§ 42-11.1-5. Determination of eligibility for payment of interest. (a) Each state agency which is required to make a payment from state funds according to a contract and which does not make the contract payment by the required payment date shall make an interest payment to the contractor in accordance with this chapter on the amount of the contract payment which is due, unless failure to make such contract payment is the result of a lien, attachment, or other legal process against the money due the contractor, or unless the amount of the interest payment as computed in accordance with the provisions of § 42-11.1-6 is less than ten dollars ($10.00).

(b) The required payment date shall be thirty (30) working days after the receipt of an invoice for the amount of the contract payment due, except when:

(1) The state controller in the course of his or her audit determines that there is reasonable cause to believe that payment may not properly be due, in whole or in part;

(2) In accordance with specific statutory or contractual provisions payment must be preceded by an inspection period or by an audit to determine the resources applied or used by a contractor in fulfilling the terms of the contract;

(3) The necessary state government appropriation required to authorize payment has yet to be enacted;

(4) The cash balance of the fund or sub-fund from which the payment is to be made is insufficient to finance the payment;

(5) A proper invoice must be examined by the federal government prior to payment;

(6) The goods or property have not been delivered or the services have not been rendered by the contractor in compliance with the terms or conditions of the contract;

(7) The required payment date is modified in accordance with subsection (d) of this section.

(c) Any time taken to satisfy or rectify any of the types of conditions described in subsection (b) shall extend the required payment date by an equal period of time.

(d) Each state agency shall have five (5) working days after receipt of any invoice by the state agency at its designated payment office to notify the contractor of defects in the delivered goods, property, or services. Defects in the invoice or improprieties shall delay the commencement of the time period specified in subsection (b) of this section. When a state agency fails to notify a contractor of such defects or suspected improprieties within five (5) working days of receiving the invoice, the number of days allowed for payment of the corrected proper invoice will be reduced by the number of days between the fifth day and the day that notification was transmitted to the contractor. If the state agency, in such situations, fails to provide reasonable grounds for its contention that a defect or impropriety exists, the required payment date shall be calculated from the date of receipt of an invoice.

(e) The budget office shall have five (5) working days after receipt of invoice to transmit the invoice to the controller's office for processing.

(f) Notwithstanding any provision of the general law of the state of Rhode Island or any tariffs promulgated in accord therewith to the contrary, the provisions of this chapter shall provide the sole basis for determining and making interest payments on invoices submitted by public utilities to state agencies.

(g) A proper invoice submitted by the contractor shall be required to initiate any payment, except where the contract provides that the contractor will be paid at predetermined intervals without having to submit an invoice for each scheduled payment, in which case the state agency responsible for making the purchase shall submit an approval voucher to the state controller for the payment that is due and, for the purposes of determining eligibility for payment of interest and subject to the exception of time-to-rectify provisions of subsection (b) of this section, the required payment date shall be the payment due date specified in accordance with the contract.

History of Section. (P.L. 1987, ch. 73, § 1.)