What's happening
Writing a plain-English summary… Track this bill to get it by email.
Why it matters
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to finance
- Referred to finance
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S1681
Title of bill
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to participation by minority group members and women with respect to certain state contracts; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing a mentor-protege program for small and minority and women-owned business concerns and in relation to performance and payment bond requirements
Purpose
Minority and women-owned businesses have come to constitute a large percentage of businesses in New York. MWBEs, just like small businesses, are an increasingly crucial part of the State's economy and contribute vastly to our economy's growth. However, despite these increases. MWBEs continue to face barriers in government contracting. This bill seeks to address and eliminate some of these barriers by enhancing Article 15-A provisions and increasing small business and minority and women-owned business enterprise (MWBE) participation in State agency commodity and service procurement and State public authority assisted, construction and rehabilitation project contracts and subcontracts.
Read the full memo (788 words)
Summary of provisions
* Creates a Small Business and MWBE Mentor/Protege Program.
* Creates violations against contractors failing to comply with Article 15-A.
* Creates greater accountability by requiring the Division of Minority and Women Business Development to create a master list of all state agencies required to file quarterly compliance reports and to list in its annual report the names of non-compliant agencies and the extent of their noncompliance.
* Expands contracting opportunities to certified MWBEs by creating a Division web site where certified MWBEs can access contracting and subcontracting opportunities.
* Requires contractors to provide utilization plans at the time a bid is submitted.
* Requires the posting of contractor MWBE utilization plans and prohibits the use of automatic waivers.
* Provides for greater contracting opportunities by alleviating the burden of performance and payment bonds for small businesses and certified MWBEs when the aggregate amount of the contract is under $500,000.
* Provides the Director with the authority to mandate an audit of state contracting agencies that do not comply with Article 15-A reporting requirements. and requires the contracting agency to hire and pay for an independent auditor.
* Increases MWBE and small business participation in State public authority assisted, construction and rehabilitation projects.
Justification
Public purchasing is one of government's most important functions. Its effective use or potential abuse can have a substantial impact on governmental efficiency, the income of particular companies and communities, and the financial burden of taxpayers. Over many years, minority-owned and women-owned businesses have experienced difficulties in tapping into government procurement purchasing programs. Barriers to government contracts still exist for MWBEs because they are smaller in size and fewer in number than majority-firms. Small businesses experience similar barriers when trying to participate in government contracting. There are over 1 million small businesses in New York State, comprising 99% of total businesses and employing over 55% of the State's workforce. Minority and women-owned businesses have come to constitute a large percentage of businesses in New York, and continue to experience growth rates of two to three times the national average. According to the census, New York ranks first in the number of black-owned firms (with 129,324), second in women-owned firms (505,134), and fourth in Hispanic-owned firms (163,639). However, as of March 31, 2003, the Division reported that there were 6,843 MWBE-certified businesses in New York State. About half of these firms are located in the New York City region. The Division reports that State agency expenditures for MWBEs statewide totaled $558 million, $480 million, and $513 million respectively, 2001-2002, 2002-2003, and 2004-2005 State Fiscal Years. Challenges with the implementation of Article 15-A include, but are not limited to, the continued failure of contracting agencies to file quarterly reports of their MWBE goal achievement and the failure of the Division to submit in a timely fashion their required annual MWBE utilization report. In addition, Article 15-A provides for no penalties if a contractor intentionally uses or acquires an MWBE name through deceit or fraud. The Pataki Administration has failed to effectively administer the State's MWBE programs. Between SFY 2001-02 and SFY 2004-05, there has been a 33% decline in the total dollar volume of State agency contracts being let to MWBEs.
* In SFY 2001-02 New York State agencies entered into $7.4 billion in service, technology, commodity and construction contracts.
* $558 million (or 7.5%) of these SFY 2001-02 contracts were let to MWBEs.
*In SFY 2004-05 New York State agencies entered into $10.1 billion in service, technology, commodity and construction contracts.
* $513 million (or 5%) of these SFY 2004-05 contracts were let to MWBEs.
Legislative history
2010: Referred to and died in the Senate Finance Committee. 2011-2012: S.380 - Died in Committee
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.