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Following months of scrutiny over millions in no-bid contracts, the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office has quietly started issuing formal requests for proposals, or RFPs.
The move also comes on the heels of a new law adopted by the General Assembly earlier this year to increase transparency requirements involving state contracting.
As of July, nearly a dozen RFPs were listed on the Secretary of State’s ”contracting opportunities” webpage. They include requests for vendors to handle call center services, maintain and modernize cloud-hosted software platforms, and redesign division websites.
Most of the RFPs were posted in late May with submission deadlines in early to mid-July.
One RFP calls for a third-party call center to manage tens of thousands of calls annually across the agency’s Business Services and Auto Dealer Services divisions, including responding to 6,500 to 11,000 monthly customer calls; escalating complex cases; and storing call recordings that include sensitive personal data. The vendor would be expected to meet daily performance benchmarks and provide regular reporting to the state, according to the RFP.
Multiple proposals also seek vendors to maintain and upgrade “critical” software systems that run key parts of the office’s work—ranging from business filings and notary applications to securities oversight.
The office is requesting applications from firms with experience in cloud-based architecture, cybersecurity, workflow automation and artificial intelligence to help reengineer its existing tools and build new ones with an emphasis on performance and user accessibility.
Another RFP asks for help creating content for a redesigned INBiz portal, while others seek outside firms to evaluate and strengthen the office’s IT security protocols; develop wv
The new listings follow reporting by the Indiana Capital Chronicle in December that revealed Secretary of State Diego Morales had awarded more than $3.3 million in contracts without a competitive bidding process. Some of those contracts went to politically connected vendors who gave tens of thousands of dollars to Morales’ reelection campaign.
Morales and his office have defended those arrangements, previously telling the Capital Chronicle that the agency “opted to pursue vendors with strong track records, and commercially competitive proposals in lieu of public bidding.”
But during a June 18 State Budget Committee meeting, he faced further scrutiny from state lawmakers about the no-bid contracts—along with a myriad of other controversies—while seeking more than $10 million in funds for his office.
The other controversies included Morales’ purchase of a $90,000 car with taxpayer money from a campaign contributor and hiring his brother-in-law.
Morales emphasized that no-bid agreements were awarded by the secretary of state’s office before he was elected. He said they were legal — sometimes necessary, when on tight deadlines—and that under his watch, only “companies with experience” received contracts.
Even so, Republican Sen. Chris Garten pressed Morales on previous no-bid contracts awarded to companies that made campaign contributions, saying “Indiana constituents deserve to know” such details.
Morales held that “lots of people” donate to his political efforts.
“We’ve been following no-bid contracting that has been done for the past 20 years. I’m not doing anything different,” Morales said. “This let us look for companies that are experts in what they do … and they’re getting the job done … and we’re saving taxpayer money by hiring the best of the best in the business.”
New contracting expectations
Following passage of Senate Enrolled Act 5—a new law that bans non-public, no-bid state contracts and increases oversight of agency spending—the secretary of state said the agency is overhauling its internal processes to ensure compliance.
Chief Legal Counsel Jerry Bonnet told the state budget committee that while the secretary of state’s office “historically (was) not bidding” contracts or IT work or other services, “they’re all now going up for the bid process.”
“We’re taking a considerable amount of time talking to vendors now,” Bonnet said. “So, we’ve embraced the emergency that was declared by Senate Bill 5 to start putting all these contracts out for public procurement.”
Bonnet said a new chief information officer, who joined the office in 2023, assessed the IT systems and concluded that the “antiquated systems … (were) in danger of failing.” Improving that part of the office has created “a high spending curve” that Bonnet said would fall at the beginning of next year to between $4 million to $5 million.
It’s not yet clear how much the new RFPs will be settled for, but Bonnet said the office has “already been able to negotiate discounts with some vendors.”
“The bidding process is great, but it takes quite a bit of time to then take something and pick it apart and do all those details, specifications, advertise it, talk to all the different vendors,” he added. “We’re trying to do more with less.”
Bonnet said the office is also seeking to contract with a consultant to help navigate and manage new requirements enacted under Senate Enrolled Act 5.
“Before we make any new contracts, we’re going to hopefully have a professional contractor … an independent expert, to make those contract assessments,” he noted. “It’ll be a rush, but we’ll be working in the coming weeks and months to try and keep our IT projects on track.”
The Indiana Capital Chronicle is an independent, nonprofit news organization that covers state government, policy and elections.
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