State Advocacy Services: Stanislaus Council of Governments

The Stanislaus Council of Governments (StanCOG) is soliciting proposals from individuals/firms with a proven track record in advocacy/lobbying at the State level to assist in developing and successfully pursuing its legislative priorities. To fulfill the requirements outlined in this RFP, StanCOG requires a well-managed and financially sound Consultant with demonstrated skills and technical ability, high levels of customer service, responsiveness, and satisfaction. The primary focus of the State Legislative Advocate is to assist StanCOG to influence legislation, advance StanCOG’s interests before the California State Legislature, the Governor’s Office, state agencies, related stakeholder groups, identify and help secure funding and apply for competitive grants, earmarks, and other discretionary funding. The successful consultant will also provide monthly reports and provide legislative and regulatory updates to the Policy Board and staff.

Background

StanCOG has been designated and functions as: (i) the Local Transportation Authority as designated by the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors; (ii) the Area-wide Planning Organization as designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; (iii) the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) as designated by the U.S. Department of Transportation; (iv) the Regional Transportation Planning Agency (RTPA) as designated by the Secretary of Business and Transportation Agency of the State of California; (v) the Congestion Management Agency (CMA) as designated by the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors; (vi) the Abandoned Vehicle Authority (AVA) as designated by the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, amongst other state, local and federal designations.

StanCOG is a California joint powers agency created pursuant to California Government Code section 6500 et seq.  StanCOG’s member agencies are the Cities of Ceres, Hughson, Modesto, Newman, Oakdale, Patterson, Riverbank, Turlock and Waterford, all municipal corporations, and the County of Stanislaus, a political subdivision of the State of California.  StanCOG is a public entity separate and distinct from its member entities.

StanCOG is tasked to prepare countywide transportation and housing planning, including preparation of a Federal and Regional Transportation Improvement Program, Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS), and Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA).  The Agency is responsible for programming federal and state transportation funding for all transportation modes and administers the Measure L ½ sales tax for transportation improvements in the Stanislaus Region. 

Project Details

• Reference ID: 25-R06
• Department: Financial Services
• Department Head: Jean Foletta (Deputy Director of Operations)

Important Dates

• Questions Due: 2026-06-10T22:00:00.000Z
• Answers Posted By: 2026-06-16T00:00:00.000Z

Evaluation Criteria

• Written Response to Request for Proposal and experience of the consultant's overall team assigned to complete the work. (20 pts) —

  Understanding of the work to be performed

• Proposed understanding of and identified approaches to addressing the services outlined in the RFP scope. (20 pts) —

  Quality of the firm or team’s response to the Request for Proposal including adherence to format, completeness, and extent of documentation;

• Experience with similar projects, specifically providing lobbying services for municipal agencies, including Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), Transportation and Air Quality agencies. (30 pts) —

  The quality, experience, and availability of the proposed manager and staff for the project;

• Familiarity and knowledge of the San Joaquin Central Valley legislative efforts (15 pts) —

  The qualifications, experience, ability, capacity, and skill of the firm and/or team to complete the project in the time specified, without delay;

• Cost (15 pts) —

  The list of services to be provided, including the approach to project delivery;

• Innovation (10 pts) —

  Use of innovative and advanced techniques for this project or those used in previous projects;

• Firm Reputation (10 pts) —

  The character, integrity, reputation, experience, and efficiency of the firm;

• Similar Projects (10 pts) —

  Demonstration of successful, on‐time performance of similar projects;

• Other Factors (10 pts) —

  Other factor(s) deemed to be in the best interests of StanCOG.

Submission Requirements

• Cover Letter (required) —

  The submittal should include a letter describing the firm and/or team’s interest in providing the scope of services for the project. The person authorized by the firm and/or team to negotiate a contract with StanCOG shall sign the cover letter. Include the name, phone number, and e‐mail address of a contact person for the proposal process.