Header:
CODE OF RHODE ISLAND RULES
AGENCY 92. COMMISSIONS AND OTHER AGENCIES - FINANCIAL
SUB-AGENCY 030. RHODE ISLAND HIGHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE AUTHORITY
CHAPTER 001. PURCHASING RULES AND REGULATIONS
Date:
08/31/2009
Document:
92 030 001 PURCHASING RULES AND REGULATIONS
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1.4 DOCUMENTATION AND REPORTS:
1.4.1 Purchase Reports
1.4.1.1. The Accounting Department shall maintain records of all purchases and sales made under RIHEAA's authority and shall make periodic summary reports of all transactions to the Chief Purchasing Officer.
1.4.1.2. Sole Source, Emergency and Small Purchases
1.4.1.2.1. In accordance with Section [37-2-37] the Purchasing Agent shall compile annually within ninety (90) days following the close of the fiscal year a report of procurement actions for sole source, emergency, and small purchase contracts made during the preceding fiscal year. The summary shall (1) name each contractor, and (2) state the amount and type of each contractor.
1.4.1.2.2. All documentation of Contracts made for such procurements shall be retained for a period of five (5) years and made available for public inspection.
1.4.1.3. Adequate written records shall be maintained in purchasing files to document procurement activities, reasons for selection of the supplier's product and justification of price.
1.4.2.1. At a minimum, documentation shall include adequate justification of source selection and pricing.
1.4.2.2. The extent of documentation may vary with RIHEAA's needs and requirements and the value and complexity of the purchase.
1.4.2.3. Procurement officials shall be required to provide an "audit trail" for every purchase. Such documentation shall be recorded and maintained in accordance with procedures established by the Purchasing Agent. Purchasing personnel shall document and maintain records of all actions with respect to a purchase for the purpose of:
1.4.2 3.1. Providing background information to assure that informed decisions are made at each step in a procurement;
1.4.2.3.2. Rationale for action taken;
1.4.2.3.3. Providing information for reviews and audits conducted by purchasing management and audit agencies; and
1.4.2.3.4 furnishing facts in the event of litigation.
1.4.3. Purchasing documentation shall be signed or initialed (as appropriate) by duly authorized officials. Such signature or initialing shall constitute certification by the official that the action documented meets the administrative requirements for which he/she is responsible.
1.4.3.1. Annually the Executive Director shall submit to the Director of Administration a list of RIHEAA officials who shall have the authority to act on behalf of RIHEAA for all purchases made through the State Purchasing Authority. Annually each department head shall submit to the Executive Director the officials who shall have the authority to act on behalf of the Department. The approved list shall be placed on file at the Department of Administration Offices of Purchases, Accounts and Control and Budget.
1.4.3.1.1. All authorizations shall be specific as to:
1.4.2.1.1.1. maximum levels of expenditure, commitment, program account;
1.4.3.1.1.2. persons authorized to call Office of Purchases personnel to obtain information or provide clarification on requisitions; and
1.4.3.1.1.2. officials who will have the authority to decide whether the situation requires an emergency purchasing action and who will be responsible for following emergency purchasing procedures.
1.4.3.2 RIHEAA Purchase Orders shall require the original signature of the Chief Purchasing Officer, the Purchasing Agent or his designee.
1.4.3.3 Requisitions shall require the original signature of an official designated by the user Department as an agent authorized to act on his/her behalf for procurement transactions.
1.4.3.4. Requisitions submitted to the Purchasing Department shall require the original signature of an official designated by the Supervising Accountant and Deputy Director as responsible for certifying as to the availability of funds for purchasing actions.
1.4.4. Documentation records may be in the form of copies, microfilms, computer files or other means permitted in accordance with procedures established and published by the Chief Purchasing Officer or shall be original documents as required by law or the State Controller.
1.4.5 Audit of contractor records.
1.4.5.1. In accordance with [37-2-34(2)] RIHEAA may audit the books and records of any person who has submitted cost or pricing data for certain negotiated contracts or change orders at any time until the period of record retention as set forth in 37-2-34(3) shall have expired. The right to audit hereunder shall only extend to those books and records reasonably connected with cost or pricing data submitted in accordance with 37-2-28.
1.4.5.1.1. "Certain negotiated contracts or change orders" shall mean negotiated contracts exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($ 50,000) and negotiated change orders exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars ($ 25,000).
1.4.5.2. RIHEAA or the Auditor General may audit the books and records of a contractor or any subcontractor under any negotiated contract or subcontract other than a firm fixed-price type contract, provided, however, that this subsection shall not limit the right to audit as set forth in subsection (2) of this section 37-2-341.
1.4.5.3. Such books and records shall be maintained by the contractor for a period of three (3) years from the date of final payment under the prime contract and by the subcontractor for a period of three (3) years from the date of the final payment under the subcontract.
1.4.6. All documents involved in any procurement in which collusion is suspected shall be retained until the Attorney General gives notice that they maybe released, and all such documents shall be made available to the Attorney General or his designee upon request.
1.4.7. In accordance with 37-2-61 every determination required by Chapter 37-2 and the policies contained herein shall be in writing and based upon written findings of fact by the public official making the determination. These determinations and written findings shall be retained in an official contract file in the Office of the Chief Purchasing Officer. For the purposes of this section, the Office of Purchases shall be considered synonymous with the "Office of the Chief Purchasing Officer."
1.4.8. Each bid, together with the name of the bidder, shall be recorded and an abstract made available for public inspection. Subsequent to the awarding of a bid, all documents pertinent to the awarding of the bid shall be made available and open to public inspection and retained in the bid file.
1.4.8.1. "Bid Abstract" shall mean a summary of responsive bids to a solicitation.
1.4.8.2. All documentation records shall be subject to public disclosure with the following exceptions:
1.4.8.2.1. Information of a proprietary nature submitted by vendors; and
1.4.8.1.2. Information furnished by a bidder in connection with an inquiry related to responsibility.
1.4.8.3. The Purchasing Agent shall assure that information not in the public domain is not divulged.
1.4.8.4. Bids shall not be available for public inspection at the bid opening. Abstracts of bid information shall be available for public inspection at the Purchasing Department no later than ten (10) working days after an award has been made.
1.4.8.5. Requests for access to records other than bid abstracts shall be made in writing and signed by the applicant.
1.4.8.5.1. The Purchasing Agent shall have a reasonable time to respond to requests for access to information.
1.4.8.5.2. Reviews of document records shall be permitted by appointment only and shall be conducted under the supervision of a Purchasing Department official.
1.4.8.5.3. No documentation shall be removed from the premises of the Purchasing Department without the written consent of the Chief Purchasing Officer.
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9.6 EMERGENCIES Notwithstanding any other provision of Chapter 37-2, the Purchasing Agent may make or authorize others to make emergency procurements when there exists a threat to public health, welfare or safety under emergency conditions as defined in regulations; provided, that such emergency procurements shall be made with such competition as is practicable under the circumstances. A written determination of the basis for the emergency and for the selection of the contractor shall be included in the contract file.
9.6.1 In accordance with procedures established by the Purchasing Agent, authorized officials in user departments shall be permitted to react quickly to critical situations when the cost for a remedy or repair is in excess of $ 250 and there is not sufficient time to undertake a public, formal, or informal bidding process.
9.6.2 An emergency shall mean a situation to which an urgent response is required. Immediate dangers to health and safety, threats to Property and necessary functions, and failures of critical equipment constitute emergencies.
9.6.3 Inadequate anticipation of need shall not be considered justification for "emergency" purchases.
9.6.4 Commitments which extend beyond the immediate response to the dysfunctional emergency shall be prohibited, i.e. prevention of future problems by corrective measures other than the immediate restoration of function must be pursued through the Purchasing Department competitive purchasing process.
9.6.5 The Purchasing Department shall establish, through competitive bidding, a list of emergency response vendors and shall make such lists available to user departments.
9.6.5.1 When possible, departments shall obtain services from a list of vendors selected by competitive process to Provide specialized trade in emergencies.
9.6.5.2 If an emergency cannot be addressed by a designated vendor, the Purchasing Department shall assist in obtaining names and telephone numbers of responsible vendors.
9.6.6. If the emergency occurs outside of business hours for the Purchasing Department, the user department shall be authorized to proceed in accordance with the principles and policies of sound procurement practices outlined herein.
9.6.7 All emergency purchases shall be documented in accordance with procedures established by the Purchasing Agent. The user department shall submit documentation for the emergency situation and response action in writing to the Purchasing Agent with the voucher for payment. All emergency documentation forms shall be signed by the department director.
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**Note: Only the section analyzed by the PHASYS team is included here as the entire regulation exceeded ~100 pages.
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