Rhode Island General Laws Title 23. Health and Safety § 23-24.9-15. State procurement preferences for low or nonmercury-added products

(a) Notwithstanding other policies and guidelines for the procurement of equipment, supplies, and other products, the Rhode Island department of administration shall by January 1, 2003, revise its policies, rules, and procedures to implement the purposes of this chapter.

(b) The Rhode Island department of administration shall give priority and preference to the purchase of equipment, supplies, and other products that do not contain mercury-added compounds or components, unless there is no economically feasible nonmercury-added alternative that performs a similar function.  In circumstances where a nonmercury-added product is not available, preference shall be given to the purchase of products that contain the least amount of mercury-added to the product necessary for the required performance.

(c) State dental insurance contracts negotiated after January 1, 2003, shall provide coverage for non-mercury fillings at no additional expense to the state employee.

(d) Mercury-containing lamp purchasing.  When making purchasing decisions on mercury-containing lamps, the Rhode Island department of administration shall request information on mercury content, energy use, lumen output, and lamp life from potential suppliers and shall issue specifications and make purchasing decisions that favor models at comparable cost with high-energy efficiency, lower mercury content, and longer lamp life.  Information obtained on mercury content, energy use, and lamp life must be made available by the Rhode Island department of administration to other purchasers who purchase a large number of mercury-containing lamps.  This information must also be posted on the state's publicly accessible website.

(e) Extra consideration shall be given to those vendors who provide substitute information on non-mercury lamps like light-emitting diode (LED) that have the same price, specifications, lumen output, and lamp life of what is being sought in the bid abstract.