Allows a city with a population of one million inhabitants or more, or any district, board or agency with jurisdiction exclusively within such city, to authorize or require bids and offers for any contract to be submitted in an electronic format; provides such city, district, board or agency may conduct a public opening and reading of bids or identification of offerers.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7362--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 19, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. COONEY, PARKER -- (at request of the NYC Mayor's
Office of Contract Services) -- read twice and ordered printed, and
when printed to be committed to the Committee on Procurement and
Contracts -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to electronic
bidding
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. Except as otherwise expressly provided by an act of the legislature
5 or by a local law adopted prior to September first, nineteen hundred
6 fifty-three, all contracts for public work involving an expenditure of
7 more than thirty-five thousand dollars and all purchase contracts
8 involving an expenditure of more than twenty thousand dollars, shall be
9 awarded by the appropriate officer, board or agency of a political
10 subdivision or of any district therein including but not limited to a
11 soil conservation district to the lowest responsible bidder furnishing
12 the required security after advertisement for sealed bids in the manner
13 provided by this section, provided, however, that purchase contracts
14 (including contracts for service work, but excluding any purchase
15 contracts necessary for the completion of a public works contract pursu-
16 ant to article eight of the labor law) may be awarded on the basis of
17 best value, as defined in section one hundred sixty-three of the state
18 finance law, to a responsive and responsible bidder or offerer in the
19 manner provided by this section except that in a political subdivision
20 other than a city with a population of one million inhabitants or more
21 or any district, board or agency with jurisdiction exclusively therein
22 the use of best value for awarding a purchase contract or purchase
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11218-05-3
S. 7362--A 2
1 contracts must be authorized by local law or, in the case of a district
2 corporation, school district or board of cooperative educational
3 services, by rule, regulation or resolution adopted at a public meeting.
4 In any case where a responsible bidder's or responsible offerer's gross
5 price is reducible by an allowance for the value of used machinery,
6 equipment, apparatus or tools to be traded in by a political subdivi-
7 sion, the gross price shall be reduced by the amount of such allowance,
8 for the purpose of determining the best value. In cases where two or
9 more responsible bidders furnishing the required security submit identi-
10 cal bids as to price, such officer, board or agency may award the
11 contract to any of such bidders. Such officer, board or agency may, in
12 his or her or its discretion, reject all bids or offers and readvertise
13 for new bids or offers in the manner provided by this section. In deter-
14 mining whether a purchase is an expenditure within the discretionary
15 threshold amounts established by this subdivision, the officer, board or
16 agency of a political subdivision or of any district therein shall
17 consider the reasonably expected aggregate amount of all purchases of
18 the same commodities, services or technology to be made within the
19 twelve-month period commencing on the date of purchase. Purchases of
20 commodities, services or technology shall not be artificially divided
21 for the purpose of satisfying the discretionary buying thresholds estab-
22 lished by this subdivision. A change to or a renewal of a discretionary
23 purchase shall not be permitted if the change or renewal would bring the
24 reasonably expected aggregate amount of all purchases of the same
25 commodities, services or technology from the same provider within the
26 twelve-month period commencing on the date of the first purchase to an
27 amount greater than the discretionary buying threshold amount. For
28 purposes of this section, "sealed bids" and "sealed offers", as that
29 term applies to purchase contracts, (including contracts for service
30 work, but excluding any purchase contracts necessary for the completion
31 of a public works contract pursuant to article eight of the labor law)
32 shall include bids and offers submitted in an electronic format includ-
33 ing submission of the statement of non-collusion required by section one
34 hundred three-d of this article, provided that the governing board of
35 the political subdivision or district, by resolution, has authorized the
36 receipt of bids and offers in such format. Submission in electronic
37 format may, for technology contracts only, be required as the sole meth-
38 od for the submission of bids and offers. Provided however, the appro-
39 priate officer, board or agency of a city with a population of one
40 million inhabitants or more, or any district, board or agency with
41 jurisdiction exclusively within such city, may authorize or require bids
42 and offers for any contract to be submitted in an electronic format.
43 Bids and offers submitted in an electronic format shall be transmitted
44 by bidders and offerers to the receiving device designated by the poli-
45 tical subdivision or district. Any method used to receive electronic
46 bids and offers shall comply with article three of the state technology
47 law, and any rules and regulations promulgated and guidelines developed
48 thereunder and, at a minimum, must (a) document the time and date of
49 receipt of each bid and offer received electronically; (b) authenticate
50 the identity of the sender; (c) ensure the security of the information
51 transmitted; and (d) ensure the confidentiality of the bid or offer
52 until the time and date established for the opening of bids or offers.
53 The timely submission of an electronic bid or offer in compliance with
54 instructions provided for such submission in the advertisement for bids
55 or offers and/or the specifications shall be the responsibility solely
56 of each bidder or offerer or prospective bidder or offerer. No political
S. 7362--A 3
1 subdivision or district therein shall incur any liability from delays of
2 or interruptions in the receiving device designated for the submission
3 and receipt of electronic bids and offers.
4 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 103 of the general municipal law, as
5 amended by section 1 of chapter 367 of the laws of 2014, is amended to
6 read as follows:
7 2. Advertisement for bids and offers shall be published in the offi-
8 cial newspaper or newspapers, if any, or otherwise in a newspaper or
9 newspapers designated for such purpose and may be published in the
10 procurement opportunities newsletter pursuant to article four-C of the
11 economic development law. Such advertisement shall contain a statement
12 of the time when and place where all bids received pursuant to such
13 notice will be publicly opened and read and where the identity of all
14 offerers will be publicly disclosed, and the designation of the receiv-
15 ing device if the political subdivision or district has authorized the
16 receipt of bids and offers in an electronic format. Such board or agency
17 may by resolution designate any officer or employee to open the bids and
18 offers at the time and place specified in the notice. Such designee
19 shall make a record of such bids and offers in such form and detail as
20 the board or agency shall prescribe and present the same at the next
21 regular or special meeting of such board or agency. All bids received
22 shall be publicly opened and read at the time and place so specified and
23 the identity of all offerers shall be publicly disclosed at the time and
24 place so specified. Provided, however, the appropriate officer, board or
25 agency of a city with a population of one million inhabitants or more,
26 or any district, board or agency with jurisdiction exclusively within
27 such city, may conduct a public opening, reading and identification by
28 means of livestreaming on a publicly accessible website listed in the
29 advertisement at a time and date specified in such advertisement, and
30 post a record of such bids or offers and any other required information
31 on a website maintained or controlled by such district, officer, board
32 or agency on such date within five days. At least five days shall elapse
33 between the first publication of such advertisement and the date so
34 specified for the opening and reading of bids and offers.
35 § 3. This act shall take effect March 1, 2024; provided, however, that
36 if the chapter of the laws of 2023 amending part X of chapter 62 of the
37 laws of 2003 amending the general business law and other laws generally
38 relating to implementing the state fiscal plan for the 2003-2004 state
39 fiscal year, relating to extending certain provisions of the general
40 municipal law and the local finance law relating to electronic bidding,
41 as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 7363-A and A. 7445, shall
42 not have taken effect on or before such date then sections one and two
43 of this act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as
44 such chapter of the laws of 2023, takes effect; and provided, further,
45 that:
46 (a) the amendments to subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 103 of the
47 general municipal law made by sections one and two of this act shall not
48 apply to any solicitation released prior to the date upon which this act
49 takes effect; and
50 (b) the amendments to subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 103 of the
51 general municipal law made by sections one and two of this act shall not
52 affect the expiration and reversion of such subdivisions as provided in
53 subdivision (a) of section 41 of part X of chapter 62 of the laws of
54 2003, as amended, and shall expire and be deemed repealed therewith.
