Section 2 AAC 12.485 - Contract amendments(a) Except for contract amendments in a contract with a clause that authorizes adjustment under 2 AAC 12.475(a), all amendments to contracts shall be made in accordance with this section.(b) The procurement officer may amend a contract for construction, as "construction" is defined under AS 36.30.990, but only if the amendment is within the scope of the original contract.(c) The procurement officer may amend a contract established under 2 AAC 12.400 within the scope of the original contract, but the amendment may not increase the contract beyond the small procurement limits established under AS 36.30.320.(d) Except for amendments established under (b) or (c) of this section, unanticipated contract amendments that exceed the lesser of 20 percent of the amount of the original term of the contract, or a subsequent current term of the contract, as applicable, or $100,000, may be made only if the chief procurement officer or, for state equipment fleet contracts, the commissioner of transportation and public facilities, or, for contracts for the services of legal counsel, the attorney general, determines in writing that the amendment is in the state's best interest. A request by a purchasing agency to amend a contract that exceeds these limits must be accompanied by a written explanation listing specific reasons why the amendment is in the state's best interests, and must address: (1) whether the change is legitimate and due to unforeseen circumstances which occurred as work progressed, and whether the reasons for the change were unforeseen at the time the contract was established, as opposed to an effort to evade procurement requirements;(2) whether the additional work is within the scope of the original contract;(3) whether the contract contains clauses authorizing modification; and(4) whether the amendment represents any important general change which alters the essential identity or main purpose of the original contract, or is of such importance as to constitute a new undertaking.(e) An amendment to a contract which the procurement officer determines does not address each provision set out in (d)(1) - (4) of this section but which is determined by the procurement officer to be in the state's best interest may qualify as a single source procurement under 2 AAC 12.410.Eff. 11/28/97, Register 144; am 2/28/2014, Register 209, April 2014