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§37-2-7  Definitions. –


Published: 2015

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TITLE 37

Public Property and Works

CHAPTER 37-2

State Purchases

SECTION 37-2-7



   § 37-2-7  Definitions. –

The words defined in this section have the meanings set forth below whenever

they appear in this chapter, unless the context in which they are used clearly

requires a different meaning or a different definition is prescribed for a

particular section, group of sections, or provision:



   (1) "Business" means any corporation, partnership,

individual, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture, or any

other legal entity through which business is conducted.



   (2) "Change order" means a written authorization signed by

the purchasing agent directing or allowing the contractor to proceed with

changes, alterations, or modifications to the terms, conditions, or scope of

work on a previously awarded contract



   (3) "Chief purchasing officer" shall mean: (i) for a state

agency, the director of the department of administration, and (ii) for a public

agency, the executive director or the chief operational officer of the agency.



   (4) "Construction" means the process of building, altering,

repairing, improving, or demolishing any public structures or building, or

other public improvements of any kind to any public real property. It does not

include the routine maintenance or repair of existing structures, buildings, or

real property performed by salaried employees of the state of Rhode Island in

the usual course of their jobs.



   (5) "Contract" means all types of agreements, including

grants and orders, for the purchase or disposal of supplies, services,

construction, or any other item. It includes awards; contracts of a

fixed-price, cost, cost-plus-a-fixed-fee, or incentive type; contracts

providing for the issuance of job or task orders; leases; letter contracts;

purchase orders; and construction management contracts. It also includes

supplemental agreements with respect to any of the foregoing. "Contract" does

not include labor contracts with employees of state agencies.



   (6) "Contract amendment" means any written alteration in the

specifications, delivery point, rate of delivery, contract period, price,

quantity, or other contract provisions of any existing contract, whether

accomplished by unilateral action in accordance with a contract provision, or

by mutual action of the parties to the contract. It includes bilateral actions,

such as supplemental agreements, and unilateral actions, such as change orders,

administrative changes, notices of termination, and notices of the exercise of

a contract option.



   (7) "Contractor" means any person having a contract with a

governmental body.



   (8) "Data" means recorded information, regardless of form or

characteristic.



   (9) "Designee" means a duly authorized representative of a

person holding a superior position.



   (10) "Employee" means an individual drawing a salary from a

state governmental entity.



   (11) "State governmental entity" means any entity created as

a legislative body or a public or state agency by the general assembly or

constitution of this state, except for municipal, regional, or county

governmental entities.



   (12) "May" means permissive.



   (13) "Negotiation" means contracting by either the method set

forth in §§ 37-2-19, 37-2-20, or 37-2-21.



   (14) "Person" means any business, individual, organization,

or group of individuals.



   (15) "Procurement" means the purchasing, buying, renting,

leasing, or otherwise obtaining of any supplies, services, or construction. It

also includes all functions that pertain to the obtaining of any supply,

service, or construction item, including a description of requirements,

selection and solicitation of sources, preparation, and award of contract, and

all phases of contract administration.



   (16) "Public agency" shall mean the Rhode Island industrial

recreational building authority, the Rhode Island economic development

corporation, the Rhode Island industrial facilities corporation, the Rhode

Island refunding bond authority, the Rhode Island housing and mortgage finance

corporation, the Rhode Island resource recovery corporation, the Rhode Island

public transit authority, the Rhode Island student loan authority, the Howard

development corporation, the water resources board corporate, the Rhode Island

health and education building corporation, the Rhode Island turnpike and bridge

authority, the Blackstone Valley district commission, the Narragansett Bay

water quality management district commission, the Rhode Island

telecommunications authority, the convention center authority, the Channel 36

foundation, the Rhode Island lottery commission their successors and assigns,

any other body corporate and politic which has been or will be created or

established within this state excepting cities and towns, and the board of

governors for higher education for all purchases which are funded by

restricted, sponsored, or auxiliary monies.



   (17) "Purchase request" or "purchase requisition" means that

document whereby a using agency requests that a contract be entered into to

obtain goods and/or services for a specified need, and may include, but is not

limited to, the technical description of the requested item, delivery

requirements, transportation mode request, criteria for evaluation of

proposals, and/or preparation of suggested sources of supply, and information

supplied for the making of any written determination and finding required by

§ 37-2-6.



   (18) "Purchasing agency" means any state governmental entity

which is authorized by this chapter, its implementing regulations, or by way of

delegation from the chief purchasing officer to contract on its own behalf

rather than through the central contracting authority of the chief purchasing

officer.



   (19) "Purchasing agent" means any person authorized by a

governmental entity in accordance with procedures prescribed by regulations, to

enter into and administer contracts and make written determinations and

findings with respect to contracts. The term also includes an authorized

representative acting within the limits of authority. "Purchasing agent" also

means the person appointed in accordance with § 37-2-1.



   (20) "Services" means the rendering, by a contractor, of its

time and effort rather than the furnishing of a specific end product, other

than reports which are merely incidental to the required performance of

services. "Services" does not include labor contracts with employees of state

agencies.



   (21) "Shall" means imperative.



   (22) "State" means the state of Rhode Island and any of its

departments or agencies and public agencies.



   (23) "Supplemental agreement" means any contract modification

which is accomplished by the mutual action of the parties.



   (24) "Supplies" means all property, including, but not

limited to, leases of real property, printing, and insurance, except land or

permanent interest in land.



   (25) "Using agency" means any state governmental entity which

utilizes any supplies, services, or construction purchased under this chapter.



   (26) As used in § 37-2-59, "architect" or "engineer"

services means those professional services within the scope of practice of

architecture, professional engineering, or registered land surveying pertaining

to construction, as defined by the laws of this state. "Consultant" means any

person with whom the state and/or a public agency has a contract which contract

provides for the person to give direction or information as regards a

particular area of knowledge in which the person is a specialist and/or has

expertise.



   (27) For purposes of §§ 37-2-62 – 37-2-70,

"directors" means those members of a public agency appointed pursuant to a

statute who comprise the governing authority of the board, commission,

authority, and/or corporation.



   (28) "State agency" means any department, commission,

council, board, bureau, committee, institution, or other governmental entity of

the executive or judicial branch of this state not otherwise established as a

body corporate and politic, and includes, without limitation, the board of

governors for higher education except for purchases which are funded by

restricted, sponsored, or auxiliary moneys and the board of regents for

elementary and secondary education.



   (29) "Governmental entity" means any department, commission,

council, board, bureau, committee, institution, legislative body, agency, or

government corporation of the executive, legislative, or judicial branches of

state, federal, and/or local governments.



   (30) "Construction management at-risk" or "construction

management at-risk services" or "construction management at-risk delivery

method" is a construction method wherein a construction manager at-risk

provides a range of preconstruction services and construction management

services which may include cost estimation and consultation regarding the

design of the building project, the preparation and coordination of bid

packages, scheduling, cost control, and value engineering, acting as the

general contractor during the construction, detailing the trade contractor

scope of work, holding the trade contracts and other contracts, evaluating

trade contractors and subcontractors, and providing management and construction

services, all at a guaranteed maximum price, which shall represent the maximum

amount to be paid by the using agency for the building project, including the

cost of work, the general conditions and the fee payable to the construction

management at-risk firm.



   (31) "Construction manager at-risk" or "construction

management at-risk firm" is a person or business experienced in construction

that has the ability to evaluate and to implement drawings and specifications

as they affect time, cost and quality of construction and the ability to

coordinate and deliver the construction of the project within a guaranteed

maximum price, which shall represent the maximum amount to be paid by the using

agency for the building project, including the cost of the work, the general

conditions and the fee payable to the construction management at-risk firm. The

construction manager at-risk provides consultation services during the

preconstruction and construction phases of the project. The project engineer,

architect or owner's program manager may not serve as the construction manager

at-risk.



   (32) "Owner's program manager" shall be an entity engaged to

provide project management services on behalf of a state agency for the

construction and supervision of the construction of a building project. The

owner's program manager acts as the owner's agent in all aspects of the

construction project, including, but not limited to, architectural programming,

planning, design, construction, and the selection and procurement of an

appropriate construction delivery method. The owner's program manager shall

have at least seven (7) years experience in the construction and supervision of

construction of buildings of similar size and complexity. The owner's program

manager shall not have been employed during the preceding year by the design

firm, the construction firm, and/or the subcontractors associated with the

project.



History of Section.

(P.L. 1989, ch. 526, § 2; P.L. 1996, ch. 127, § 1; P.L. 1996, ch.

128, § 1; P.L. 1998, ch. 31, art. 1, § 16; P.L. 1999, ch. 31, art. 1,

§ 15; P.L. 1999, ch. 367, § 1; P.L. 2000, ch. 55, art. 1, § 15;

P.L. 2000, ch. 180, § 1; P.L. 2001, ch. 77, art. 1, § 15; P.L. 2008,

ch. 457, § 1; P.L. 2011, ch. 336, § 1; P.L. 2011, ch. 385, § 1;

P.L. 2015, ch. 141, art. 7, § 15.)