What's happening
This bill increases the contract value limit for minority and women-owned business enterprises to $400,000 for certain city and public authority procurements without formal competitive bidding.
Why it matters
Raises the threshold for no-bid contracts awarded to certified minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs). from $150,000 to $400,000, potentially allowing these businesses to access larger public contracts more easily and compete with bigger firms.
Seeks to expand economic opportunities for MWBEs. by making it less administratively burdensome for them to win public contracts, which could lead to increased participation, business growth, and greater diversity in city and public authority procurement.
Includes requirements for transparency and accountability. , mandating annual reporting on the number and value of contracts awarded under the new threshold, as well as information about the pool of eligible MWBEs, helping policymakers and the public track progress toward equity goals.
Allows best value criteria and quantitative factors favoring MWBEs in contract awards. , not just lowest price, which can prioritize quality and broader community benefits, and may help address historical disadvantages faced by MWBEs in public contracting.
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Who cares
City-certified minority- and women-owned businesses
The bill would raise the ceiling for New York City agency purchases without a formal competitive process from $150,000 to $400,000.
New York City procurement agencies
The bill would authorize rules allowing larger purchases from city-certified minority- and women-owned businesses and expand the annual procurement reporting threshold to $400,000.
New York City School Construction Authority
The bill would allow qualifying contracts up to $400,000 without sealed bids or selection of the lowest responsible bidder, permit best-value evaluations, and exempt certain minority- and women-owned business personal-services contracts from statutory contracting requirements.
Locally based enterprises
The bill would make them eligible for School Construction Authority contracts up to $400,000 without sealed bidding or lowest-bid selection and allow a quantitative preference in best-value evaluations.
Headline styles
Boost Contracts for MWBEs
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
- Referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1449
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 15, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. BICHOTTE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the New York city charter and the public authorities law, in relation to opportunities for minority and women-owned business enterprises in a city having a population of more than one million persons
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision i of section 311 of the New York city charter, as added by chapter 19 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
i. In addition to other rules authorized by this section, the board may provide by rule that:
1. agencies may make procurements of goods and services for amounts not exceeding [one] four hundred [fifty] thousand dollars from businesses certified as minority or women-owned business enterprises pursuant to section thirteen hundred four of the charter without a formal competitive process.
2. agencies may award contracts for goods and services on the basis of best value to the bidder or offerer which optimizes quality, cost and efficiency, among responsive and responsible bidders or offerers. Such basis shall reflect, wherever possible, objective and quantifiable analysis and may include the prospective bidder's record of complying with existing labor standards, maintaining harmonious labor relations, and protecting the health and safety of workers. Such basis may also identify a quantitative factor for awarding of contracts for bidders or offerers that are businesses certified as minority or women-owned business enterprises pursuant to article fifteen-a of the executive law and section thirteen hundred four of the charter. Where an agency identifies a quantitative factor pursuant to this paragraph, the agency must specify that businesses certified as minority or women-owned business enter-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00285-01-9
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prises pursuant to article fifteen-a of the executive law as well as those certified as minority or women-owned business enterprises pursuant to section thirteen hundred four of the charter are eligible to qualify for such factor. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as a requirement that such businesses be concurrently certified as minority or women-owned business enterprises under both article fifteen-a of the executive law and section thirteen hundred four of the charter to qualify for such quantitative factor.
3. the rule or rules promulgated to implement paragraph one of this subdivision shall provide that the city shall, commencing on the first of October of the first full calendar year following the adoption of such rule or rules, submit an annual report to the governor and the state legislature of the total number and total dollar value of procurements of goods and services for amounts not exceeding [one] four hundred [fifty] thousand dollars from:
(i) businesses certified as minority or women-owned business enterprises pursuant to section thirteen hundred four of the charter;
(ii) all other businesses; and
(iii) information about the number of businesses certified as minority or women-owned business enterprises pursuant to section thirteen hundred four of this charter able to perform the specific type and scale of work involved in each procurement.
§ 2. Subdivisions 2 and 8 of section 1734 of the public authorities law, as added by chapter 738 of the laws of 1988, are amended to read as follows:
2. a. Except as otherwise provided in this section, all purchase contracts for supplies, materials or equipment involving an estimated expenditure in excess of ten thousand dollars and all contracts for public work involving an estimated expenditure in excess of fifty thousand dollars shall be awarded by the authority to the lowest responsible bidder after obtaining sealed bids in the manner hereinafter set forth, provided however that the authority may enter into contracts for supplies, materials, equipment or public work for amounts not exceeding four hundred thousand dollars from businesses certified as minority or women-owned business enterprises pursuant to section seventeen hundred forty-three of this title or from locally based enterprises with bidders or offerers that are not the lowest responsible bidder or offerer, and without obtaining sealed bids in the manner hereinafter set forth. For purposes hereof, contracts for public work shall exclude contracts for personal, engineering and architectural, or professional services.
b. The authority may reject all bids and obtain new bids in the manner provided by this section when it deems it in the public interest to do so or, in cases where two or more responsible bidders submit identical bids which are the lowest bids, award the contract to any of such bidders or obtain new bids from such bidders. Nothing herein shall obligate the authority to seek new bids after the rejection of bids or after cancellation of an invitation to bid. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the evaluation of bids on the basis of costs or savings including life cycle costs of the item to be purchased, discounts, [and] inspection services, or best value to the authority which optimizes quality, cost, and efficiency so long as the invitation to bid reasonably sets forth the criteria to be used in evaluating such costs or savings, or best value. Such best value evaluation may identify a quantitative factor for the awarding of contracts to bidders or offerers that are locally based enterprises or businesses certified as minority or women-owned business enterprises pursuant to section seventeen
A. 1449 3
hundred forty-three of this title. Life cycle costs may include but shall not be limited to costs or savings associated with installation, energy use, maintenance, operation and salvage or disposal.
8. [The] Except for contracts not exceeding four hundred thousand dollars awarded to businesses certified as minority or women-owned business enterprises pursuant to section seventeen hundred forty-three of this title, the authority shall be subject to the provisions of section twenty-eight hundred seventy-nine of this chapter in awarding contracts for personal services.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to procurements occurring on or after such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
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