Bond Counsel Services for the Iowa Finance Authority Single Family and Multifamily Bond Programs

The Iowa Finance Authority is seeking qualified law firms to serve as bond counsel for its Single Family and Multifamily Bond Programs under a contract commencing on or around October 1, 2026, and concluding on September 30, 2030, with the possibility of two one-year extensions at the Authority’s sole discretion. Proposals must be submitted electronically via the Iowa Management of Procurement and Contracts System (IMPACS) by August 28, 2026, at 4:00 PM CDT, and must include a Technical Proposal, a Cost Proposal, a Certification Letter attesting to independence, debarment status, and absence of conflicts of interest, and an Authorization to Release Information Letter permitting reference checks. All proposals must remain firm for 120 days after submission, and any amendment issued by the Authority requires the respondent to review, acknowledge, certify, and resubmit their proposal, though no information from the original submission will be lost. The contract is governed by Iowa state procurement rules, not federal FAR clauses, and requires the contractor to be registered to do business in Iowa, comply with Iowa sales and use tax laws, and adhere to state information security policies. Evaluation will be based on a best-value trade-off, weighing the Technical Proposal and Responses to RFP Questions equally at 35% each, and the Cost Proposal at 30%, with technical merit carrying greater weight than price. The selected firm must demonstrate national expertise in housing finance bond transactions, recent experience since 2023, and the ability to provide legal opinions on bond validity and federal tax-exempt compliance, including arbitrage rebate requirements. Key personnel must be identified, and the contractor must disclose any prior terminations for cause, litigation involving fraud, or regulatory penalties. No physical delivery or packaging requirements apply, as this is a service contract performed primarily in Iowa with administrative acceptance upon mutual signing by both parties. Payment procedures, accounting codes, and invoicing systems are not specified, and no Contracting Officer’s Representative or Procuring Contracting Officer is named.