The Commonwealth of Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky
The Office of Financial Management (“OFM”) of the Finance and Administration Cabinet of the Commonwealth of Kentucky (the “Cabinet”), on behalf of the Turnpike Authority of Kentucky (the “Authority” or “TAK”), is inviting proposals from prequalified firms for the professional services of bond counsel for the issuance of bonds. Pursuant to KRS 45A.850, the Authority seeks to hire one (1) bond counsel firm to provide services to the Authority to complete selected financings by the Authority during Fiscal Year 2025. The engagement period will be for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025 (“FY 2025”) with an option to renew on the same terms and conditions for one additional fiscal year at the discretion of OFM. The Authority intends to issue bonds on a negotiated basis. The firm selection will be determined based upon the final rankings of this RFP.
The firm engaged to provide bond counsel services to the Authority will be working with OFM, a senior managing underwriting firm and/or a financial advisor firm that will be selected in a similar process as the bond counsel firm. The firm selected to perform these services for the Authority will be responsible for the oversight of the entire bond issue(s). These duties include, but are not limited to, providing legal opinions and legal advice related to debt structuring and disclosure, reviewing preliminary and final official statements, coordinating the sale and closing of the securities, identifying tax issues including arbitrage regulations and ongoing status of project tax exemption, consulting with the Authority, the trustee and the Commonwealth, providing information as requested to the rating agencies, overseeing of printed bond certificates, preparing
timely advertisements (notices of sale), drafting and circulating required issuance documents for approval, assisting with compliance of any continuing disclosure requirements (which does include any work related to prior bonds), and preparing official transcripts in a timely manner. Any fees incurred will be payable only upon successful closing of the bond issue.
Only firms that have been prequalified by the Office of Financial Management for Fiscal Year 2024 and Fiscal Year 2025 may submit a response to this Request for Proposal.
All questions concerning this RFP must be submitted by email (debt.ofm@ky.gov) by 2:00 PM EST on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
Only electronic submissions to debt.ofm@ky.gov will be accepted and must be received no later than 2:00 PM EST on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.
Proposals received after the deadline will NOT be accepted.
Submission must not exceed 55 pages and recommended to be under 10 MB.
Confirmation of RFP receipt of submission is recommended by the submitter with a separate email.
Fee proposal must be submitted on Attachment C in a separate email.
Failure to comply with the requirements of the RFP may result in the firm’s response not being evaluated by the Selection Committee.
