PUBLIC NOTICE: IOWA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER On November 7, 1997, the Iowa Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced that it would soon be issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the statewide implementation of an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system for certain public assistance programs administered by IDHS. This public notice is intended to serve as an advance notice that one of the requirements for a successful bid will be that the organization meets the requirements of Iowa Code Chapter 527 and associated administrative rules. Included in Iowa Code Chapter 527 is the requirement that organizations operating electronic funds transfer terminals must be licensed as a central routing unit or be connected to a central processing unit with an agreement to operate through a licensed central routing unit. The address and phone number for the agency that is responsible for the administration of the Iowa Code Chapter provisions in the State of Iowa is: Iowa Department of Commerce, 200 East Grand, Suite 30, Des Moines, Iowa 50319, Contact Mary Fehring, Division of Banking, (515) 281-4014. IDHS is targeting an issuance date for the RFP within the time frame of November 17-December 31. Upon issuance, IDHS anticipates allowing 60 days for accepting proposals. A mandatory bidders' conference will occur sometime in December or January. The forthcoming RFP will more fully detail the schedule. At this time, IDHS is not soliciting questions or proposals; this notice is solely intended to allow potential bidders to become aware of and address the requirements of Iowa Code Chapter 527. IDHS does not administer Iowa Code Chapter 527, and therefore cannot provide administrative information in this matter, though these provisions will be discussed at the bidders' conference. If you have questions regarding the administration of and compliance with Iowa Code Chapter 527, please contact the agency indicated above.

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