Section 220-RICR-80-10-1.2 - DefinitionsA. "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 financials, personal financial statement(s) of all owners, and a no change affidavit.B. "Applicant" means any business that applies to the Department of Administration for certification, decertification, reconsideration or appeal.C. "Architect-engineer" means:1. Professional services of an architectural or engineering nature, as defined by Rhode Island State Law, if applicable, which are required to be performed or approved by a person licensed, registered, or certified to provide such services.2. Other professional services associated with research, planning, development, design, construction, alteration, or repair of real property that the contracting officer determines are of an architectural or engineering nature.D. "Awarding authority" means any agency or department of the federal government, the State of Rhode Island or their political subdivisions that awards contracts using public funds.E. "Caseworker and/or representative of D.O.A." means a D.O.A. staff member, or its designee assigned to review applications.F. "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 concerning group membership, individual disadvantage, business size, ownership and control.G. "Certification period" means the length of time a firm may be certified prior to having to undergoing another full review of its eligibility and qualifications for certification.H. "Certification review committee" (also referred to as the C.R.C.) shall function as an appellant body. Firms that are denied certification as an MBE, WBE, or DBE may request a hearing before the C.R.C. in order to appeal said decision. The C.R.C. consists of five (5) members appointed by the Director of the Department of Administration. The Director of the Department of Administration will appoint the chairperson of this committee. The five (5) members will consist of one (1) individual from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation and four (4) individuals from the public or private sector. At least four members will represent the minority groups as defined under R.I. Gen. Laws § 37-14.1. Each member, including the chairperson, will serve at the pleasure of the Director of the Department of Administration and their term will be perpetual or until a replacement is appointed. No person involved in the original determination shall serve as a member of the CRC during an appeal.I. "Certified" means an applicant firm which has been reviewed by D.O.A. and found to have met the certification requirements provided in these regulations.J. "Construction" means construction, alteration, or repair (including dredging, excavating, and painting) of buildings, structures, or other real property.K. "Days" means business days not calendar days.L. "D.O.A." means the Rhode Island Department of Administration.M. "Hearings" means formal meetings held at the request of the applicant and conducted pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act. Hearings are conducted by the C.R.C. and relate to the denial determination of an applicant or decertification of a certified firm.N. "Manufacturer" means a firm that operates or maintains a factory or establishment that produces on the premises the materials, or supplies, articles, or equipment required under the contract and of the general character described by the specifications 49 C.F.R. § 26.55(e)(1)(ii)O. "Minority (MBE) Business Enterprises" means small business enterprises whose owners are rebuttably presumed to be socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, who are citizens of the United States or legal permanent residents, and who are members of a definable minority group that own and control the business.P. "Ongoing concern" means a business whose activity is consistent and perpetual and whose business hours are regular.Q. "Other minority business enterprises" means socially and economically disadvantaged firms which are owned and controlled by individuals who are citizens of the United States, or legal permanent residents whose social disadvantage must stem from an individual's color, national origin; gender, physical handicap; long term residence in an environment isolated from the mainstream of American society; or other similar cause beyond the control of the individual, and whose economic disadvantaged must stem from an inability to compete in the free enterprise system due to diminished capital and credit opportunities, as compared to others in the same or similar line of business and/or competitive market area who are not socially disadvantaged. 13 C.F.R. §§ 124.103 through 109.R. "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. 49 C.F.R. § 26.55(e)(2)(ii)S. "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. § 23, 49 C.F.R. § 26, 13 C.F.R. § 121 and 13 C.F.R. § 124.T. "Rhode Island Bridge Fund Minority Business Enterprise (RIBFMBE)" means a firm certified as either an MBE, WBE, or DBE by the Department of Administration, Office of Diversity, Equity and Opportunity (ODEO), MBE Compliance Office (MBECO) only for those projects covered under the Rhode Island Bridge Replacement, Reconstruction and Maintenance Fund Act of 2016 (RIBF Act) in accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-13.1-17.U. "Service" means a contract or firm whose primary purpose is to perform an identifiable task rather than to furnish an end item of supply.V. "Site visit" means a visit by a D.O.A. staff member, or its designee to an applicant's business facility or job location.220 R.I. Code R. 220-RICR-80-10-1.2