2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 11 - Public Finance › Chapter 35 - South Carolina Consolidated Procurement Code › Section 11-35-310. Definitions.

Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) "Information Technology (IT)" means information resources, telecommunications, and information services:
(a) "Information resources" means any equipment including interconnected systems or subsystems of equipment that is used in the automatic acquisition, creation, conversion, duplication, storage, analysis, evaluation, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information by the using agency.
(i) "Information resources" includes, but is not limited to, computers, ancillary equipment, including imaging peripherals, input, output, and storage devices and devices necessary for security and surveillance, peripheral equipment designed to be controlled by the central processing unit of a computer, databases, software, firmware, middleware, and application and application development software; whether owned, leased, licensed, or accessed as a service; and routine maintenance and support.
(ii) "Database" means a collection of recorded information in a form capable of, and for the purpose of, being stored in, processed, and operated on by a computer.
(iii) "Software" means computer programs that comprise a series of instructions, rules, routines, or statements, regardless of the media in which recorded, that allow or cause a computer to perform a specific operation or series of operations.
(iv) For purposes of this definition, equipment is used by an agency if the equipment is used by the agency directly or is used by a contractor under a contract with the agency that requires its use.
(b) "Telecommunications" means voice, data, message, and video transmissions, and includes the transmission and switching facilities of public telecommunications systems, as well as operating and network software.
(c) "Information Services" means services provided by a contractor associated with any aspect of information resources or telecommunications, except that information services does not include information resources or telecommunications.
(2) "Board" means governing body of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority.
(3) "Business" means any corporation, partnership, individual, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture, or any other legal entity.
(4) "Business day" means a day that is neither a Saturday, Sunday, nor a state or federal holiday.
(5) "Change order" means any written alteration in specifications, delivery point, rate of delivery, period of performance, price, quantity, or other provisions of any contract accomplished by mutual agreement of the parties to the contract.
(6) "Chief procurement officer" means (a) the management officer for information technology, (b) the state engineer for areas of construction, architectural and engineering, construction management, and land surveying services, and (c) the materials management officer for all other procurements.
(7) "Construction" means the process of building, altering, repairing, remodeling, improving, or demolishing a public infrastructure facility, including any public structure, public building, or other public improvements of any kind to real property. It does not include the routine operation, routine repair, or routine maintenance of an existing public infrastructure facility, including structures, buildings, or real property.
(8) "Contract" means all types of state agreements, regardless of what they may be called, for the procurement or disposal of supplies, services, information technology, or construction.
(9) "Contract modification" means a written order signed by the procurement officer, directing the contractor to make changes which the changes clause of the contract authorizes the procurement officer to order without the consent of the contractor.
(10) "Contractor" means any person having a contract with a governmental body.
(11) "Cost effectiveness" means the ability of a particular product or service to efficiently provide goods or services to the State. In determining the cost effectiveness of a particular product or service, the procurement officer shall list the relevant factors in the bid notice or solicitation and use only those listed relevant factors in determining the award.
(12) "Data" means recorded information, regardless of form or characteristics.
(13) "Days" means calendar days. In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by this code or the ensuing regulations, or by any order of the Procurement Review Panel, the day of the act, event, or default from which the designated period of time begins to run is not to be included. The last day of the period computed is to be included, unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, or a state or federal holiday, in which event the period runs to the end of the next day which is neither a Saturday, Sunday, nor such holiday.
(14) "Debarment" means the disqualification of a person to receive invitations for bids, or requests for proposals, or the award of a contract by the State, for a specified period of time commensurate with the seriousness of the offense or the failure or inadequacy of performance.
(15) "Designee" means a duly authorized representative of a person with formal responsibilities under the code.
(16) "Employee" means an individual drawing a salary from a governmental body, whether elected or not, and any nonsalaried individual performing personal services for any governmental body.
(17) (Reserved)
(18) "Governmental body" means a state government department, commission, council, board, bureau, committee, institution, college, university, technical school, agency, government corporation, or other establishment or official of the executive or judicial branch. Governmental body excludes the General Assembly or its respective branches or its committees, Legislative Council, the Legislative Services Agency, and all local political subdivisions such as counties, municipalities, school districts, or public service or special purpose districts or any entity created by act of the General Assembly for the purpose of erecting monuments or memorials or commissioning art that is being procured exclusively by private funds.
(19) "Grant" means the furnishing by the State or the United States government of assistance, whether financial or otherwise, to a person to support a program authorized by law. It does not include an award, the primary purpose of which is to procure specified end products, whether in the form of supplies, services, information technology, or construction. A contract resulting from such an award must not be considered a grant but a procurement contract.
(20) "Information Technology Management Officer" means the person holding the position as the head of the State Information Technology Office.
(21) "Invitation for bids" means a written or published solicitation issued by an authorized procurement officer for bids to contract for the procurement or disposal of stated supplies, services, information technology, or construction, which will ordinarily result in the award of the contract to the responsible bidder making the lowest responsive bid.
(22) "Materials Management Officer" means the person holding the position as the head of the materials management office of the State.
(23) "Person" means any business, individual, union, committee, club, other organization, or group of individuals.
(24) "Political subdivision" means all counties, municipalities, school districts, public service or special purpose districts.
(25) "Procurement" means buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise acquiring any supplies, services, information technology, or construction. It also includes all functions that pertain to the obtaining of any supply, service, information technology, or construction, including description of requirements, selection, and solicitation of sources, preparation and award of contracts, and all phases of contract administration.
(26) "Procurement officer" means any person duly authorized by the appropriate chief procurement officer or the head of the purchasing agency to enter into and administer contracts and make written determinations and findings with respect thereto. The term also includes an authorized representative of the governmental body within the scope of his authority.
(27) "Public funds" means any money or property owned by the State or a political subdivision thereof, regardless of form and whether in specie or otherwise.
(28) "Purchasing agency" means any governmental body other than the chief procurement officers authorized by this code or by way of delegation from the chief procurement officers to enter into contracts.
(29) "Real property" means any land, all things growing on or attached thereto, and all improvements made thereto including buildings and structures located thereon.
(30) "Request for proposals" (RFP) means a written or published solicitation issued by an authorized procurement officer for proposals to provide supplies, services, information technology, or construction which ordinarily results in the award of the contract to the responsible offeror making the proposal determined to be most advantageous to the State.
(31) "Services" means the furnishing of labor, time, or effort by a contractor not required to deliver a specific end product, other than reports which are merely incidental to required performance. This term includes consultant services other than architectural, engineering, land surveying, construction management, and related services. This term does not include employment agreements or information services as defined in Section 11-35-310(1)(c).
(32) "Subcontractor" means any person having a contract to perform work or render service to a prime contractor as a part of the prime contractor's agreement with a governmental body.
(33) "Supplies" means all personal property including, but not limited to, equipment, materials, printing, and insurance.
(34) "State" means state government.
(35) "State Engineer" means the person holding the position as head of the state engineer's office.
(36) "Suspension" means the disqualification of a person to receive invitations for bids, requests for proposals, or the award of a contract by the State, for a temporary period pending the completion of an investigation and any legal proceedings that may ensue because a person is suspected upon probable cause of engaging in criminal, fraudulent, or seriously improper conduct or failure or inadequacy of performance which may lead to debarment.
(37) "Term contract" means contracts established by the chief procurement officer for specific supplies, services, or information technology for a specified time and for which it is mandatory that all governmental bodies procure their requirements during its term. As provided in the solicitation, if a governmental body is offered the same supplies, services, or information technology at a price that is at least ten percent less than the term contract price, it may purchase from the vendor offering the lower price after first offering the vendor holding the term contract the option to meet the lower price. The solicitation used to establish the term contract must specify contract terms applicable to a purchase from the vendor offering the lower price. If the vendor holding the term contract meets the lower price, then the governmental body shall purchase from the contract vendor. All decisions to purchase from the vendor offering the lower price must be documented by the procurement officer in sufficient detail to satisfy the requirements of an external audit. A term contract may be a multiterm contract as provided in Section 11-35-2030.
(38) "Using agency" means any governmental body of the State which utilizes any supplies, services, information technology, or construction purchased under this code.
HISTORY: 1981 Act No. 148, Section 1; 1986 Act No. 510, Sections 3-6; 1991 Act No. 171, Part II, Section 69B; 1993 Act No. 164, Part II, Section 9A; 1993 Act No. 178, Sections 14, 15; 1997 Act No. 153, Section 1; 2002 Act No. 333, Section 8; 2002 Act No. 356, Section 1, Part VI.P(8); 2006 Act No; 376, Sections 7, 8; 2008 Act No. 174, Section 7; 2009 Act No. 72, Section 1; 2013 Act No. 31, Section 11, eff May 21, 2013; 2014 Act No. 121 (S.22), Pt VII, Section 21, eff July 1, 2015; 2019 Act No. 41 (S.530), Section 6, eff May 13, 2019.
Editor's Note
2008 Act No. 174, Section 21, provides as follows:
"This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to solicitations issued on or after January 1, 2008."
2009 Act No. 72, Section 6, provides as follows:
"This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to solicitations issued after that date; except that Sections 1, 2, and 4 of this act take effect upon and apply to solicitations issued after the first Monday in September following approval by the Governor."
2019 Act No. 41, Section 80, provides as follows:
"SECTION 80. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor and applies to solicitations issued after that date."
Effect of Amendment
The 2013 amendment, in subsection (18), the definition of "Governmental Body", substituted "Legislative Services Agency" for "Office of Legislative Printing, Information and Technology Systems".
2014 Act No. 121, Section 21, in subsection (2), substituted "governing body of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority" for "State Budget and Control Board".
2019 Act No. 41, Section 6, rewrote the section, adding definitions of "Business day", "Information Technology Management Officer", "Person", and "Public funds", and amending other definitions.
Subarticle 7
Public Access to Procurement Information