Rhode Island General Laws
Chapter 37-2 - State Purchases
Section 37-2-7. - Definitions.

§ 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 commerce 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, the university of Rhode Island board of trustees for all purchases that are funded by restricted, sponsored, or auxiliary monies, and the council on postsecondary education for all purchases that 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 that 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 council on postsecondary education except for purchases which are funded by restricted, sponsored, or auxiliary moneys, the university of Rhode Island board of trustees except for all purchases which are funded by restricted, sponsored, or auxiliary monies, and the council on 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; P.L. 2019, ch. 88, art. 9, § 12; P.L. 2020, ch. 13, § 1; P.L. 2020, ch. 18, § 1.

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