NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7805
SPONSOR: Morelle (MS) TITLE OF BILL: 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 to repeal certain provisions of the public authorities law and the
state finance law relating thereto
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to ensure that American produced materials
are given preference on state sponsored procurements.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill is the title; "New York State Buy American Act"
Section two of the bill amends section 146 of the state finance law to
require the use of American made-materials on state projects.
Section three of the bill amends section 2603-a of the public authori-
ties law relating to the use of American made materials on public works
projects.
Section four of the bill amends section 38 of the highway law relating
to the use of American made materials on public works projects.
Section five amends section 103 of the general municipal law relating to
the use of American made materials on public works projects.
Section six amends section 8 of the public buildings law relating to the
use of American made materials on public works projects.
Section seven is the severability clause. Section eight is the enacting
clause.
JUSTIFICATION:
The production of iron, steel and manufactured products provides jobs
and family income to many individuals in this State and, in turn, the
jobs and family incomes of millions of persons in the United States. Be
it through direct taxes or through other mechanisms such as tolling,
employers, employee's public works users in this State generate substan-
tial revenues that State, its subdivisions and authorities will use to
modernize our public works and infrastructure system.
In the last decade, New York has lost 304,900 manufacturing jobs.
Nationally, U.S. workers and the domestic economy have been devastated
by the growth of the U.S. trade deficit with China since that country
entered the World Trade Organization in 2001. Between 2001 and 2011, 2.7
million U.S. jobs were lost or displaced. New York alone lost 158,800
jobs due to this trend.
The economy and general welfare of the State and its people and the
economy and general welfare of the United States are inseparably linked
to the preservation and development of manufacturing industries in this
State, as well as all the other states of this nation. Recognizing this
link, it should be the policy of this State that its taxpayer dollars
and toll revenues be reinvested with its individual and employer tax and
toll payers in order to foster job retention and growth, particularly
within the manufacturing sector, and to ensure a broad and healthy tax
and user base for future investments vital to the State's infrastruc-
ture.
New York State's procurement policies should reflect this State's, and
indeed, the nation's, principles, ensuring that the products of those
companies and workers who abide by our workplace safety and environ-
mental laws and regulations should be rewarded with a commonsense pref-
erence in government contracting.
This legislation will harmonize existing New York state procurement
statutes, across the board, with the practices New York state agencies
use when executing programs funded by federal grants. As currently writ-
ten the existing New York procurement statutes have various interpreta-
tions, which at times can nullify one another, cause New York to spend
taxpayer dollars on goods produced abroad, encourage outsourcing, and
kill American jobs. New Yorkers, like all Americans, expect that their
tax and toll dollars will be reinvested with the taxpaying businesses
and workers that produce goods-in-New-York and the U.S., and this legis-
lation will do just that.
This longstanding practice by the federal government, and many state
governments, is well-understood by contracting officers and bidders on
public projects. Dozens of states have similar laws that create a
procurement preference for American-made goods when they are available
in a sufficient quality and quantity and are competitively priced in the
global marketplace. The preference proposed under this legislation is
just that, a preference. If goods are unavailable from domestic sources
or the cost of the goods from domestic sources is unreasonable, the
preference may be waived.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A9521 of 2014- referred to governmental operations
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be Determined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately
