S06955 Summary:
BILL NO | S06955 |
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SAME AS | SAME AS A07264 |
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SPONSOR | HINCHEY |
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COSPNSR | COONEY, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, KRUEGER, MARTINS, MAY, PALUMBO, ROLISON, RYAN |
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MLTSPNSR | |
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Amd 103, Gen Muni L | |
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Provides that certain purchase contracts to purchase food can be awarded to a qualified bidder who fulfills certain values based procurement standards when such bid is not more than 10% higher than the lowest responsible bidder and when the bidder makes publicly available data on where such bidder sources their food items; sets forth the criteria for values based procurement standards to include local economies, environmental sustainability, racial equity, valued workforce, animal welfare, and nutrition. |
S06955 Text:
Go to top STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6955 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 16, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HINCHEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Procurement and Contracts AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the awarding of certain purchase contracts to purchase food The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 103 of the general municipal law, 2 as amended by section 1 of chapter 2 of the laws of 2012, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 1. (a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by an act of the legis- 5 lature or by a local law adopted prior to September first, nineteen 6 hundred fifty-three, all contracts for public work involving an expendi- 7 ture of more than thirty-five thousand dollars and all purchase 8 contracts involving an expenditure of more than twenty thousand dollars, 9 shall be awarded by the appropriate officer, board or agency of a poli- 10 tical subdivision or of any district therein including but not limited 11 to a soil conservation district to the lowest responsible bidder 12 furnishing the required security after advertisement for sealed bids in 13 the manner provided by this section, provided, however, that purchase 14 contracts (including contracts for service work, but excluding any 15 purchase contracts necessary for the completion of a public works 16 contract pursuant to article eight of the labor law) may be awarded on 17 the basis of best value, as defined in section one hundred sixty-three 18 of the state finance law, to a responsive and responsible bidder or 19 offerer in the manner provided by this section except that in a poli- 20 tical subdivision other than a city with a population of one million 21 inhabitants or more or any district, board or agency with jurisdiction 22 exclusively therein the use of best value for awarding a purchase 23 contract or purchase contracts must be authorized by local law or, in 24 the case of a district corporation, school district or board of cooper- 25 ative educational services, by rule, regulation or resolution adopted at EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05665-04-3S. 6955 2 1 a public meeting, provided further, however, that food purchase 2 contracts (including contracts for service work, but excluding any 3 purchase contracts necessary for the completion of a public works 4 contract pursuant to article eight of the labor law) may be awarded to 5 an otherwise qualified bidder who fulfills one or more of the values 6 based procurement standards pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivi- 7 sion and the contract may be given preference over other bidders 8 provided, however, that the cost included in the bid is not more than 9 ten percent greater than the cost included in a bid by the lowest 10 responsible bidder and provided further that all bidders (including 11 lowest responsible bidders that do not utilize the ten percent bid bene- 12 fit) provide all relevant supply chain data in its bid to the appropri- 13 ate officer, board or agency, updated annually and upon changes, and 14 that the appropriate officer, board or agency shall make this data 15 publicly available on the entities' respective websites without the need 16 for a freedom of information law request, excepting data not subject to 17 disclosure under the state freedom of information law pursuant to arti- 18 cle six of the public officers law. In any case where a responsible 19 bidder's or responsible offerer's gross price is reducible by an allow- 20 ance for the value of used machinery, equipment, apparatus or tools to 21 be traded in by a political subdivision, the gross price shall be 22 reduced by the amount of such allowance, for the purpose of determining 23 the best value. In cases where two or more responsible bidders furnish- 24 ing the required security submit identical bids as to price, such offi- 25 cer, board or agency may award the contract to any of such bidders. Such 26 officer, board or agency may, in his or her or its discretion, reject 27 all bids or offers and readvertise for new bids or offers in the manner 28 provided by this section. In determining whether a purchase is an 29 expenditure within the discretionary threshold amounts established by 30 this subdivision, the officer, board or agency of a political subdivi- 31 sion or of any district therein shall consider the reasonably expected 32 aggregate amount of all purchases of the same commodities, services or 33 technology to be made within the twelve-month period commencing on the 34 date of purchase. Purchases of commodities, services or technology 35 shall not be artificially divided for the purpose of satisfying the 36 discretionary buying thresholds established by this subdivision. A 37 change to or a renewal of a discretionary purchase shall not be permit- 38 ted if the change or renewal would bring the reasonably expected aggre- 39 gate amount of all purchases of the same commodities, services or tech- 40 nology from the same provider within the twelve-month period commencing 41 on the date of the first purchase to an amount greater than the discre- 42 tionary buying threshold amount. For purposes of this section, "sealed 43 bids" and "sealed offers", as that term applies to purchase contracts, 44 (including contracts for service work, but excluding any purchase 45 contracts necessary for the completion of a public works contract pursu- 46 ant to article eight of the labor law) shall include bids and offers 47 submitted in an electronic format including submission of the statement 48 of non-collusion required by section one hundred three-d of this arti- 49 cle, provided that the governing board of the political subdivision or 50 district, by resolution, has authorized the receipt of bids and offers 51 in such format. Submission in electronic format may, for technology 52 contracts only, be required as the sole method for the submission of 53 bids and offers. Bids and offers submitted in an electronic format shall 54 be transmitted by bidders and offerers to the receiving device desig- 55 nated by the political subdivision or district. Any method used to 56 receive electronic bids and offers shall comply with article three ofS. 6955 3 1 the state technology law, and any rules and regulations promulgated and 2 guidelines developed thereunder and, at a minimum, must [(a)] (i) docu- 3 ment the time and date of receipt of each bid and offer received elec- 4 tronically; [(b)] (ii) authenticate the identity of the sender; [(c)] 5 (iii) ensure the security of the information transmitted; and [(d)] (iv) 6 ensure the confidentiality of the bid or offer until the time and date 7 established for the opening of bids or offers. The timely submission of 8 an electronic bid or offer in compliance with instructions provided for 9 such submission in the advertisement for bids or offers and/or the spec- 10 ifications shall be the responsibility solely of each bidder or offerer 11 or prospective bidder or offerer. No political subdivision or district 12 therein shall incur any liability from delays of or interruptions in the 13 receiving device designated for the submission and receipt of electronic 14 bids and offers. 15 (b) All supplier data, including sourcing data from subcontractors, 16 shall be submitted to the entity sending out the request for proposals 17 at the time of bid, to the best of the bidder's ability, updated at 18 point of contract, and then updated annually and upon changes. All 19 contractors and subcontractors shall submit updated supplier data. Such 20 data required pursuant to this paragraph shall include the name and 21 address of each supplier, distributor, processor, and producer 22 involved in the provision of the products that the bidder will supply. 23 Sourcing data requirements shall apply to all food suppliers, not just 24 those applying to the values-based procurement criteria. 25 (c) For the purposes of this subdivision, "values based procurement 26 standards" shall mean procurement criteria that is based on: 27 (i) local economies. Preference shall be given to New York state or 28 regional suppliers that are sourcing food products in which fifty-one 29 percent or more of the raw agricultural materials have been grown, 30 harvested, processed and manufactured from within the state or region 31 (within one hundred miles for produce and two hundred miles for animal 32 products); and 33 (ii) environmental sustainability. Preference shall be given to 34 producers that adopt practices that contribute to improved soil health 35 and increased carbon sequestration and storage, and that achieve net 36 short-term and long-term greenhouse gas benefits. Such practices shall: 37 (A) achieve the reduction or elimination of synthetic pesticides and 38 fertilizers through use of precision agriculture, integrated pest 39 management, and/or advanced nutrient management; 40 (B) avoid the use of hormones or antibiotics except for treatment of a 41 sick animal or for disease control, where disease control is defined as 42 use where it can be shown that a particular disease or infection is 43 present on the premises where the animal is kept; 44 (C) preserve and rebuild soil quality through use of soil health prac- 45 tices, including but not limited to planting cover crops, adopting 46 no-till and reduced tillage, increasing crop rotations and intercrop- 47 ping, and planting perennial crops, to improve the function and resili- 48 ence of soils; 49 (D) protect and enhance wildlife habitats and biodiversity; 50 (E) avoid contributing to water quality impairment and avoid contrib- 51 uting to deterioration of local air quality; 52 (F) reduce greenhouse gas emissions attributable to livestock through 53 use of feed management, prescribed grazing, amendments for treatment of 54 agricultural waste, and manure management; and 55 (G) reduce on-farm energy and water consumption, food waste and green- 56 house gas emissions; orS. 6955 4 1 (iii) racial equity. Preference shall be given to minority and women- 2 owned business enterprises as defined in article fifteen-A of the execu- 3 tive law, or socially disadvantaged farmers. For the purposes of this 4 subdivision, "socially disadvantaged" shall mean individuals who have 5 been subject to discrimination by virtue of their membership of a 6 particular group which may include, but not be limited to Black or Afri- 7 can American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic or Latino, and 8 Asian or Pacific Islander; or 9 (iv) valued workforce. In order to avoid labor unrest and thereby 10 secure best value, preference shall be given to suppliers who: respect 11 and protect workers' rights to freedom of association, to organize a 12 union, to affiliate with worker centers and alternative forms of worker 13 representation and to bargain collectively free from retaliation; as 14 evidenced by agreeing to enter into a labor peace agreement with a bona 15 fide labor union upon request by that union; have worker-led workplace 16 health and safety committees; or are a worker-owned cooperative; or 17 (v) animal welfare. Preference shall be given to producers who provide 18 more humane care for farmed animals by prohibiting intensive confinement 19 (e.g. caging, crating or tethering), providing enough space and environ- 20 mental enrichments to allow animals to carry out their natural behav- 21 iors, using pain control as needed when carrying out physical alter- 22 ations, utilizing responsible, therapeutic antibiotic use, and requiring 23 humane handling and slaughter, as demonstrated by an independent United 24 States department of agriculture recognized animal welfare certification 25 program with regular, third-party on-farm audits assessing a producer's 26 compliance with one hundred percent of the program's welfare standards; 27 or 28 (vi) nutrition. Preference shall be given to foods that promote 29 health and well-being, comprised of namely whole grains, fresh and mini- 30 mally-processed fruits and vegetables, essential fats (including nuts, 31 seeds and fish), and whole plant-based and lean proteins so as to 32 decrease sodium, added sugars, artificial additives, and saturated, 33 hydrogenated, and trans fats. 34 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 103 of the general municipal law, as 35 amended by section 2 of chapter 2 of the laws of 2012, is amended to 36 read as follows: 37 1. (a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by an act of the legis- 38 lature or by a local law adopted prior to September first, nineteen 39 hundred fifty-three, all contracts for public work involving an expendi- 40 ture of more than thirty-five thousand dollars and all purchase 41 contracts involving an expenditure of more than twenty thousand dollars, 42 shall be awarded by the appropriate officer, board or agency of a poli- 43 tical subdivision or of any district therein including but not limited 44 to a soil conservation district to the lowest responsible bidder 45 furnishing the required security after advertisement for sealed bids in 46 the manner provided by this section, provided, however, that purchase 47 contracts (including contracts for service work, but excluding any 48 purchase contracts necessary for the completion of a public works 49 contract pursuant to article eight of the labor law) may be awarded on 50 the basis of best value, as defined in section one hundred sixty-three 51 of the state finance law, to a responsive and responsible bidder or 52 offerer in the manner provided by this section except that in a poli- 53 tical subdivision other than a city with a population of one million 54 inhabitants or more or any district, board or agency with jurisdiction 55 exclusively therein the use of best value of awarding a purchase 56 contract or purchase contracts must be authorized by local law or, inS. 6955 5 1 the case of a district corporation, school district or board of cooper- 2 ative educational services, by rule, regulation or resolution adopted at 3 a public meeting, provided further, however, that food purchase 4 contracts (including contracts for service work, but excluding any 5 purchase contracts necessary for the completion of a public works 6 contract pursuant to article eight of the labor law) may be awarded to 7 an otherwise qualified bidder who fulfills one or more of the values 8 based procurement standards pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivi- 9 sion and the contract may be given preference over other bidders 10 provided, however that the cost included in the bid is not more than ten 11 percent greater than the cost included in a bid by the lowest responsi- 12 ble bidder and provided further that all bidders (including lowest 13 responsible bidders that do not utilize the ten percent bid benefit) 14 provide all relevant supply chain data in its bid to the appropriate 15 officer, board or agency, updated annually and upon changes, and that 16 the appropriate officer, board or agency shall make this data publicly 17 available on the entities' respective websites without the need for a 18 freedom of information law request, excepting data not subject to 19 disclosure under the state freedom of information law pursuant to arti- 20 cle six of the public officers law. In determining whether a purchase 21 is an expenditure within the discretionary threshold amounts established 22 by this subdivision, the officer, board or agency of a political subdi- 23 vision or of any district therein shall consider the reasonably expected 24 aggregate amount of all purchases of the same commodities, services or 25 technology to be made within the twelve-month period commencing on the 26 date of purchase. Purchases of commodities, services or technology shall 27 not be artificially divided for the purpose of satisfying the discre- 28 tionary buying thresholds established by this subdivision. A change to 29 or a renewal of a discretionary purchase shall not be permitted if the 30 change or renewal would bring the reasonably expected aggregate amount 31 of all purchases of the same commodities, services or technology from 32 the same provider within the twelve-month period commencing on the date 33 of the first purchase to an amount greater than the discretionary buying 34 threshold amount. In any case where a responsible bidder's or responsi- 35 ble offerer's gross price is reducible by an allowance for the value of 36 used machinery, equipment, apparatus or tools to be traded in by a poli- 37 tical subdivision, the gross price shall be reduced by the amount of 38 such allowance, for the purpose of determining the low bid or best 39 value. In cases where two or more responsible bidders furnishing the 40 required security submit identical bids as to price, such officer, board 41 or agency may award the contract to any of such bidders. Such officer, 42 board or agency may, in his, her or its discretion, reject all bids or 43 offers and readvertise for new bids or offers in the manner provided by 44 this section. 45 (b) All supplier data, including sourcing data from subcontractors, 46 shall be submitted to the entity sending out the request for proposals 47 at the time of bid, to the best of the bidder's ability, updated at 48 point of contract, and then updated annually and upon changes. All 49 contractors and subcontractors shall submit updated supplier data. Such 50 data required pursuant to this paragraph shall include the name and 51 address of each supplier, distributor, processor, and producer 52 involved in the provision of the products that the bidder will supply. 53 Sourcing data requirements shall apply to all food suppliers, not just 54 those applying to the values-based procurement criteria. 55 (c) For the purposes of this subdivision, "values based procurement 56 standards" shall mean procurement criteria that is based on:S. 6955 6 1 (i) local economies. Preference shall be given to New York state or 2 regional suppliers that are sourcing food products in which fifty-one 3 percent or more of the raw agricultural materials have been grown, 4 harvested, processed and manufactured from within the state or region 5 (within one hundred miles for produce and two hundred miles for animal 6 products); and 7 (ii) environmental sustainability. Preference shall be given to 8 producers that adopt practices that contribute to improved soil health 9 and increased carbon sequestration and storage, and that achieve net 10 short-term and long-term greenhouse gas benefits. Such practices shall: 11 (A) achieve the reduction or elimination of synthetic pesticides and 12 fertilizers through use of precision agriculture, integrated pest 13 management, and/or advanced nutrient management; 14 (B) avoid the use of hormones or antibiotics except for treatment of a 15 sick animal or for disease control, where disease control is defined as 16 use where it can be shown that a particular disease or infection is 17 present on the premises where the animal is kept; 18 (C) preserve and rebuild soil quality through use of soil health prac- 19 tices, including but not limited to planting cover crops, adopting 20 no-till and reduced tillage, increasing crop rotations and intercrop- 21 ping, and planting perennial crops, to improve the function and resili- 22 ence of soils; 23 (D) protect and enhance wildlife habitats and biodiversity; 24 (E) avoid contributing to water quality impairment and avoid contrib- 25 uting to deterioration of local air quality; 26 (F) reduce greenhouse gas emissions attributable to livestock through 27 use of feed management, prescribed grazing, amendments for treatment of 28 agricultural waste, and manure management; and 29 (G) reduce on-farm energy and water consumption, food waste and green- 30 house gas emissions; or 31 (iii) racial equity. Preference shall be given to minority and women- 32 owned business enterprises as defined in article fifteen-A of the execu- 33 tive law, or socially disadvantaged farmers. For the purposes of this 34 subdivision, "socially disadvantaged" shall mean individuals who have 35 been subject to discrimination by virtue of their membership of a 36 particular group which may include, but not be limited to Black or Afri- 37 can American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic or Latino, and 38 Asian or Pacific Islander; or 39 (iv) valued workforce. In order to avoid labor unrest and thereby 40 secure best value, preference shall be given to suppliers who: respect 41 and protect workers' rights to freedom of association, to organize a 42 union, to affiliate with worker centers and alternative forms of worker 43 representation, and to bargain collectively free from retaliation; as 44 evidenced by agreeing to enter into a labor peace agreement with a bona 45 fide labor union upon request by that union; have worker-led workplace 46 health and safety committees; or are a worker-owned cooperative; or 47 (v) animal welfare. Preference shall be given to producers who provide 48 more humane care for farmed animals by prohibiting intensive confinement 49 (e.g. caging, crating or tethering), providing enough space and environ- 50 mental enrichments to allow animals to carry out their natural behav- 51 iors, using pain control as needed when carrying out physical alter- 52 ations, utilizing responsible, therapeutic antibiotic use, and requiring 53 humane handling and slaughter, as demonstrated by an independent United 54 States department of agriculture recognized animal welfare certification 55 program with regular, third-party on-farm audits assessing a producer'sS. 6955 7 1 compliance with one hundred percent of the program's welfare standards; 2 or 3 (vi) nutrition. Preference shall be given to foods that promote health 4 and well-being, comprised of namely whole grains, fresh and minimally- 5 processed fruits and vegetables, essential fats (including nuts, seeds 6 and fish), and whole plant-based and lean proteins so as to decrease 7 sodium, added sugars, artificial additives, and saturated, hydrogenated, 8 and trans fats. 9 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 10 the amendments to subdivision 1 of section 103 of the general municipal 11 law made by section one of this act shall be subject to the expiration 12 and reversion of such subdivision when upon such date the provisions of 13 section two of this act shall take effect.