Relates to the use of American-made iron, steel and manufactured products in certain government contracts; repealer

Summary of provisions

Section one of the bill is the title; "New York State Buy American Act"

Section two of the bill amends section 146 of the state finance law to require the use of American made materials on state projects.

Section three of the bill amends section 2603-a of the public authorities law relating to the use of American made materials on public works projects.

Section four of the bill amends section 38 of the highway law relating to the use of American made materials on public works projects.

Section five amends section 103 of the general municipal law relating to the use of American made materials on public works projects.

Section six amends section 8 of the public buildings law relating to the use of American made materials on public works projects.

Section seven is the severability clause. Section eight is the enacting clause.

Justification

The production of iron, steel and manufactured products provides jobs and family income to many individuals in this State and, in turn, the jobs and family incomes of millions of persons in the United States. Be it through direct taxes or through other mechanisms such as tolling, employers, employee's public works users in this State generate substantial revenues that State, its subdivisions and authorities will use to modernize our public works and infrastructure system.

In the last decade, New York has lost 304,900 manufacturing jobs. Nationally, U.S. workers and the domestic economy have been devastated by the growth of the U.S. trade deficit with China since that country entered the World Trade Organization in 2001. Between 2001 and 2011, 2.7 million U.S. jobs were lost or displaced. New York alone lost 158,800 jobs due to this trend.

The economy and general welfare of the State and its people and the economy and general welfare of the United States are inseparably linked to the preservation and development of manufacturing industries in this State, as well as all the other states of this nation. Recognizing this link, it should be the policy of this State that its taxpayer dollars and toll revenues be reinvested with its individual and employer tax and toll payers in order to foster job retention and growth, particularly within the manufacturing sector, and to ensure a broad and healthy tax and user base for future investments vital to the State's infrastructure.

New York State's procurement policies should reflect this State's, and indeed, the nation's, principles, ensuring that the products of those companies and workers who abide by our workplace safety and environmental laws and regulations should be rewarded with a commonsense preference in government contracting.

This legislation will harmonize existing New York state procurement statutes, across the board, with the practices New York state agencies use when executing programs funded by federal grants. As currently written the existing New York procurement statutes have various interpretations, which at times can nullify one another, cause New York to spend taxpayer dollars on goods produced abroad, encourage outsourcing, and kill American jobs. New Yorkers, like all Americans, expect that their tax and toll dollars will be reinvested with the taxpaying businesses and workers that produce goods in New York and the U.S., and this legislation will do just that.

This longstanding practice by the federal government, and many state governments, is well-understood by contracting officers and bidders on public projects. Dozens of states have similar laws that create a procurement preference for American-made goods when they are available in a sufficient quality and quantity and are competitively priced in the global marketplace. The preference proposed under this legislation is just that, a preference. If goods are unavailable from domestic sources or the cost of the goods from domestic sources is unreasonable, the preference may be waived.

Legislative history

New Bill

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately