CONTRACT END DATE Contract performance shall terminate as of December 31, 2027, with no new obligations being incurred after this date unless the Contract is properly amended, provided that the terms of this Contract and performance expectations and obligations shall survive its termination for the purpose of resolving any claim or dispute, for completing any negotiated terms and warranties, to allow any close out or transition performance, reporting, invoicing or final payments, or during any lapse between amendments. CERTIFICATIONS: Notwithstanding verbal or other representations by the parties, the Effective Date of this Contract or Amendment shall be the latest date that this Contract or Amendment has been executed by an authorized signatory of the Contractor, the Department, or a later Contract or Amendment Start Date specified above, subject to any required approvals. The Contractor certifies that they have accessed and reviewed all documents incorporated by reference as electronically published and the Contractor makes all certifications required under the Standard Contract Form Instructions and Contractor Certifications under the pains and penalties of perjury, and further agrees to provide any required documentation upon request to support compliance, and agrees that all terms governing performance of this Contract and doing business in Massachusetts are attached or incorporated by reference herein according to the following hierarchy of document precedence, the applicable Commonwealth Terms and Conditions, this Standard Contract Form, the Standard Contract Form Instructions and Contractor Certifications, the Request for Response (RFR) or other solicitation, the Contractors Response (excluding any language stricken by a Department as unacceptable, and additional negotiated terms, provided that additional negotiated terms will take precedence over the relevant terms in the RFR and the Contractors Response only if made using the process outlined in 801 CMR 21.07, incorporated herein, provided that any amended RFR or Response terms result in best value, lower costs, or a more cost effective Contract.