Rule 15-20-72-5.3.17 - Change Orders1.General.A. In the event a determination is made by a Grant recipient after a construction contract is executed that changes or modifications to the original contract are necessary or would better serve the purpose of the Grant recipient, such Grant recipient may, at its discretion, execute such change orders pertaining to the construction that are necessary under the circumstances, as provided in the contract documents and when in accordance with applicable law.B. Change orders shall not change, vary, or alter the basic purpose or effect of the project unless allowed by the Department. Change orders shall be technically adequate, the costs shall be necessary and reasonable, and eligible/ineligible costs shall be appropriately separated.2.Change Order Submissions.A. After completion of the claims resolution and/or change order negotiation process between the Grant recipient and the contracting party, a fully executed change order shall be submitted to the Department for review and approval, in order to obtain an ARPA RWAI Grant eligibility/allowability determination. If any change order is submitted to the Department that is not complete and fully executed by the Grant recipient, the contracting party, and the licensed engineer if appropriate, the Department may return such change order without review.B. The Grant recipient may submit a complete and fully executed change order which has been executed conditional upon an ARPA RWAI Grant eligibility/allowability determination by the Department.C. All change orders shall be submitted to the Department for review and approval in a timely manner.D. If possible, approval of a change order should be secured from the Department before the work is started, particularly for change orders including time extensions as per Rule 5.3.17.4 below. Approval may also be secured after the work is started; however, the Grant recipient shall bear the cost if the work is determined to be ineligible or unallowable.E. When the eligible cost of a project will be significantly reduced by a change order or change orders, the Department may issue an amendment to the budget modification decreasing the Grant amount, and the Grant recipient shall execute such modification within the time frame established by the Department.3.Department Review. In order to allow the Department to perform a technical and Grant allowability review, requests for change order approvals shall conform to Department guidance, requirements, and regulations.
4.Time Extensions. Change orders which include time extensions exceeding 30 days beyond the original contract completion date, and/or documentation that the Grant recipient is implementing all legal remedies provided in the contract documents for failure to complete construction when required, shall be submitted to the Department as specified in these regulations. Justification for contract time extensions included in a change order shall be prepared but need not be submitted to the Department unless the total time extensions for the contract exceeds 30 days after the original contract completion date, in which case justification for all time extensions shall be submitted to the Department for an allowability determination. The deadline of September 30, 2026 ends the period of performance to liquidate all obligations. The contract completion date should not exceed August 15, 2026.
15 Miss. Code. R. 20-72-5.3.17
House Bill 1421, 2022 Regular Session & Senate Bill 2444, 2023 Regular Session of the MS Legislature