Rhode Island § 37-2-12 - State Purchases

§ 37-2-12. Centralization of the procurement authority.

(a) 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 now vested in or exercised by any state agency under the several statutes relating thereto are hereby transferred to the chief purchasing officer as provided in this chapter, subject to the provisions of § 37-2-54. A public agency does not have to utilize the centralized purchasing of the state but the public agency, through its existing internal purchasing function, shall adhere to the general principles, policies and practices set forth in this chapter.

(b) The chief purchasing officer, as defined in § 37-2-7(3)(i), may establish, charge, and collect from state contractors, listed on master-price agreements, a statewide contract administrative fee not to exceed one percent (1%) of the total value of the annual spend against a contract awarded to a state contractor. All statewide contract administrative fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into a restricted-receipt account within the general fund designated as the “division of purchases administrative-fee account” and shall be used for the purposes of implementing technology for the submission and processing of bids, online vendor registration, bid notification, and other costs related to state procurement. On or before January 15, 2019, and annually thereafter on or before January 15, the chief purchasing officer or designee shall file a report with the governor, the speaker of the house, and the president of the senate detailing:

(i) The total amount of funds collected and deposited into the division of purchases administrative-fee account for the most recently completed fiscal year;

(ii) The account balance as of the date of the report;

(iii) An itemization of all expenditures and other uses of said funds from said account for the most recently completed fiscal year; and

(iv) An annual evaluation as to the appropriateness of the amount of the contract administrative fee on master-price agreements.

(c) Subject to the approval of the director of the department of administration, the state controller is authorized to offset any currently recorded outstanding liability on the part of developmental disability organizations (DDOs) to repay previously authorized startup capital advances against the proceeds from the sale of group homes within a fiscal year prior to any sale proceeds being deposited into the information technology restricted receipt account established pursuant to § 42-11-2.5(a).