Credit Investigation and Reporting Services

Hillsborough County is soliciting competitive quotes for ongoing and as-needed credit investigation and reporting services for utility customers under solicitation number ITQ-26-00335, with an estimated contract value of $47,200 for a two-year period. The work will be performed within Hillsborough County, Florida, and all pricing must be quoted on a F.O.B. destination basis, including delivery, shipping, and handling costs, with the contractor responsible for carrier claims. The County will award the contract on a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable basis to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder who meets all minimum technical, regulatory, and compliance requirements. Offerors must demonstrate experience and capability to perform the services, comply with numerous state statutes, and adhere to strict cybersecurity standards including NIST CSF, NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, CIS Controls v8, and OWASP guidelines, with data encryption at AES-256 for at rest and TLS 1.2 or higher for in transit. All systems must ensure digital accessibility per WCAG 2.1 Level AA and ADA Title II. Contractors must implement robust incident response protocols, reporting security events within 24 hours and providing root cause analysis within 10 business days. Employees and subcontractors must be verified through E-Verify, and the contractor must certify compliance with Florida’s prohibition against contracting with scrutinized companies and entities linked to foreign countries of concern if access to personal identifying information is involved. The contractor must maintain comprehensive insurance coverage including commercial general liability, automobile, workers’ compensation, professional liability, and cyber liability, with Hillsborough County named as an additional insured. Cybersecurity and data sanitization must align with NIST SP 800-88, and the contractor must appoint a qualified Information Security Officer and Project Manager. All submissions must be made electronically through the County’s bidding portal by the deadline of July 24, 2026, with no physical or alternative submissions accepted. The contract may be terminated for convenience with seven days’ notice, and performance is governed by purchase orders issued under a Blanket Purchase Agreement or Contract Purchase Agreement. The County will not consider non-price factors in award decisions beyond technical acceptability.