Current through September 18, 2024
A. R.I. Gen. Laws
§
37-2-12(1)
All rights, powers, duties, and authority relating to the procurement of
supplies, services, and construction, and the management, control, warehousing,
sale, and disposal of supplies, services, and construction exercised by any
state agency as established by the General Assembly, shall be under the
jurisdiction of the state's Chief Purchasing Officer.
1. R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-54(3)
No purchase or contract shall be binding on the state or any agency thereof
unless approved by the department [of Administration] or made under general
regulations which the Chief Purchasing Officer may prescribe.
a. Purchasing Authority shall be defined as
the authority to act on behalf of the state to commit funds, enter into binding
agreements or contracts, dispose of state property, or in any other manner
control procurement or obligate the State.
b. No state agency official shall have the
right to exercise purchasing authority through written or oral agreements or
contracts or in any other way financially or otherwise obligate the State
without the express written consent of the Chief Purchasing Officer.
c. No state agency may place orders or
negotiate with suppliers or potential suppliers without the participation or
express approval of the Chief Purchasing Officer.
2. The Office of Purchases within the
Department of Administration shall be the state's centralized purchasing and
contracting authority.
B. R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-1 Within the Department of Administration there shall be a purchasing agent who
shall be appointed by the Chief Purchasing Officer with the approval of the
Governor, and who shall now and hereafter be in the classified service of the
state. R.I. Gen. Laws § 37 - 2-11 The Purchasing Agent shall be the
administrator of the Office of Purchases and shall:
1. R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-11(1)
Serve as the central procurement and contracting agent of the state;
2. R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-11(2)
Recommend regulations, rules, and procedures to the Chief Purchasing
Officer;
3. R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-11(3)
Purchase or otherwise acquire, or, with the approval of the Chief Purchasing
Officer to delegate the purchase and acquisition of, all supplies, services and
construction for the state.
C. R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-54(1)
The Chief Purchasing Officer, except as otherwise provided by law, shall
purchase, or shall delegate and control the purchase of, the combined
requirements of all spending agencies of the state including, but not limited
to, interests in real property, contractual services, rentals of all types,
supplies, materials, equipment, and services, except where competitive bids may
not be required, and except as otherwise authorized by R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-18(a)-(h)"Competitive Sealed Bidding" and these regulations.
1. Delegated Purchase Authority shall mean
the transfer of Purchasing Authority from the Chief Purchasing Officer or the
Purchasing Agent to another state official in accordance with the provisions
and limitations of R.I. Gen. Laws § 37-2 and the regulations set forth
herein.
a. The Purchasing Agent may recommend
to the Chief Purchasing Officer that purchasing authority be delegated in
circumstances where cost-effectiveness and efficiency are best
served.
b. The Purchasing Agent may
delegate purchase authority with the written approval of the Chief Purchasing
Officer.
c. Requested Delegated
Purchase Authority shall be specifically justified by an agency director/chief
executive and authorized by the Purchasing Agent in advance of any purchase
action.
d. All delegated purchasing
authority shall be specific as to:
(1) The
names and titles of individuals authorized by an agency director to commit
funds on behalf of his agency
(2)
The accounts, commodities and levels of expenditures for which the agency
director authorizes individuals to commit funds
e. The Chief Purchasing Officer shall
transmit on an annual basis a list of officials approved to authorize delegated
purchase transactions to the Office of Accounts and Control and the Budget
Office.
f. The implementation of
Delegated Purchasing Authority shall be monitored by the Purchasing Agent and
the State Controller. If at any time a user agency is deemed to be in violation
of purchasing rules, regulations, policies and procedures, the Chief Purchasing
Officer or the Purchasing Agent, with the approval of the Chief Purchasing
Officer, may revoke any Delegated Purchasing Authority privilege which has been
previously granted.
D. R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-9(1)
The Chief Purchasing Officer shall have power and authority over, and may,
except as otherwise expressly provided in R.I. Gen. Laws § 37-2, adopt
regulations pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §
42-35-2 governing the purchasing management and control of any and all supplies,
services, and construction, and other items required to be purchased by the
state. The Chief Purchasing Officer shall consider and decide matters of policy
with regard to state procurement. The Chief Purchasing Officer shall have the
power of review with respect to the implementation of regulations and policy
determinations.
E. R.I. Gen. Laws
§
37-2-10 The Chief Purchasing Officer may provide for the distribution of the
Department's procurement activities and functions among the various divisions
within the Department. However, in accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-13(3)
the Chief Purchasing Officer shall not delegate his power to issue state
purchasing regulations to any other person or agency, and no state purchasing
regulations shall be issued except as approved by the Chief Purchasing
Officer.
F. R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-54(3)
The Department of Administration shall have supervision over all purchases by
the various spending agencies, except as otherwise provided by law, and shall
prescribe rules and regulations to govern purchasing by or for all such
agencies, subject to the approval of the Chief Purchasing Officer and shall
publish a manual of procedures to be distributed to agencies and to be revised
upon issuance of amendments to such procedures.
G. R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-54(4)
The Chief Purchasing Officer shall require agencies to take and maintain
inventories of plant and equipment and the Department of Administration shall
conduct periodic physical audits of inventories.
H. R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-54(5)
The Department of Administration shall require all agencies to furnish an
estimate of specific needs for supplies, materials and equipment to be
purchased by competitive bidding for the purpose of permitting scheduling of
purchasing in large volume. It shall establish and enforce schedules for
purchasing supplies, materials, and equipment. In addition, all agencies shall
submit to the Department of Administration prior to the beginning of each
fiscal year an estimate of all needs for supplies, materials and equipment
during that year which will have to be acquired through competitive bidding.
1. The Chief Purchasing Officer may require
any agency to submit annual or multi- year plans for proposed procurements of
supplies, material, equipment, and supplemental services.
2. The Chief Purchasing Officer may require
the sub-mission of procurement plans with the submission of budget requests.
I. R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-54(6)
The Department of Administration shall have power, with the approval of the
State Properties Committee, to transfer between departments, to salvage, to
exchange, and to condemn supplies, equipment, and real property.
1. R.I. Gen. Laws §
37-2-45 Supply Disposition Process. - The Chief Purchasing Officer shall sell or
otherwise dispose of all property (including any interest in real property) of
the state which is not needed or has become unsuitable for public use, or would
be more suitable consistent with the public interest for some other use, as
determined by the Chief Purchasing Officer subject to the approval of the State
Proper-ties Committee and pursuant to the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws 37-7.
The determination of the Chief Purchasing Officer shall be set forth in an
order and shall be reached only after review of a written request by the agency
desiring to dispose of the property. Such request shall describe the property
and state the reasons why the agency believes disposal should be effected. All
instruments required by law to be recorded which convey any interest in any
such real property so disposed of shall be executed and signed by the acquiring
authority pursuant the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws § 37-7
a. Disposal of equipment which has attained
the end of its useful life, as determined by the Purchasing Agent, and is
intended for use as a "one-for-one" trade in applied to the procurement of new,
similar equipment shall be exempted from review by the State Properties
Committee.
