Section 220-RICR-80-15-1.3 - DefinitionsA. The following words and terms shall have the following meanings whenever used in these Regulations. 1. "Aggregate utilization rate" means the overall percentage goal of the State's total dollar value of procurement contracts and public works projects being made directly or indirectly to VBEs.2. "Annual update" means the information required from a certified firm prior to its anniversary date. Materials to be furnished may include, but not necessarily be limited to, most recently filed personal and business tax returns, year-end financial statements, personal financial statements, and a no change affidavit.3. "Applicant" means any business that applies to the Department of Administration (DOA) for certification, decertification, reconsideration, or appeal.4. "Assistant Administrator - MBE" means the head of the MBECO.5. "Associate Director of ODEO" means the head of the ODEO as established by R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-11-2.7(b).6. "Awarding authority" means any agency or department of the federal government, the State of Rhode Island or their political subdivisions that award contracts using public funds.7. "Bidder" means any individual, organization, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture, or any other legal entity through which business is conducted that is submitting a quote or bid in response to a solicitation issued by the Division of Purchases or any other State Agency.8. "Caseworker" and/or "Representative" of DOA means a DOA staff member, or its designee, assigned to review applications.9. "Certification" means that a company has met the burden of demonstrating by the preponderance of evidence, that it meets the requirements of these regulations and federal regulations concern veteran status, individual disadvantage, business size, ownership and control.10. "Certification period" means the length of time a firm may be certified prior to having to undergo another full review of its eligibility and qualifications for certification.11. "Certification review committee" means the committee that shall function as an appellant body. Firms that are denied certification as a VBE may request a hearing before the CRC in order to appeal said decision. The CRC consists of the five (5) members of the MBE Certification Review Committee (CRC) as appointed by the Director of the Department of Administration and as defined in Subchapter 10 Part 1 of this Chapter. No person involved in the original determination shall serve as a member of the CRC during an appeal.12. "Certified" means an applicant firm which has been reviewed by DOA and found to have met the certification requirements provided in these regulations.13. "Construction" means construction, alteration, or repair (including dredging, excavating and painting) of buildings, structures, or other real property.14. "Days" means business days, not calendar days.15. "Director" means the Director of the Department of Administration. The Director may delegate his or her duties under these Regulations to a designee provided that the issuance of any waivers from or amendments to these Regulations must be approved in writing by the Director.16. "Division" means the Department of Administration's Division of Purchases. If the solicitation is not issued by the Division of Purchases, then Division shall mean the division or department within the State Agency that is issuing the solicitation.17. "DOA" means the Rhode Island Department of Administration.18. "Economically disadvantaged" means that the veteran's personal net worth is not in excess of the economic disadvantage criteria as established by 49 C.F.R. Part 26.19. "Hearings" means formal meetings held at the request of the applicant and conducted pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act. Hearings are conducted by the CRC and relate to the denial determination of an applicant or decertification of a certified firm.20. "MBECO" means the Minority Business Enterprise Compliance Office within the ODEO.21. "ODEO" means the Office of Diversity, Equity and Opportunity that has been established as a division with the Department of Administration pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-11-2.7.22. "On-going concern" means a business whose activity is consistent and perpetual and whose business hours are regular.23. "Proposer" means any individual, organization, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture, or any other legal entity through which business is conducted that is submitting a proposal in response to a solicitation issued by the Division of Purchases or any other State agency.24. "Regular dealer / supplier" means a firm that owns, operates or maintains a store, warehouse, or other establishment in which the materials or supplies required for the performance of the contract are bought, kept in stock, and regularly sold to the public in the usual course of business. To be a regular dealer, the firm must engage in, as its principal business, and in its own name, the purchase and sale of the products in question. A regular dealer in such bulk items as steel, cement, gravel, stone and petroleum products needs not keep such products in stock, if it owns or operates distribution equipment.25. "Regulations" means all of the provisions contained in this document or regulations established by other awarding or certifying federal authorities, including, but not necessarily limited to, 49 C.F.R. Part 26, 13 C.F.R. Part 121, and 13 C.F.R. Part 124.26. "Request for proposals" or "RFP" means a solicitation for competitive offers where lowest price is not the sole or primary consideration to be used in determining an award or any other solicitation that is identified and classified by the Division as a request for proposals.27. "Request for quotes" or "RFQ" means a solicitation for competitive offers where lowest price is the sole or primary consideration to be used in determining an award or any other solicitation that is identified and classified by the Division as a request for quotes.28. "Service" means a contract or firm whose primary purpose is to perform an identifiable task rather than to furnish an end item of supply.29. "Site visit" means a visit by a DOA staff member, or its designee, to an applicant's business facility or job location.30. "Small business concern" means a concern, including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operations in which it is bidding on state government contracts, and qualified as a small business under the criteria and size standards in 13 C.F.R. Part 121.31. "State" means the state of Rhode Island and any of its departments or agencies and public agencies.32. "State agency" includes any state department, board, bureau, agency, or public agency as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 37-2-7(16).33. "Substantial" means considerable in importance, value, degree, size, amount, extent or worth concerning the essential or substance of something.34. "Substantial investment" means the contribution of capital or expertise as defined in 49 C.F.R. Part 26.69(c) through 49 C.F.R. Part 26.69(i).35. "Using agency" means any state government entity which utilizes any supplies, services, or construction purchased under R.I. Gen. Laws § 37-2.36. "VBE compliance plan" is a Bidder's plan to achieve the Aggregate Utilization Rate in connection with a State procurement contract or public works project.37. "VBE participation rate" means the ratio of the amount of work performed in connection with a State procurement contract or public works project by VBEs to the amount of work performed by all contractors and subcontractors.38. "Veteran" means a person who served on active duty with the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard, for a minimum of one hundred eighty (180) days and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. Reservists or members of the National Guard called to federal active duty (for other than training) or disabled from a disease or injury incurred or aggravated in the line of duty or while in training status also qualify as a veteran pursuant to 38 C.F.R. Part 74.39. "Veteran business enterprise" or "VBE" means a small business enterprise that is owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are veterans as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 37-14.3-3(7) and who are economically disadvantaged as defined by R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-14.3-3(4). To be recognized under these Regulations as a VBE, the business must be certified as a VBE by the ODEO. a. Which may include a business owned by a surviving spouse or permanent caregiver of a veteran as provided by 38 C.F.R. Part 74.220 R.I. Code R. 220-RICR-80-15-1.3
Adopted effective 7/3/2019