Licensed attorneys who wish to provide specialized legal services to the Research Corporation of the University of Hawai‘i (RCUH) for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 2020, are invited to submit a Statement of Qualifications and Expression of Interest (SOQ) to RCUH pursuant to HRS § 103D-304.

RCUH is currently looking to contract for legal services in the following areas:

1. Employment: Employment, employee benefits, disciplinary, termination, and discrimination/retaliation issues. Services shall include but not be limited to:
a. Drafting, reviewing, and providing advice and recommendations relating thereto;
b. Providing advice and recommendations regarding responses to claims asserted by current and former employees;
c. Participating in negotiations regarding items (a) and (b); and
d. Providing guidance on applicable statutes, regulations, and other legal requirements.

Previous experience advising employers is essential, and previous experience advising government agencies is preferred.

2. Immigration: Temporary visas and/or permanent residency applications. Services shall include but not be limited to:
a. Drafting, reviewing, and providing advice and recommendations relating thereto;
b. Completing and filing permanent residency applications (previous experience representing both employers and employees in the permanent residency application process is essential);
c. Completing and filing temporary visa applications and related documentation; and
d. Providing guidance on applicable statutes, regulations, and other legal requirements.

3. Tax: Payroll, IRS compliance, foreign payroll and/or nonresident alien and foreign entity contractor payments (crossover immigration experience preferred), IRS compliance. Services shall include but not be limited to:
a. Providing guidance on applicable statutes, regulations, internal policies, and other legal requirements.

4. Maritime: Charter, third-party vessel, and other marine-related agreements; marine insurance terms and policies. Services shall include but not be limited to:
a. Drafting, reviewing, and providing advice and recommendations relating thereto; and
b. Providing guidance on applicable statutes, regulations, insurance policies/terms, internal policies, and other legal requirements.

Please email your SOQ to: [email protected] by Friday, June 5, 2020, to be eligible for consideration. An SOQ received after June 5, 2020 will be considered a “late submittal” for the balance of the fiscal year as follows: a late submittal received June 6, 2020 through July 6, 2020, will be considered beginning October 1, 2020.

SOQ forms are available here.

Creating a purchase order just got easier when using SuperQUOTE™’s RCUH account!

In the RCUH Financial Portal, the Purchase Requisition (PO) form has been updated with the ability to automatically import SuperQUOTE™ award information into the PO. You no longer need to manually enter the award information. These release notes will guide you through the process.

Should you have any questions, please contact RCUH Procurement at [email protected].

Obtaining competitive quotations is always a good business practice and under certain circumstances it may be required for an RCUH purchase (refer to Policy 2.103). RCUH has access to SuperQUOTE™, an electronic solicitation solution for obtaining quotations, proposals, information, and competitive sealed bids.

If you’d like to learn more about SuperQUOTE™ or need a refresher, CommercePoint is offering training at UH Mānoa’s Financial Management Office Training Room, 1406 Lower Campus Road, Building 171, Room 59 on:

• Tuesday, February 4, 2020, 10-11 a.m.
• Tuesday, March 3, 2020, 10-11 a.m.

You only need to attend one (1) session. Classes are limited to 25 attendees and you must register to attend.

You’ll learn about the SuperQUOTE™ buying process and how to create a new request; create a sealed bid request; award, cancel, or copy a request; write an effective request; and qualify your vendors.

To sign up for an RCUH Buyer account, click here for instructions.

Questions about the training can be directed to CommercePoint at [email protected].

Questions about the use of SuperQUOTE™ in RCUH procurement may be directed to Erin Yoda, Procurement and Disbursing Manager, at (808) 956-3969 or [email protected].

The following policy and attachments relating to vendor records have been updated:

• Policy 2.301 Vendor Records
  Updated to include more details regarding the information displayed and stored for an RCUH vendor record (see policy Section VI).

• RCUH Vendor Record Frequently Asked Questions – NEW!
  List of commonly asked questions about RCUH vendor records.

• Attachment 50 Foreign Vendor Registration Form
  Updated to a new format which includes new vendor name and address fields.

• Attachment 60 Statement by a Foreign Vendor for a Foreign Source Income Payment
  Updated to include U.S. Territory in the address field.

• Sample Letter Requesting Vendor Form
  Updated to a form fillable PDF format and includes an explanation of the Attachment 60 (if applicable to the vendor).

Questions may be directed to Charlene Gibo at 808-956-3208 or [email protected].

Here are two important updates that took effect on January 1, 2020.

• UH WH-1 Form – The University of Hawaii Statement of Citizenship and Federal Tax Status form has been updated for 2020. The new form may be found in the RCUH Procurement and Disbursing Document Library. Previous versions of the UH WH-1 Form will no longer be valid.
• Standard mileage rates – The Internal Revenue Service has updated the standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile (includes cars, vans, pickups, and panel trucks) for business or charitable purposes. The 2020 rates are as follows:
  

  $0.575	per mile driven for business purposes, decreased from $0.58 in 2019
  $0.14	per mile driven in service of charitable organizations (rate for volunteers)

  The standard mileage rate for business miles is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The charitable mileage rate is set by statute. See IR-2019-215, December 31, 2019.

  Attachment 12, Current RCUH Travel Rates, has been updated with the mileage rate changes. UH employees may refer to www.hawaii.edu/etravel/rates.html.

   

Yesterday, November 4, 2019, we encountered a system error which affected our check printing and end of business day processing.   The issue has been resolved and the Financial Portal is back in operation.  Online purchasing and payment transactions can now be approved.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and thank you for your understanding.