To: Board of Supervisors
From: Legislation Committee
Report Title: Authorize Six-Month Contract Amendment with Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni LLP for state legislative and regulatory services
☐Recommendation of the County Administrator ☒ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Administrator, or designee, to execute a contract amendment with Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni LLP to increase the payment limit by $90,000 to a new payment limit of $990,000 and to extend the term from December 31, 2024 to June 30, 2025 to provide additional state legislative and regulatory advocacy services, subject to approval as to form by County Counsel, as recommended by the Legislation Committee of the Board of Supervisors.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The six-month cost of the contract is $90,000. Funding for these services is appropriated in the County Administrator’s Office budget, as approved by the Board of Supervisors.
BACKGROUND:
The current contract with Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni LLP ("Nielsen Merksamer") began January 1, 2020, following a competitive procurement process. The Legislation Committee (Chair Burgis, Vice Chair Mitchoff) considered the matter of a state advocacy services contract and recommended that the Board of Supervisors authorize a contract at its October 3, 2019 meeting. The initial contract term was for three years, with an option for extension. At its December 10, 2019 meeting, the Board of Supervisors approved this recommendation and authorized the contract. The Board of Supervisors extended the contract by two years at its December 12, 2023 meeting, to a term ending December 31, 2024.
In order to follow the County’s fiscal year, and to realign the timing of future procurement processes for advocacy services, the Legislation Committee recommended a six-month extension to the contract with Nielsen Merksamer at its December 9, 2024 meeting. The six-month extension will align the contract term with the contract for the County’s federal advocacy services, allowing a procurement process for both services to be conducted concurrently. There is mutual agreement between the County Administrator and Nielsen Merksamer to extend the contract for an additional six months, for a period of January 1, 2025 through June 30, 2025.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The County will not have effective state budget and state legislative advocacy in Sacramento for the upcoming state legislative session if this contract is not approved.