Here are two important updates that took effect on January 1, 2020.

• UH WH-1 Form – The University of Hawaii Statement of Citizenship and Federal Tax Status form has been updated for 2020. The new form may be found in the RCUH Procurement and Disbursing Document Library. Previous versions of the UH WH-1 Form will no longer be valid.
• Standard mileage rates – The Internal Revenue Service has updated the standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile (includes cars, vans, pickups, and panel trucks) for business or charitable purposes. The 2020 rates are as follows:
  

  $0.575	per mile driven for business purposes, decreased from $0.58 in 2019
  $0.14	per mile driven in service of charitable organizations (rate for volunteers)

  The standard mileage rate for business miles is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The charitable mileage rate is set by statute. See IR-2019-215, December 31, 2019.

  Attachment 12, Current RCUH Travel Rates, has been updated with the mileage rate changes. UH employees may refer to www.hawaii.edu/etravel/rates.html.

   

Yesterday, November 4, 2019, we encountered a system error which affected our check printing and end of business day processing.   The issue has been resolved and the Financial Portal is back in operation.  Online purchasing and payment transactions can now be approved.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused and thank you for your understanding.

The RCUH Financial Portal will be down for system maintenance on Tuesday, October 1, 2019 from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

Obtaining competitive quotations is always a good business practice and under certain circumstances it may be required for an RCUH purchase (refer to Policy 2.103). RCUH has access to SuperQUOTE™, an electronic solicitation solution for obtaining quotations, proposals, information, and competitive sealed bids. Click here for a user guide of features.

If you’d like to learn more about SuperQUOTE™ or need a refresher, CommercePoint is offering training at UH Mānoa’s Financial Management Office Training Room (1406 Lower Campus Road, Building 171, Room 59), from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on these dates:

• Tuesday, September 24, 2019
• Tuesday, October 15, 2019
• Tuesday, November 19, 2019

The training will cover creating a new request; awarding, canceling, or copying a request; understanding the process flow; writing an effective request; and qualifying vendors. The same content is covered in each class. Classes are limited to 25 seats and you must register to attend.

To sign up for an RCUH Buyer account, click here for instructions.

Questions about the training can be directed to CommercePoint at [email protected].

Questions about the use of SuperQUOTE™ in RCUH procurement may be directed to Erin Yoda, Procurement and Disbursing Manager, at (808) 956-3969 or [email protected].

Project Title	To provide legal services related to obtaining permanent residency status
Selected Consultant	Vaughn G.T. Cook; Torkildson Katz Hetherington Harris & Knorek AAL, ALC)
Contract Amount	$4,500.00 plus costs (federally-mandated employer-paid amounts only)
Date of Award	September 11, 2019
Consultants Considered (ranked candidates only)	Newton J. Chu; Torkildson Katz Hetherington Harris & Knorek AAL, ALC
Appointing Officer	Sylvia Yuen

Policy 2.208 Small Business Subcontracting Plan (formerly known as Policy 2.208 Small Business Subcontracting Plan for RCUH Direct Projects) has been updated to include UH service-ordered projects.

Previously, the small business requirements for UH service-ordered projects were addressed under AP 8.295 – Small Business and Small Disadvantaged Business Programs, which has been abolished, and AP 8.290 – Requirements of Federally Funded Purchases, which has been revised.  The changes, effective July 26, 2019, removed provisions regarding small business subcontracting plans for federally-funded projects, to be consistent with RP 12.207 and AP 12.203, which identify the UH Office of Research Services (ORS) and RCUH as providing oversight and administrative support for federally-funded projects.

Under the new Policy 2.208 Small Business Subcontracting Plan, the Director of ORS will approve subcontracting plans prepared by the Principal Investigator and reviewed by the Fiscal Administrator for UH service-ordered projects.  Refer to Sections II. and III. of Policy 2.208 Small Business Subcontracting Plan, for additional details on when and how a plan should be filed.

Policy 2.208 Small Business Subcontracting Plan and its two referenced documents—Attachment 38 Subcontract/Purchase Order Expected to Exceed $150,000 Under a Federal Prime Contract Worksheet and the Business Classification Certification Statement—have also been updated to comply with the most recent FARs and CFRs.

Questions may be directed to Erin Yoda at 808-956-3969 or [email protected].

Project Title	To provide legal services related to payroll and taxes, to the RCUH Corporate Office.
Selected Consultant	Vaughn G.T. Cook, Esq. (Torkildson Katz Hetherington Harris & Knorek)
Contract Amount	$15,000.00
Date of Award	July 17, 2019
Consultants Considered (ranked candidates only)	John J. D’Amato (D’Amato & Maloney)
Appointing Officer	Sylvia Yuen

Project Title	To provide legal services related to employment, to the RCUH Corporate Office.
Selected Consultant	Barry W. Marr, Esq. (Marr Jones & Wang)
Contract Amount	$50,000.00
Date of Award	July 10, 2019
Consultants Considered (ranked candidates only)	Richard M. Rand (Marr Jones & Wang); Sarah O. Wang (Marr Jones & Wang); Christopher J. Cole (Marr Jones & Wang); Patrick H. Jones (Marr Jones & Wang); Kristi O’Heron (Marr Jones & Wang); Emily R. Marr (Marr Jones & Wang); Marissa L. Abraham (Marr Jones & Wang); Newton J. Chu (Torkildson Katz Hetherington Harris & Knorek); Eileen C. Zorc (Marr Jones & Wang); Christopher S.Y. Yeh (Marr Jones & Wang).
Appointing Officer	Sylvia Yuen
Project Title	To provide legal services related to maritime/admiralty, to the RCUH Corporate Office.
Selected Consultant	Michael J. Nakano, Esq. (Cox Wootton Lerner Griffin & Hansen)
Contract Amount	$15,000.00
Date of Award	July 9, 2019
Consultants Considered (ranked candidates only)	No other submissions
Appointing Officer	Sylvia Yuen
Project Title	To provide legal services related to immigration, to the RCUH Corporate Office.
Selected Consultant	Newton J. Chu, Esq. (Torkildson Katz Hetherington Harris & Knorek)
Contract Amount	$15,000.00
Date of Award	July 9, 2019
Consultants Considered (ranked candidates only)	Vaughn Cook (Torkildson Katz Hetherington Harris & Knorek AAL ALC)
Appointing Officer	Sylvia Yuen
Project Title	To provide legal services related to employee benefits/taxes, to the RCUH Corporate Office.
Selected Consultant	Joseph D’Amato, Esq. (D’Amato & Maloney)
Contract Amount	$40,000.00
Date of Award	July 16, 2019
Consultants Considered (ranked candidates only)	No other applicants in the specialty area of employee benefits.  Other applicants in the general employment field included:  Barry W. Marr, Esq. (Marr Jones & Wang); Richard M. Rand (Marr Jones & Wang); Sarah O. Wang (Marr Jones & Wang); Christopher J. Cole (Marr Jones & Wang); Patrick H. Jones (Marr Jones & Wang); Kristi O’Heron (Marr Jones & Wang); Emily R. Marr (Marr Jones & Wang); Marissa L. Abraham (Marr Jones & Wang); Newton J. Chu (Torkildson Katz Hetherington Harris & Knorek); Eileen C. Zorc (Marr Jones & Wang); Christopher S.Y. Yeh (Marr Jones & Wang).
Appointing Officer	Sylvia Yuen

Important Dates:

June 28	Last Check Run for FY 2019 (Payments must be approved by 12 noon)
July 3	RCUH Financial System scheduled to reopen
July 3	First Check Run for FY 2020 (4:00 PM)

Online payment and purchasing transactions must be approved by Fiscal Administrators by 12 noon on Friday, June 28, to be included in FY 2019. The last check run for the fiscal year will be on Friday, June 28. Pending transactions will remain in the RCUH financial system.

During the period June 29 through July 2, online payment and purchasing transactions can be initiated, but Fiscal Administrators will not have the ability to approve transactions. Transactions will not be posted to project accounts until the financial system is reopened for FY 2020 on Wednesday, July 3. The first check run for FY 2020 is scheduled for Wednesday, July 3, at 4:00 PM.

On an emergency basis only, manual checks can be issued during this period. Fiscal Administrators should contact RCUH Disbursing at [email protected].

Project reports will be accessible on the RCUH website. However, report balances will only reflect transactions posted through June 28 until processing resumes on July 3.

Please contact Maile Brooks at 988-8340 or [email protected] if you have any questions.