(a)  This chapter shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes and policies.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 37-2-2

  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts

(b)  The underlying purposes and policies of this chapter are to:

(1)  Simplify, clarify, and modernize the law governing purchasing by the state of Rhode Island and its local public agencies;

(2)  Permit the continued development of purchasing policies and practices;

(3)  Make as consistent as possible the purchasing laws among the various states;

(4)  Provide for increased public confidence in the procedures followed in public procurement;

(5)  Insure the fair and equitable treatment of all persons who deal with the procurement system of the state;

(6)  Provide increased economy in state and public agency procurement activities by fostering effective competition;

(7)  Provide safeguards for the maintenance of a procurement system of quality, integrity and highest ethical standards; and

(8)  Ensure that a public agency, acting through its existing internal purchasing function, adheres to the general principles, policies and practices enumerated herein.

History of Section.
P.L. 1989, ch. 526, § 2.