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.)