documentation):

7322Outcome: The Contractor shall provide the

7328Commission and Call/Video Visitation Detail

7333Report to the Contract Manager or designee as

7341specified in Section 7.3.3 within thirty (30)

7348days of the last day of the Contractor ' s

7358regular billing cycle.

7361Measure: Compare the date the Commission and

7368Call/Video Visitation Detail Report was

7373received with the last day of the

7380Contractor ' s regular billing cycle. ( Measure

7388Monthly).

7389Standard: One hundred percent (100%) of

7395Commission and Call Detail Reports shall be

7402received within thirty (30) days of the last

7410day of the Contractor ' s regular billing

7418cycle.

7419Upon execution of this Contract, the

7425Contractor hereby acknowledges and agrees

7430that its performance under the Contract shall

7437meet the standards set forth above. Any

7444failure by the Contractor to achieve any

7451outcome and standard identified above may

7457result in assessment of Liquidated Damages as

7464provided in Section 3.17. Any such

7470assessment and/or subsequent payment thereof

7475shall not affect the Contractor ' s obligation

7483to provide services as required by this

7490Contract.

74918 5. Section 3.15.2 advised that the Department will mo nitor

7502the contractor ' s performance to determine compliance with the

7512contract. It states:

75153.15.2 Other Contract Requirements

7519Standard: The Department will monitor the

7525Contractor ' s performance to determine

7531compliance with other contract requirement s ,

7537incl uding, but not limited to, the following:

7545¤ Video Visitation System (as outlined in

7552Section 3.7)

7554¤ Inmate Telecommunication System

7558Functionality (as outlined in Section

75633.7)

7564¤ Transition/Implementation/Installation of

7567System

7568¤ Bi - Annual Audit

7573¤ Timely Sub mittal of Corrective Action

7580Plans (when applicable)

7583Measure: Failure to meet the agreed - upon

7591Final Transition/Implementation/Installation

7593schedule or failure to meet (compliance with

7600other terms and conditions of the contract or

7608contract requirements lis ted above) may

7614result in the imposition of liquidated

7620damages

76218 6. Each of the three items in section 3.15.1 and the five

7634items in s ection 3.15.2 relate directly to a particular provision

7645within RFP Section 3 titled , " Scope of Services. "

76538 7. Section 3.15. 1 related to RFP Sections 1.22 and 3.10.7

7665(Routine Maintenance), 3.10.8 (Major Emergency Repair Service),

7672and 7.3.3 (Detail Report). Section 3.15.1 specifically identifies

7680the last two.

76838 8. Similarly, s ection 3.15.2 cross referenced s ection 3.7

7694(Telecommu nications Services System Functionality) for the first

7702two performance measure items.

77068 9. Two others items relate directly to s ections 3.5

7717(Facility Implementation Plan and Transition of Service), 3.6

7725(Installation Requirements), and 3.11 (Bi - Annual Audit ). This is

7736significant because Sections 3.5, 3.6, and 3. 11 were independently

7746scored.

774790. In other words, the RFP required that the proposals

7757contain a narrative explaining how vendors planned to provide the

7767services required by each of those sections.

77749 1. The RFP did not require the proposals to contain a

7786separately delineated section titled , " 3.15. " It only required

7794that each proposal include , under " Tab 6 , " a narrative description

7804of the vendor ' s solution and plan to meet the performance

7816measures.

7817Ev aluation of Responses to Section 3.15

78249 2. Global included a specifically labeled s ection 3.15 in

7835its response. It essentially copied and pasted the RFP language

7845for Sections 3.15, 3.15.1, and 3.15.2 , and after each subsection ,

7855inserted the words " GTL [Glo bal] Response: GTL understands and

7865complies. " Global did not provide a substantive narrative under

7874the heading , s ection 3.15. CenturyLink ' s labeled response to

7885section 3.15 was very similar.

78909 3. The evaluators reviewed the section of Global ' s proposal

7902l abeled as responsive to section 3.15. The maximum score the

7913evaluators could award per evaluator was 25 points. Global earned

7923scores of 25, 18.75, 12.5, 12.5, and 12.5 from M essrs . Lockwood,

7936Agerton, P hillips, Creamer, and Wilson, respectively.

79439 4. The evaluators reviewed CenturyLink ' s proposal labeled

7953as responsive to section 3.15. It also earned scores of 25,

796418.75, 12.5, 12.5, and 12.5 from M essrs . Lockwood, Agerton,

7975Phillips, Creamer, and Wilson, respectively.

79809 5. All five evaluators reviewed copies of the vendors '

7991proposals. Some evaluators performed a section - by - section and

8002some performed side - by - side evaluations of the proposals.

80139 6. Since Securus did not have a labeled s ection 3.15 and

8026the other proposers did, the evaluators scored Securus ' s pr oposal

8038as " Omitted - 0 " for s ection 3.15.

804697. After their initial review of Securus ' s proposal, three

8057evaluators raised concerns with the Department ' s procurement

8066officer, Ms. Hussey, over their inability to find a section in the

8078Securus proposal specificall y identified as a response to

8087Section 3.15.

80899 8. Ms. Hussey reiterated the instruction given during

8098evaluator training to review proposals in their entirety when

8107scoring any component of the RFP.

81139 9. None of those evaluators changed their scores of

" 8123omitt ed " for s ection 3.15 of Securus ' s proposal after receiving

8136Ms. Hussey ' s additional instruction and presumably performing a

8146second review of Securus ' s proposal.

8153100. RFP Section 3.15 included cross references to

8161s ections 3.7 and 3.10.8. Following these r eferenced sections to

8172the matching section numbers in the Securus proposal reveal s

8182narratives addressing the s ection 3.15 requirements. In addition ,

8191these cross - referenced sections were separately scored by each

8201evaluator during his review of each vendor ' s Telecommunications

8211Service System Functionality and Telecommunication Service

8217Equipment Requirements.

821910 1 . Securus ' s proposal complied with the RFP specifications

8231by affirming Securus ' s commitment to comply with s ection 3.15

8243throughout the proposal. A lthough Securus ' s proposal did not

8254include a separate t abbed section addressing Securus ' s plan to

8266meet the s ection 3.15 performance measures, Securus provided a

8276narrative explaining how Securus would meet each performance

8284measure required in s ection 3.15. Securus also provided

8293narratives explaining how it would meet and provide the scope of

8304service of each one of the performance measures of Section 3.15.

831510 2 . The first performance measure in RFP Section 3.15.1

8326required that 90 percent of all routine servi ce be completed

8337within 24 hours of the Department giving notice to the vendor.

8348The routine service requirement was located at s ection 3.10.7.

835810 3 . In its proposal, behind Tab 6 and labeled " 3.10.7

8370Routine Service, " on page 388, Securus ' s response stated :

8381All routine service shall be completed within

8388twenty - four (24) hours of the initial system

8397failure notice, service request for service

8403or equipment failure or liquidated damages

8409may be imposed as stated in Section 3.17.

8417Securus has read, understands, and complies.

8423Securus Field Repair staff is strategically

8429located throughout the state to be able to

8437respond to all repair service needs in order

8445to meet all repair service needs. Securus

8452will continue to complete all routine

8458service, as we do under the existing

8465contract, within twenty - four (24) hours if

8473the initial system failure notice, service

8479request for service or equipment failure or

8486liquidated damages may be imposed as stated

8493in Section 3.17.

849610 4 . This response complied with the RFP requirement. It

8507could not rationally be deemed omitted.

851310 5 . The second performance measure in RFP Section 3.15.1

8524required that 90 percent of all major emergency repair services

8534(as outlined in s ection 3.10.8) be completed within 12 hours of

8546the Department giving no tice to the vendor. This performance

8556measure cross - referenced s ection 3.10.8.

856310 6 . Securus ' s proposal behind Tab 6 and labeled " 3.10.8

8576Major Emergency Repair Service , " addressed the emergency repairs

8584stating:

8585All major emergency service shall be

8591complete d within twelve (12) hours of the

8599initial system failure notice request or

8605liquidated damages may be imposed as stated

8612in Section 3.17.

8615Securus has read, understands, and complies.

8621Securus Field Repair staff is strategically

8627located throughout the stat e to be able to

8636respond to all repair service needs in order

8644to meet all repair service needs. Securus

8651will continue to complete all major emergency

8658service, as we do under the existing

8665contract, within twelve (12) hours if the

8672initial system failure noti ce, service

8678request for service or equipment failure or

8685liquidated damages may be imposed as stated

8692in Section 3.17.

8695Securus ' s response complied with the RFP requirement. It could

8706not rationally be deemed omitted.

871110 7. The third performance measure in RFP Section 3.15.1

8721required that the Commission and Call/Video Visitation Detail

8729Report (Invoice Documentation) be provided to the contract manager

8738or designee , as specified in s ection 7.3.3 at the end of every

8751month with the contractor ' s regular billing cycle. Securus

8761addressed this requirement behind Tab 6 in a section labeled " 2.4

8772Revenue to be Paid the Department, " on page 107.

878110 8 . Securus ' s response stated:

8789This RFP will result in a Revenue Generating

8797Contract. The Contractor shall pay the

8803Departm ent a commission based on a percentage

8811of gross revenue. The Contractor shall be

8818responsible for collections and fraud, and

8824shall not make any deductions from gross

8831revenue for uncollectible accounts, billing

8836fees or other administrative costs prior to

8843ap plying the commission percentage.

8848Notwithstanding the above, gross revenue

8853shall not include taxes charged by an

8860appropriate governmental entity. The monthly

8865commission amount is obtained by multiplying

8871the commission percentage times each month ' s

8879total c harges.

8882The successful contractor shall submit a

8888Commission and Call/Video Visitation Detail

8893Documentation for Monthly Payment report as

8899indicated in Section 7.3.3 with the monthly

8906commission payment.

8908Securus has read, understands and complies.

8914Securu s will provide the monthly payment

8921report as required and will provide all

8928appropriate auditing detail required upon

8933request from the Department.

893710 9. This response complies with the RFP requirement and

8947cannot rationally be deemed omitted.

89521 10 . Some e valuators acknowledged that they did not factor

8964Section 3.15.2 into their scoring of Securus ' s proposal.

897411 1 . The terms of the RFP require considering s ection 3.15.2

8987during the scoring of s ection 3.15. It is part of that section.

9000Failing to consider Sec urus ' s narrative related to s ection 3.15.2

9013is not rational.

901611 2 . As with section 3.15.1, Securus ' s proposal complied

9028with the RFP Section 3.15.2. Securus committed to complying with

9038the requirements of s ection 3.15.2 throughout its proposal.

904711 3 . The record does not prove whether each evaluator

9058re - reviewed the cross - referenced sections identified in

9068Section 3.15. But Mr. Phillips did. Despite seeing the exact

9078language in those sections as required in the " Outcome " portion of

9089Section 3.15, Mr. Philli ps awarded Securus a score of zero

9100because, in his mind, " key parts of 3.15 " were not addressed.

911111 4 . Th e conclusion that Securus entirely omitted a plan to

9124address Section 3.15 ' s requirements is irrational and clearly

9134erroneous. Something was there. A score of omitted is not

9144supported.

914511 5 . Mr. Phillips also did not score s ection 3.15

9157consistently with the way he scored another section of Securus ' s

9169proposal. He originally gave Securus a score of zero for

9179s ection 3.14 entitled , Training, because he di d not find a

9191specifically delineated section titled s ection 3.14 in Securus ' s

9202response.

920311 6 . But Mr. Phillips changed his score before submitting it

9215to Ms. Hussey because upon further review of Securus ' s proposal,

9227he found some aspects that addressed the training requirements of

9237s ection 3.14. He scored that section accordingly. This

9246highlights the error in evaluators not doing the same with

9256section 3.15 .

925911 7 . The evaluators irrationally concluded that Securus

9268failed to include in its technical proposal any information

9277explaining how it would meet the performance standards and

9286outcomes of s ection 3.15. Some evaluators relied on the theory

9297that Securus did not " acknowledge " the outcomes and standards. As

9307established above, Securus acknowledged that " the Performance

9314Outcomes and Standards are crucial to the success of the overall

9325inmate telephone service, " and throughout its technical response,

9333Securus addressed all the required outcomes and standards.

934111 8 . Securus mentioned and acknowledged the performa nce

9351outcomes and standards a total of six times in its proposal:

9362twice on page 42 and once on each of pages 100, 138, 160, and 392.

9377Three of those pages were narrative responses to s ections 3.7

9388and 3.11, which are specifically included as part of s ection 3.15.

940011 9 . Some evaluators also claimed that Securus never

9410expressly agreed to be bound by the performance measures of

9420s ection 3.15. That may theoretically affect the qualitative

9429evaluation of the response , b ut it does not support a finding that

9442the inf ormation was omitted.

94471 20 . Also, the RFP did not require a vendor to specifically

9460delineate each of the 18 subsections of s ection 3 in its response.

9473To comply with the Technical Response section of the RFP, a vendor

9485needed to address, in narrative form, its plan to provide the

9496scope of services outlined in s ection 3.

950412 1 . This was not disputed. Several Department employees

9514testified and agreed that a response to the RFP did not require

9526specifically delineated sections of the response that mirrored the

9535delineation of the RFP.

9539Inclusion of Prohibited Fees

954312 2 . In Addendum 2, the Department asked the vendors to

9555provide a sample refund policy. The policies were not described

9565as or intended to be final refund policies that would be used in

9578administration of the contract. The terms of a refund policy, if

9589any, would be negotiated with the winning vendor, subject to the

9600requirements of the RFP, including the prohibition against

9608including fees in the blended rate.

961412 3 . The sample policies of Securus and G lobal included

9626some costs or forfeitures for obtaining a refund depending on how

9637and when the inmate sought the refund. These are not prohibited

9648fees or even items agreed to in the RFP. They are only samples.

9661The evidence does not prove that the sample refund policies

9671violate the requirement of section 3.8.3.

9677Scoring

967812 4 . The review and evaluation process described in

9688section 6 of the RFP identified the maximum number of points that

9700could be awarded for each part of the inmate calling services

9711project. The total number of possible points was 1,000. The

9722sections and points allotted to them were as follows: Mandatory

9732Responsiveness Requirements -- 0, Executive Summary and O ther

9741Proposal Submissions -- 0, Business/Corporate Qualification -- 50,

9749Project Staff -- 200, Technical Response -- 400, and Price

9759Proposal -- 350. This allowed 350 points for the pricing section

9770and 650 for the remaining technical sections.

977712 5 . Because each evaluator scored the technical sections,

9787the cumulative totals of their scores exceed 1,000. Securus

9797maintains that this scoring is inconsistent with the process

9806described in the RFP.

981012 6 . But each evaluator scored the technical portion of the

9822proposals within the maximum 650 total points available to each

9832vendor. And the procurement st aff scored the price proposals

9842within the maximum 350 points available for price to each vendor .

985412 7 . Applying the RFP ' s mathematical scoring methodology to

9866the price proposals, the procurement staff scored the pricing as

9876follows: Global 280.42, Securu s 276.04, and CenturyLink 232.94.

9885The scoring for each was within the RFP ' s 350 - point maximum.

989912 8 . The scores given by each evaluator for the technical

9911portion of the vendors ' p roposals are as follows:

9921Shane Steve Jon Charles Randy

9926EVALUATORS: Phillips Wilson Creame r Lockwood Agerton

9933CenturyLink 722.94 857.94 707.94 776.69 734.19

9939Securus 749.79 808.54 702.29 834.79 779.79

9945G lobal 782.92 880.42 751.67 859.17 802.92

995212 9 . Each evaluator ' s technical score when combined with

9964the pricing score was within the RFP ' s 1,000 - point maximum.

99781 30 . Ms. Hussey totaled all the evaluator ' s technical

9990scores for each vendor with the pricing score for that vendor.

10001The resulting number exceeded 1,000. The award memorandum

10010presented the totals , as follows:

10015Ranking = C ost Total Evaluator Scores (As Posted)

10024Commission Evaluation Total Ranking

10028Rates Scores

10030G lobal 280.42 2,680.00 2,960.42 1

10038CenturyLink 232.94 2,495.00 2,727.94 3

10045Securus 276.04 2,635.00 2,911.04 2

1005213 1 . This method of compilation did not affect t he relative

10065ranking of the vendors.

1006913 2 . If the technical scores awarded by the five evaluators

10081are averaged and added to the pricing scores, the points total

10092for each vendor is under 1,000. And the ranking of the vendors

10105does not change.

10108Ranking = Cos t Evaluator Scores (Evaluator Scores Averaged)

10117Commission Rates Evaluation Scores Total Ranking

10123G lobal 280.42 535.00 815.42 1

10129CenturyLink 232.94 499.00 731.94 3

10134Securus 276.04 527.00 803.04 2

1013913 3 . Averaging in this fashion is consistent with th e RFP.

1015213 4 . The evidence does not prove the Department erred in

10164scoring the proposals.

10167CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1017013 5 . The Division of Administrative Hearings has

10179jurisdiction over the parties and of the subject matter of this

10190proceeding. §§ 120.569 and 120.57, Fla. Stat.

1019713 6 . CenturyLink and Securus bear the burden of proving the

10209proposed award of the contract to Global does not comply with

10220legal standards. § 120.57(3)(f), Fla. Stat.

1022613 7 . This is a de novo proceeding. § 120.57(3)(f), Fla.

10238Stat. But it is not a typical de novo proceeding in which a

10251factual basis for the Department ' s decision or error must be

10263proven by the evidence. The Florida Legislature has established

10272a specific standard of review and standard of proof for

10282administrative hearings on pr otests to the Department ' s proposals

10293to contract through the competitive procurement process.

1030013 8 . These statutory standards do not require a

10310determination that the Department has made the best decision or

10320the only decision or the decision that the trie r - of - fact would

10335have made. The legislatively established standards state:

10342Unless otherwise provided by statute, the

10348burden of proof shall rest with the party

10356protesting the proposed agency action. In a

10363competitive - procurement protest, other than a

10370reject ion of all bids, proposals, or replies,

10378the administrative law judge shall conduct a

10385de novo proceeding to determine whether the

10392agency ' s proposed action is contrary to the

10401agency ' s governing statutes, the agency ' s

10410rules or policies, or the solicitation

10416sp ecifications. The standard of proof for

10423such proceedings shall be whether the

10429proposed agency action was clearly erroneous,

10435contrary to competition, arbitrary, or

10440capricious. § 120.57(3)(f) , Fla. Stat.

1044513 9 . The Recommended Order in Health Management S ystems v.

10457Agency for Health Care Admin istration , Case No. 08 - 2566BID at 21

10470(Fla. DOAH Aug. 15, 2008 ; Fla. AHCA Aug. 28, 2008) , defines

" 10481clearly erroneous, contrary to competition, arbitrary, or

10488capricious , " as:

10490Agency action will be found to be " clearly

10498e rroneous " if it is without rational support

10506and, consequently, the trier - of - fact has a

" 10516definite and firm conviction that a mistake

10523has been committed. " U.S. v. U.S. Gypsum

10530Co. , 333 U.S. 364, 395 (1948).

1053649. An act is " contrary to competition " if

10544it un reasonably interferes with the

10550objectives of competitive bidding, which are:

10556To protect the public against collusive

10562contracts; to secure fair competition upon

10568equal terms to all bidders; to remove not

10576only collusion but temptation for collusion

10582and oppo rtunity for gain at public expense;

10590to close all avenues to favoritism and fraud

10598in various forms; to secure the best values

10606for the [public] at the lowest possible

10613expense; and to afford an equal advantage to

10621all desiring to do business with the

10628[governme nt], by affording an opportunity for

10635an exact comparison of bids.

10640Wester v. Belote , 138 So. 721, 723 - 24 (Fla.

106501931).

1065150. " An action is ' arbitrary if it is not

10661supported by logic or the necessary facts, '

10669and ' capricious if it is adopted without

10677thought or reason or is irrational. '" Hadi

10685v. Liberty Behavioral Health Corp. , 927 So.

106922d 34, 38 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006).

10699Pricing

107001 40 . The facts proven by the preponderance of the

10711persuasive evidence in this cause prove that Global and Securus

10721submitted prices th at did not include, as section 3.8.3 of the

10733RFP required, " a separate single, blended rate per minute,

10742inclusive of all surcharges and department commission rate on the

10752price sheet (attachment 5) for the inmate telephone service and

10762the video visitation se rvice. " The facts also prove that they

10773did not disclose this information to the Department.

1078114 1 . Awarding the inmate telecommunications service

10789contract to either of them would be contrary to the RFP ' s

10802solicitation standards.

1080414 2 . The Global and Securus proposals also undermine the

10815Department ' s ability to secure the best value for the public at

10828the lowest possible expense. Since they do not include all of

10839the price elements required by the RFP , the Department cannot and

10850did not conduct a meaningful pric e comparison of them and the

10862CenturyLink proposal.

1086414 3 . This is not a minor irregularity as defined in

10876section 1.19 of the RFP. It affects approximately 12 percent of

10887the revenue under the proposed contract and provided Global a

10897substantial advantage. T ropabest Foods, Inc. v. Dep ' t of Gen.

10909Serv. , 493 So. 2d 50, 52 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986). Commissions are

10921also critical factors both to the price paid by inmates and their

10933designees and the Department , should it collect the revenue.

10942They are also an important variable considered by vendors when

10952they construct their proposals. Basing a decision on prices that

10962do not include commissions when the RFP required including them ,

10972is contrary to competition , clearly erroneous, arbitrary, and

10980capricious. See Pro Tech M onitoring , Inc. v. Dep ' t of Corr. ,

10993Case No. 11 - 5794 BID (DOAH April 4, 2012; Fla. Dep ' t of Corr.

11009May 1, 2012) ( V endor ' s d ecision not to list all state, federal,

11025and government contracts for electronic monitoring as required by

11034the RFP provided direct compe titive advantage; Department ' s

11044failure to enforce the requirement was clearly erroneous,

11052contrary to completion, arbitrary, and capricious.)

1105814 4 . Not including the commissions in the blended rate also

11070made the competition between the three vendors unfai r and

11080unequal.

11081145. This is not a matter of raising a specifications

11091protest in an award protest. This is a matter of specifications

11102not being followed. At the least, the parties had differing

11112interpretations of the meaning and effect of the FCC order . The

11124RFP provided no guidance on the issue. Awarding the contract in

11135these circumstances denies CenturyLink the equal advantage the

11143competitive procurement laws were enacted to provide. Wester v.

11152Belote , 138 So. 721, 723 - 24 (Fla. 1931).

11161RFP Section 3. 15

11165146. The documents proved , and several Department

11172representatives acknowledge , that the Securus proposal contained

11179the required narrative responsive to, at a minimum, some of the

11190elements of section 3.15. The failure to consider and award some

11201points for the Securus response is not rational, not supported by

11212logic, and clearly erroneous. The effect is contrary to

11221competition because it severely undermined the ability of the

11230Department to award the contract to a competent possible

11239provider.

11240Scoring

11241147 . Section 287.057(1)(b), Florida Statutes, governing

11248requests for proposals, requires that the RFP state the " relative

11258importance of price and other evaluation criteria . "

11266148. The Department stated the relative importance of price

11275and the other evaluatio n criteria in its RFP. CenturyLink and

11286Securus argue, however, that the Department failed to follow its

11296RFP or to comply with section 287.057(1)(b)2.b. The findings of

11306facts do not support a conclusion that the Department ' s

11317application of the RFP scoring system was arbitrary or

11326capricious. They also do not support a conclusion that

11335assembling the scores in the fashion urged by CenturyLink and

11345Securus would have caused a different result.

11352Conclusion

11353149. CenturyLink and Securus have met the burden impose d by

11364section 120.57(3)(f). The Department ' s intended award to Global ,

11374where price proposals of two vendors do not comply with the RFP

11386specifications and the scoring of Securus ' s proposal incorrectly

11396awarded zero points out of the possible 25 for its respo nse to

11409section 3.15 , together , require concluding that the preponderance

11417of the credible persuasive evidence establish a " definite and

11426firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. "

11434RECOMMENDATION

11435Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusio ns of

11446Law, it is RECOMMENDED that the Department of Corrections enter a

11457final order rejecting all proposals for Request for Proposal

11466DC RFP - 13 - 031.

11472DONE AND ENTERED this 4th day of September , 2014 , in

11482Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

11486S

11487JOHN D. C. NEWTON, II

11492Administrative Law Judge

11495Division of Administrative Hearings

11499The DeSoto Building

115021230 Apalachee Parkway

11505Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 3060

11510(850) 488 - 9675

11514Fax Filing (850) 921 - 6847

11520www.doah.state.fl.us

11521Filed with the Cl erk of the

11528Division of Administrative Hearings

11532this 4th day of September , 2014 .

11539ENDNOTE S

115411/ All references to the Florida Statutes are to the 2014

11552codification , unless otherwise noted.

115562/ The Pre - Hearing Order granted the unopposed motion to amend.

115683/ Boldface type shown in quotations of the RFP appeared in the

11580original.

11581COPIES FURNISHED:

11583Michael D. Crews, Secretary

11587Department of Corrections

11590501 South Calhoun Street

11594Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 2500

11599(eServed)

11600Jennifer Parker, General Counsel

11604D epartment of Corrections

11608501 South Calhoun Street

11612Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 2500

11617(eServed)

11618Eduardo S. Lombard, Esquire

11622W. Robert Vezina, III, Esquire

11627Vezina, Lawrence and Piscitelli, P.A.

11632413 East Park Avenue

11636Tallahassee, Florida 32301 - 1515

11641(eServed)

11642J ames Fortunas, Esquire

11646Department of Corrections

11649501 South Calhoun Street

11653Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 2500

11658(eServed)

11659Michael J. Glazer, Esquire

11663Erik Figlio, Esquire

11666Ausley and McMullen

11669123 South Calhoun Street

11673Post Office Box 391

11677Tallahassee, Florida 32302 - 0391

11682(eServed)

11683Robert H. Hosay , Esquire

11687James A. McKee, Esquire

11691John A. Tucker, Esquire

11695Foley and Lardner LLP

11699Suite 900

11701106 East College Avenue

11705Tallahassee, Florida 32301 - 7732

11710(eServed)

11711NOTICE OF RIGHT TO SUBMIT EXCEPTIONS

11717All parties have th e right to submit written exceptions within

117281 0 days from the date of this Recommended Order. Any exceptions

11740to this Recommended Order should be filed with the agency that

11751will issue the Final Order in this case.

Select the PDF icon to view the document.
PDF
Date
Proceedings
PDF:
Date: 10/13/2014
Proceedings: Global Tel*Link Corporation's Exceptions to the Recommended Order filed.
PDF:
Date: 10/13/2014
Proceedings: Centurylink's Exceptions to Recommended Order filed.
PDF:
Date: 10/13/2014
Proceedings: Securus's Exceptions to Recommended Order filed.
PDF:
Date: 10/13/2014
Proceedings: Agency Final Order filed.
PDF:
Date: 10/06/2014
Proceedings: Agency Final Order
PDF:
Date: 09/09/2014
Proceedings: Letter to parties of record from Judge Newton.
PDF:
Date: 09/08/2014
Proceedings: Transmittal letter from Claudia Llado forwarding GTL's Exhibits numbered 1-8, 10,24-26, and 28-33, which were not offered into evidence to Global Tel*'s counsel.
PDF:
Date: 09/04/2014
Proceedings: Recommended Order
PDF:
Date: 09/04/2014
Proceedings: Recommended Order cover letter identifying the hearing record referred to the Agency.
PDF:
Date: 09/04/2014
Proceedings: Recommended Order (hearing held July 17, 2014). CASE CLOSED.
PDF:
Date: 08/14/2014
Proceedings: Global Tel* Link Corporation's Proposed Recommended Order filed.
PDF:
Date: 08/14/2014
Proceedings: Florida Department of Correction's Proposed Recommended Order filed.
PDF:
Date: 08/14/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Appearance (Benjamin Grossman) filed.
PDF:
Date: 08/14/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Filing/Securus's Proposed Recommended Order filed.
PDF:
Date: 08/14/2014
Proceedings: Centurylink's Proposed Recommended Order filed.
Date: 08/04/2014
Proceedings: Transcript Volumes I-IV (not available for viewing) filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/25/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Deposition Designations filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/25/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Cross Designation for Cooper and Phillips Depositions filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/23/2014
Proceedings: Deposition Designations of the Florida Department of Corrections and Global Tel*Link for Bailey, Creamer, Hussey, Ingram, Lockwood, and Phillips filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/23/2014
Proceedings: Letter to Theresa Stevenson from James Fortunas regarding exhibit 1 filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/23/2014
Proceedings: Letter to Judge Newton from Eduardo Lombard regarding exhibits on a CD filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/22/2014
Proceedings: Letter to Judge Newton from James McKee regarding a CD containing deposition transcripts and joint exhibit 16filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/22/2014
Proceedings: Letter to Judge Newton from regarding a CD of the redacted proposal filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/21/2014
Proceedings: Post-hearing Order.
PDF:
Date: 07/18/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Deposition Designations filed.
Date: 07/17/2014
Proceedings: CASE STATUS: Hearing Held.
PDF:
Date: 07/16/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Notice of Service of Amended Response to Numbers 5 through 12, 16, and 17 of the Department's First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/16/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Notice of Service of Amended Response to Numbers 5 through 8 of CenturyLink's First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/16/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Notice of Service of Amended Response to Numbers 4 through 9 of GTL's First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/16/2014
Proceedings: Global Tel*Link Corporation's Response in Opposition to CenturyLink's Motion for Official Recognition filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/16/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Response to GTL's Motion in Limine filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/16/2014
Proceedings: Amended Joint Pre-hearing Stipulation filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/16/2014
Proceedings: Global Tel*Link Corporation's, Notice of Filing Exhibit F to Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence and Argument Relating to the Propriety of Paying Commissions on Interstate Inmate filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/15/2014
Proceedings: Pre-hearing Order.
Date: 07/15/2014
Proceedings: CASE STATUS: Pre-Hearing Conference Held.
PDF:
Date: 07/15/2014
Proceedings: Global Tel*Link Corporation's Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence and Argument Relating to the Proprietary of Paying Commissions on Interstate Inmate Calls filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/15/2014
Proceedings: Joint Pre-Hearing Stipulation filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/15/2014
Proceedings: Securus's Motion for Leave to Amend Formal Written Protest Petition filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/14/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Service of Intervenor Global Tel*Link Corporation's Response to CenturyLink Public Communications, Inc.'s Second Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/14/2014
Proceedings: Global Tel*Link Corporation's Response to CenturyLink Public Communications, Inc.'s First Request for Admissions filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/14/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Service of Intervenor Global Tel*Link Corporation's Amended Response to Securus Technologies, Inc.'s First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/14/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Notice of Service of Verified Answers to Second Set of Interrogatories from Global Tel*Link Corporation filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/14/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Service of Intervenor Global Tel*Link Corporation's Amended Response to CenturyLink Public Communications, Inc.'s First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/11/2014
Proceedings: Respondent's Response to Securus's Second Request for Production filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/11/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Filing Respondent's Response to Securus's Second Request for Production filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/11/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Notice of Service of Amended Responses to CenturyLink's First Set of Interrogatories Number 10 filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/10/2014
Proceedings: (Petitioner's) Motion for Official Recognition filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/10/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Notice of Cancellation of Deposition (of Mike Dew) filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/10/2014
Proceedings: Global Tel*Link Corporation's Response to Securus Technologies, Inc.'s First Request for Production filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/10/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Service of Intervenor Global Tel*Link Corporation's Response to Securus Technologies, Inc.'s First Set of Interrogatories filed.
Date: 07/09/2014
Proceedings: CASE STATUS: Motion Hearing Held.
PDF:
Date: 07/09/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Taking Deposition (of Mike Dew) filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/09/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Notice of Service of Second Set of Interrogatories to Global Tel*Link filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/09/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's First Request for Admissions to Global Tel*Link Corporation filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/09/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Objections to GTL's Amended Notice of Taking Depositions Duces Tecum filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/09/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Notice of Service of Amended Responses to CenturyLink's First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/08/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Notice of Service of Verified Responses to the Department's First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/08/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Notice of Service of Verified Responses to GTL's First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/08/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Appearance (Erik Figlio) filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/08/2014
Proceedings: Amended Notice of Taking Depositions Duces Tecum (of Steve Viehaus and Dennis Rheinhold) filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/07/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Cross-notice of Taking Deposition Duces Tecum (of Steve Viehaus and Dennis Rheinhold) filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/07/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Notice of Service of Unverified Answers to Second Set of Interrogatories from Global Tel*Link Corporation filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/07/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Response to Second Request for Production from Global Tel*Link filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/07/2014
Proceedings: Respondent's Cross-notice of Taking Deposition (of Steve Viehaus and Dennis Rheinhold) filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/07/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Taking Depositions Duces Tecum (of Steve Viehaus and Dennis Rheinhold) filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/07/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Cross-notice of Taking Deposition (of S. Jodi Bailey) filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/07/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Cross-notice of Taking Deposition of Department of Corrections Corporate Representative filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/07/2014
Proceedings: Respondent's Cross Notice of Deposition (Paul Cooper) filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/03/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Taking Deposition Duces Tecum (of Paul Cooper) filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/03/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Notice of Serving First Set of Interrogatories to GTL filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/03/2014
Proceedings: Securus' First Request for Production to GTL filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/03/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Second Request for Production to the Department filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/03/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Telephonic Pre-hearing Conference (set for July 15, 2014; 9:00 a.m.).
PDF:
Date: 07/02/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Taking Deposition of Corporate Representative of Global Tel*Link Corporation filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/02/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Taking Deposition (of Steve Montanaro) filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/02/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Notice of Service of Unverified Responses to GTL's First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/02/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Response to GTL's First Request for Production filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/01/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Response to First Request for Production from Global Tel*Link filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/01/2014
Proceedings: Global Tel*Link Corporation's First Set of Interrogatories to Petitioner, CenturyLink Public Communications, Inc. filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/01/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Responses to Department of Corrections First Request for Admissions filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/01/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Notice of Service of Answers to First Set of Interrogatories from Department of Corrections filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/01/2014
Proceedings: Global Tel*Link Corporation's Second Request for Production to Petitioner, CenturyLink Public Communications, Inc filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/01/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Service of Intervenor Global Tel*Link Corporation's Second Set of Interrogatories to Petitioner, CenturyLink Public Communications, Inc filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/01/2014
Proceedings: Amended Notice of Taking Depositions (of Julyn Hussey, Charles Lockwood, Randy Agerton, Shane Phillips, Jon Creamer, and Steve Wilson) filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/01/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Notice of Service of Unverified Responses to the Department's First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/01/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Responses to the Department's First Request for Admission filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/01/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Notice of Service of Unverified Responses to CenturyLink's First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/01/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Response to CenturyLink's First Request for Production filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/01/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Service of Intervenor Global Tel*Link Corporation's Response to CenturyLink Public Communications, Inc.'s First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 07/01/2014
Proceedings: Global Tel*Link Corporation's Response to CenturyLink's First Request for Production filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/30/2014
Proceedings: Department's Notice of Service of Answers to to Century Link's First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/30/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Taking Deposition (of S. Jodi Bailey) filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/30/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Taking Deposition (of the Department's agency representative) filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/30/2014
Proceedings: Department's Answers to Securus' First Request for Admissions filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/30/2014
Proceedings: Department's Notice of Service of Answers to Securus First Set of Interrogatories filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/26/2014
Proceedings: Respondent's First Request for Admissions to Century Link filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/26/2014
Proceedings: Department's Notice of Service of Interrogatories to Century Link filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/26/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Service of Intervenor Global Tel*Link Corporation's First Set of Interrogatories to Petitioner, Securus Technologies, Inc filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/26/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Service of Intervenor Global Tel*Link Corporation's First Set of Interrogatories to Petitioner, CenturyLink Public Communications, Inc filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/26/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Cross-Notice of Taking Deposition Duces Tecum filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/26/2014
Proceedings: Global Tel*Link Corporation's First Request for Production to Petitioner, CenturyLink Public Communications, Inc., filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/26/2014
Proceedings: Global Tel*Link Corporation's First Request for Production to Petitioner, Securus Technologies, Inc., filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/25/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Taking Depositions (of Julyn Hussey, Charles Lockwood, Randy Agerton, Shane Phillips, Steve Wilson, and Jon Creamer) filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/25/2014
Proceedings: Respondent's First Request for Admissions to Securus Technologies, Inc filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/25/2014
Proceedings: Department's Notice of Service of Interrogatories to Securus Technologies, Inc filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/24/2014
Proceedings: (Petitioner's) Amended Petition for Formal Administrative Hearing and Formal Written Protest filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/24/2014
Proceedings: Order Granting Century Link`s Motion to Amend Petition.
PDF:
Date: 06/24/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Notice of Service of First Set of Interrogatories to Department of Corrections filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/24/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's First Request for Production of Documents to Department of Corrections filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/24/2014
Proceedings: (Respondent's) Notice of Compliance filed.
Date: 06/23/2014
Proceedings: CASE STATUS: Pre-Hearing Conference Held.
PDF:
Date: 06/23/2014
Proceedings: Securus' First Request for Admissions to the Department filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/23/2014
Proceedings: Securus' First Request for Production to the Department filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/23/2014
Proceedings: Securus' Notice of Serving First Set of Interrogatories to the Department filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/23/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLinks Motion to Amend Petition for Hearing filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/23/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Notice of Service of First Set of Interrogatories to Global Tel*Link filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/23/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLink's Notice of Service of First Set of Interrogatories to Securus filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/23/2014
Proceedings: Century Link's First Request for Production of Documents to Global Tel*Link Corporation filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/23/2014
Proceedings: Century Link's First Request for Production of Documents to Securus Technologies, Inc., filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/23/2014
Proceedings: Order of Pre-hearing Instructions.
PDF:
Date: 06/23/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Hearing (hearing set for July 17 and 18, 2014; 9:00 a.m.; Tallahassee, FL).
PDF:
Date: 06/23/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Appearance (James McKee; filed in Case No. 14-002894BID).
PDF:
Date: 06/23/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Appearance (James McKee) filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/20/2014
Proceedings: CenturyLinks Notice of Appearance and Intervention (Michael J. Glazer) filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/20/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Appearance of Co-Counsel for Respondent (Jonathan P. Sanford) filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/20/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Telephonic Scheduling and Case Status Conference (status conference set for June 23, 2014; 9:00 a.m.).
PDF:
Date: 06/20/2014
Proceedings: Order of Consolidation (DOAH Case Nos. 14-2828BID and 14-2894BID).
PDF:
Date: 06/20/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Intervention (filed by Securus Technologies, Inc.) filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/20/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Appearance (Eduardo Lombard) filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/20/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Appearance (W Vezina) filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/20/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Appearance (Megan Reynolds) filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/20/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Intervention (filed by Global Tel*Link Corporation) filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/19/2014
Proceedings: Notice of Appearance (Robert Hosay) filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/19/2014
Proceedings: Respondent's Motion to Consolidate filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/18/2014
Proceedings: Petition for Formal Administrative Hearing and Formal Written Protest filed.
PDF:
Date: 06/18/2014
Proceedings: Agency referral filed.

Case Information

Judge:
JOHN D. C. NEWTON, II
Date Filed:
06/18/2014
Date Assignment:
06/19/2014
Last Docket Entry:
10/13/2014
Location:
Tallahassee, Florida
District:
Northern
Agency:
ADOPTED IN TOTO
Suffix:
BID
 

Counsels

Related DOAH Cases(s) (2):

Related Florida Statute(s) (5):

Related Florida Rule(s) (1):