Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 220 - Department of Administration › Chapter 80 - Diversity, Equity and Opportunity › Subchapter 15 - Veteran Business Enterprise › Part 1 - Certification and Decertification of Veteran Business Enterprises by the State of Rhode Island and Participation by Veteran Business Enterprises in State Purchases of Goods and Services and Public Works Projects › Section 220-RICR-80-15-1.3 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. 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.