The Department of Community Services and Development (CSD) has released the Request for Proposal (RFP) 2022-RFP-98 for an administrator of payment disbursement services for the State of California¿s extension of the federally funded Low Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP). The 2022-23 State Budget Act appropriated $200 million in one-time funding to CSD to extend the administration of LIHWAP, which provides financial assistance to eligible low-income households to help reduce the financial burden of residential water and wastewater services. Eligible low-income households may receive financial assistance to alleviate water service utility bill arrearages or help pay for current water services. Using these funds, CSD intends to launch a state version of the federal program, referred to as LIHWAP 2.0, to continue the availability of low-income water assistance within the state through September 2026 or until funding is expended, whichever occurs first. The selected vendor will maintain responsibility for establishing direct payment agreements with California community water systems, wastewater treatment providers, sewer system corporations, and billing entities (hereinafter referred to as water systems) to facilitate the crediting of LIHWAP 2.0 benefits directly to an applicant¿s water service account, and provide direct payment of LIHWAP benefits to applicants whose water system is not enrolled in a direct payment agreement, or if utilities are included in rent or sub-metered. CSD will award up to $154,500,000 for administration and household benefit distribution. The maximum amount the vendor can receive for administration is $4,500,000, with the remaining balance of $150,000,000 to be used for the payment of LIHWAP assistance benefits to applicants. CSD approximates the contract term to cover June 19, 2023, to September 30, 2026. The actual contract term will largely depend on public participation in LIHWAP 2.0. The RFP can be found on CSD's Contracting Opportunities webpage at https://www.csd.ca.gov/Pages/contractopportunities.aspx. Interested organizations may request access to applicable procurement documents as instructed on CSD's Contracting Opportunities webpage and are encouraged to register for email updates about the RFP at https://www.csd.ca.gov/Pages/contractopportunities.aspx or https://www.caleprocure.ca.gov. Please refer to the RFP Section 5, Proposal Requirements and Information, and Section 1 for important deadlines and information regarding this procurement. All Proposals must be submitted to CSD by May 19, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

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