Section 44. (a) Sections 44 to 58, inclusive, shall: ensure that the commonwealth receives the highest quality design services for all its public building projects; provide for increased confidence in the procedures followed in the procurement of design and design related services; promote consistency in the methods of procurement of design and design related services for all public building projects in the commonwealth; foster effective broad-based participation in public work within the design professions; provide safeguards for the maintenance of the integrity of the system for procurement of designers' services within the commonwealth;

(b) As used in sections 44 to 58, inclusive, the following words shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, or a different definition is prescribed for a particular section or provision.

''Applicant'', any person or entity applying to perform design services, the principal personnel responsible for the provision of such services for the project, and the persons who will be the principal staff for the project.

''Board'', the designer selection board.

''Commissioner'' and ''division'', the commissioner and the division of capital asset management and maintenance.

''Continued services'', authorization for a designer or interior designer who has been appointed for 1 stage of a project to act as the designer or interior designer for a succeeding stage or stages of the same project.

''Construction manager'', any designer or any other corporation, partnership, individual, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture, or other entity engaged in the practice of construction management or construction scheduling.

''Design services'', any of the following services provided by any designer, interior designer, programmer, or construction manager in connection with any public building project:

(i) preparation of master plans, studies, surveys, soil tests, cost estimates or programs;

(ii) preparation of drawings, plans, or specifications, including but not limited to schematic drawings, preliminary plans and specifications, working plans and specifications or other administration of construction contracts documents;

(iii) supervision or administration of a construction contract;

(iv) construction management or scheduling.

''Designer'', an individual, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture, or other entity engaged in the practice of architecture, landscape architecture, or engineering, which satisfies the following:

(i) if an individual, the individual is a registered architect, landscape architect, or engineer;

(ii) if a partnership, a majority of all the partners are persons who are registered architects, landscape architects, or engineers;

(iii) if a corporation, sole proprietorship, joint stock company or other entity, the majority of the directors or a majority of the stock ownership and the chief executive officer are persons who are registered architects, landscape architects, or engineers, and the person to have the project in his or her charge is registered in the discipline required for the project;

(iv) if a joint venture, each joint venturer satisfies the requirements of this section.

''Director'', the director of the office of project management, or in the case of agencies subject to section 4B of chapter 7, the chief executive official of the agency or his designee.

''Extended services'', authorization for a designer or interior designer who has been appointed to provide design services for a project to act as designer or interior designer for work to be done on another project not originally included in that designer's or interior designer's contract.

''Interior Designer'', an individual, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture or other entity engaged in the practice of interior design, who may serve as the prime consultant for projects that primarily involve construction or other work relating to the nonstructural interior elements of a building or structure and who provides services that do not require a registered architect, landscape architect or engineer; provided, however, that an interior designer shall demonstrate competence by completion of a nationally-recognized certification.

''Nonstructural'', interior elements or components that are not load-bearing and do not require design computations for a building's structure, including, but not limited to, ceiling and partition systems and excluding the structural frame supporting a building.

''Partition'', a wall which does not support a vertical load of a structure other than its own weight, but may support loads attached to it, such as cabinetry, shelving or grab bars, and does not extend further than from the floor of an interior area of a structure designed for human habitation or occupancy to the underside of the deck of that structure.

''Programmer'', any designer or any other individual, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture or other entity engaged in the preparation of architectural facility programs or studies.

''Public agency'', a department, agency, board, commission, authority, or other instrumentality of the commonwealth or political subdivision of the commonwealth or two or more subdivisions thereof other than cities and towns, and any agency, unit, authority, or instrumentality thereof but not including the State College Building Authority or the University of Massachusetts Building Authority.