What's happening
The "Made in America Rating System Act" requires New York government contracts for public works to prioritize American-made materials using a new rating scale.
Why it matters
Creates a detailed hierarchy for American-made materials. The bill introduces a six-tier rating system that rewards both New York State and broader U.S. manufacturing, with the top preference given to products fully assembled in New York using 100% American raw materials. This may incentivize manufacturers to localize more of their supply chain within the state and the country.
Applies broadly to public works and infrastructure. The new requirements cover a wide range of government-funded construction, reconstruction, and improvement projects, potentially affecting everything from highways to public buildings—impacting contractors, suppliers, and local economies statewide.
Allows exceptions to control costs and maintain standards. The law includes carve-outs if American-made materials do not meet state construction standards or would raise a project's cost by more than 20%. This aims to balance supporting domestic industry with fiscal responsibility and project feasibility.
Penalizes fraudulent “Made in America” claims. Companies found intentionally mislabeling products as American-made will be barred from state contracts, introducing stronger enforcement and accountability for supply chain transparency and product origin.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Rate American-Made Products
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to governmental operations
- Referred to governmental operations
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Require American-Made Materials
In Senate Committee · Finance · Sponsor Diane J. Savino
Full text
7 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
4386
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 2, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. CUSICK, BRABENEC, TITONE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the state finance law, the public authorities law, the highway law, the general municipal law, and the public buildings law, in relation to requiring the use of American made iron, steel and manufactured products in certain government contracts and establishing a rating system to prioritize the selection of such products; and to repeal certain provisions of the public authorities law and the state finance law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Title. This act shall be known as the "made in America rating system act" or the "MARS act".
§ 2. Section 146 of the state finance law is REPEALED and a new section 146 is added to read as follows:
§ 146. Made in America rating system. 1. Use of American materials. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration or improvement of a public building of public works made by a public agency shall contain a provision that the iron, steel, and manufactured products used or supplied in the performance of the contract or any subcontract thereto and permanently incorporated into the public building or public works shall be awarded to the bidder whose product or material has the highest rating on the made in America rating system scale.
(b) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall not apply in any case or category of cases in which it is found that:
(i) such materials and products do not meet state standards for construction in the state; or
(ii) inclusion of domestic material will increase the cost of the overall project contract by more than twenty percent.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00513-01-7
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(c) The made in America rating system shall include the following ratings, listed in order from highest to lowest rating:
(i) Empire State AAA - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the state and one hundred percent of the raw materials are American;
(ii) Empire State AA - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the state and at least sixty percent of the raw materials are American;
(iii) Empire State A - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the state;
(iv) USA 100 - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the United States and one hundred percent of the raw materials are American;
(v) USA 60 - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the United States and at least sixty percent of the raw materials are American;
(vi) USA Rating - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the United States.
(d) If it has been determined by a court or federal or state agency that any person intentionally:
(i) affixed a label bearing a "Made in America" inscription, or any inscription with the same meaning, to any iron, steel or manufactured product used in projects to which this section applies, sold in or shipped to the United States that was not made in the United States; or
(ii) represented that any iron, steel or manufactured product used in projects to which this section applies that was not produced in the United States, was produced in the United States; then that person shall be ineligible to receive any contract or subcontract with this state pursuant to the debarment or suspension provisions provided under section one hundred thirty-nine-a of this article.
(e) This section shall be applied in a manner consistent with the state's obligations under any applicable international agreements pertaining to government procurement.
2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless specified otherwise:
(a) "Public agency" means a governmental entity as that term is defined in section one hundred thirty-nine-j of this article;
(b) "made in America" means: (i) in the case of an iron or steel product all manufacturing must take place in the United States, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, except metallurgical processes involving the refinement of steel additives; and
(ii) in the case of a manufactured product, a product will be considered manufactured in the United States if:
(A) all of its manufacturing processes take place in the United States, and
(B) more than sixty percent of the components of the manufactured good, by cost, are of domestic origin. If, under the terms of this subparagraph, a component is determined to be of domestic origin, its entire cost may be used in calculating the cost of domestic content of an end product.
(c) "United States" means the United States of America and includes all territory, continental or insular, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
§ 3. Section 2603-a of the public authorities law is REPEALED and a new section 2877-a is added to read as follows:
§ 2877-a. Made in America rating system. 1. Use of American materials. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration or improvement of a public
A. 4386 3
building of public works made by a public agency shall contain a provision that the iron, steel, and manufactured products used or supplied in the performance of the contract or any subcontract thereto and permanently incorporated into the public building or public works shall be awarded to the bidder whose product or material has the highest rating on the made in America rating system scale.
(b) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall not apply in any case or category of cases in which it is found that:
(i) such materials and products do not meet state standards for construction in the state; or
(ii) inclusion of domestic material will increase the cost of the overall project contract by more than twenty percent.
(c) The made in America rating system shall include the following ratings, listed in order from highest to lowest rating:
(i) Empire State AAA - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the state and one hundred percent of the raw materials are American;
(ii) Empire State AA - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the state and at least sixty percent of the raw materials are American;
(iii) Empire State A - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the state;
(iv) USA 100 - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the United States and one hundred percent of the raw materials are American;
(v) USA 60 - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the United States and at least sixty percent of the raw materials are American;
(vi) USA Rating - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the United States.
(d) If it has been determined by a court or federal or state agency that any person intentionally:
(i) affixed a label bearing a "Made in America" inscription, or any inscription with the same meaning, to any iron, steel or manufactured product used in projects to which this section applies, sold in or shipped to the United States that was not made in the United States; or
(ii) represented that any iron, steel or manufactured product used in projects to which this section applies that was not produced in the United States, was produced in the United States; then that person shall be ineligible to receive any contract or subcontract with this state pursuant to the debarment or suspension provisions provided under section one hundred thirty-nine-a of the state finance law.
(e) This section shall be applied in a manner consistent with the state's obligations under any applicable international agreements pertaining to government procurement.
2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless specified otherwise:
(a) "Public agency" means a governmental entity as that term is defined in section one hundred thirty-nine-j of this the state finance law;
(b) "made in America" means: (i) in the case of an iron or steel product all manufacturing must take place in the United States, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, except metallurgical processes involving the refinement of steel additives; and
(ii) in the case of a manufactured product, a product will be considered manufactured in the United States if:
(A) all of its manufacturing processes take place in the United States, and
A. 4386 4
(B) more than sixty percent of the components of the manufactured good, by cost, are of domestic origin. If, under the terms of this subparagraph, a component is determined to be of domestic origin, its entire cost may be used in calculating the cost of domestic content of an end product.
(c) "United States" means the United States of America and includes all territory, continental or insular, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
§ 4. Section 38 of the highway law is amended by adding a new subdivision 10 to read as follows:
10. Use of American materials. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration or improvement of a public building of public works made by a public agency shall contain a provision that the iron, steel, and manufactured products used or supplied in the performance of the contract or any subcontract thereto and permanently incorporated into the public building or public works shall be awarded to the bidder whose product or material has the highest rating on the made in America rating system scale.
(b) The provisions of paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall not apply in any case or category of cases in which it is found that:
(i) such materials and products do not meet state standards for construction in the state; or
(ii) inclusion of domestic material will increase the cost of the overall project contract by more than twenty percent.
(c) The made in America rating system shall include the following ratings, listed in order from highest to lowest rating:
(i) Empire State AAA - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the state and one hundred percent of the raw materials are American;
(ii) Empire State AA - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the state and at least sixty percent of the raw materials are American;
(iii) Empire State A - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the state;
(iv) USA 100 - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the United States and one hundred percent of the raw materials are American;
(v) USA 60 - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the United States and at least sixty percent of the raw materials are American;
(vi) USA Rating - one hundred percent of the product is assembled in the United States.
(d) If it has been determined by a court or federal or state agency that any person intentionally:
(i) affixed a label bearing a "Made in America" inscription, or any inscription with the same meaning, to any iron, steel or manufactured product used in projects to which this section applies, sold in or shipped to the United States that was not made in the United States; or
(ii) represented that any iron, steel or manufactured product used in projects to which this section applies that was not produced in the United States, was produced in the United States; then that person shall be ineligible to receive any contract or subcontract with this state pursuant to the debarment or suspension provisions provided under section one hundred thirty-nine-a of the state finance law.
(e) This section shall be applied in a manner consistent with the state's obligations under any applicable international agreements pertaining to government procurement.
A. 4386 5
2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless specified otherwise:
(a) "Public agency" means a governmental entity as that term is defined in section one hundred thirty-nine-j of the state finance law;
(b) "made in America" means: (i) in the case of an iron or steel product all manufacturing must take place in the United States, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, except metallurgical processes involving the refinement of steel additives; and
(ii) in the case of a manufactured product, a product will be considered manufactured in the United States if:
(A) all of its manufacturing processes take place in the United States, and
(B) more than sixty percent of the components of the manufactured good, by cost, are of domestic origin. If, under the terms of this subparagraph, a component is determined to be of domestic origin, its entire cost may be used in calculating the cost of domestic content of an end product.
(c) "United States" means the United States of America and includes all territory, continental or insular, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
§ 5. Section 103 of the general municipal law is amended by adding a new subdivision 17 to read as follows:
17. Use of American materials. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each contract for the construction, reconstruction, alteration or improvement of a public building of public works made by a public agency shall contain a provision that the iron, steel, and manufactured products used or supplied in the performance of the contract or any subcontract thereto and permanently incorporated into the public building or public works shall be awarded to the bidder whose product or material has the highest rating on the made in America rating system scale.
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