What's happening
This bill revises the criteria for certifying minority and women-owned businesses by removing the personal net worth cap and updating size standards.
Why it matters
Eliminating the personal net worth cap. for owners of minority and women-owned businesses removes a significant financial barrier, potentially allowing more business owners to qualify for certification and benefit from state programs, regardless of their individual wealth.
Aligning small business size standards with federal (SBA) definitions. creates consistency and may open up certification to a broader range of businesses across various industries, rather than holding all applicants to a single state-defined employee or revenue limit.
New exclusion criteria target very large firms. by denying certification to businesses that have received at least $60 million in city or state contracts (excluding subcontractor payments) over the past three years and that exceed SBA size standards for their industry, ensuring that only genuinely small businesses benefit from the program.
Repealing the definition of personal net worth. clarifies the law and streamlines the certification process, reducing administrative complexity for both applicants and government agencies.
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Who cares
Minority- and women-owned businesses seeking state certification
The bill would replace the owners’ personal-net-worth cap with requirements for at least $60 million in state contract funding over the past three years, excluding subcontractor payments, and size above federal industry standards for three years.
Businesses seeking recognition of municipal MWBE certification
The bill would replace the personal-net-worth cap with similar contract-funding and size requirements, using city rather than state funding.
Small businesses seeking MWBE status
The bill would replace the state’s industry-based employee limit, capped at 300, with federal Small Business Administration industry size standards, while also requiring applicants to have exceeded those standards for three years.
Division of Minority and Women’s Business Development
The division would have to administer the revised certification criteria and small-business definition without the repealed statutory definition of personal net worth.
Headline styles
Change MWBE Certification Rules
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to governmental operations
- Referred to governmental operations
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6223
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 4, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. BICHOTTE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to criteria for certification by the division of minority and women's business development of minority and women-owned business enterprise status; and to repeal subdivision 19 of section 310 of such law relating to the definition of personal net worth
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2-a of section 314 of the executive law, as amended by chapter 175 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The director shall establish a procedure enabling the office to accept New York municipal corporation certification verification for minority and women-owned business enterprise applicants in lieu of requiring the applicant to complete the state certification process. The director shall promulgate rules and regulations to set forth criteria for the acceptance of municipal corporation certification. All eligible municipal corporation certifications shall require business enterprises seeking certification to meet the following standards:
(i) have at least fifty-one percent ownership by a minority or a women-owned enterprise and be owned by United States citizens or permanent resident aliens;
(ii) be an enterprise in which the minority and/or women-ownership interest is real, substantial and continuing;
(iii) be an enterprise in which the minority and/or women-ownership has and exercises the authority to control independently the day-to-day business decisions of the enterprise;
(iv) be an enterprise authorized to do business in this state;
(v) be subject to a physical site inspection to verify the fifty-one percent ownership requirement;
(vi) be owned by an individual or individuals, whose ownership, control and operation are relied upon for certification[, with a personal net worth that does not exceed three million five hundred thou-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00264-02-9
A. 6223 2
sand dollars, as adjusted annually for inflation according to the consumer price index] and that has been awarded contracts by one or more agencies within the past three years where the total city funding received by the enterprise from the expense and capital budgets for such contracts was equal to or greater than sixty million dollars, exclusive of any payments made to subcontractors, and whose size has exceeded the size standards established for its industry by the United States small business administration for three years; and
(vii) be an enterprise that is a small business pursuant to subdivision twenty of section three hundred ten of this article.
§ 2. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 7, paragraph (e) of subdivision 15 and subdivision 20 of section 310 of the executive law, paragraph (e) of subdivision 7 and paragraph (e) of subdivision 15 as amended by chapter 22 of the laws of 2014 and subdivision 20 as added by chapter 175 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as follows:
(e) an enterprise owned by an individual or individuals, whose ownership, control and operation are relied upon for certification[, with a personal net worth that does not exceed three million five hundred thousand dollars, as adjusted annually on the first of January for inflation according to the consumer price index of the previous year] and that has been awarded contracts by one or more agencies within the past three years where the total state funding received by the enterprise from the expense and capital budgets for such contracts was equal to or greater than sixty million dollars, exclusive of any payments made to subcontractors, and whose size has exceeded the size and standards established for its industry by the United States small business administration for three years; and
(e) an enterprise owned by an individual or individuals, whose ownership, control and operation are relied upon for certification[, with a personal net worth that does not exceed three million five hundred thousand dollars, as adjusted annually on the first of January for inflation according to the consumer price index of the previous year] and that has been awarded contracts by one or more agencies within the past three years where the total state funding received by the enterprise from the expense and capital budgets for such contracts was equal to or greater than sixty million dollars, exclusive of any payments made to subcontractors, and whose size has exceeded the size standards established for its industry by the United States small business administration for three years; and
20. "Small business" as used in this section, unless otherwise indicated, shall mean a business which has a significant business presence in the state, is independently owned and operated, not dominant in its field and [employs, based on its industry, a certain number of persons as determined by the director, but not to exceed three hundred, taking into consideration factors which include, but are not limited to, federal small business administration standards] whose size does not exceed the size standards established by the United States small business administration for its industry pursuant to 13 CFR part 121 and any amendments thereto. The director may issue regulations on the construction of the terms in this definition.
§ 3. Subdivision 19 of section 310 of the executive law is REPEALED.
§ 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to article 15-A of the executive law made by sections one and two of this act shall not affect the expiration of such article and shall be deemed to expire therewith.
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