Directs the division of veterans' services to establish a searchable database of veteran-owned businesses; requires the use of a special mark to indicate service-disabled veteran-owned businesses.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6081
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 26, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HUNTER, BUTTENSCHON, PHEFFER AMATO, RAJKUMAR,
EACHUS, OTIS, BURDICK -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs
AN ACT to amend the veterans' services law, in relation to establishing
a searchable database of veteran-owned businesses
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The veterans' services law is amended by adding a new
2 section 29-c to read as follows:
3 § 29-c. Veteran-owned business directory. 1. As used in this section
4 the following terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "Business owned and controlled by veterans" means a business (i)
6 not less than fifty-one percent of which is owned by one or more veter-
7 ans, or, in the case of any publicly owned business, not less than
8 fifty-one percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more veter-
9 ans; (ii) the management and daily business operations of which are
10 controlled by one or more veterans; and (iii) authorized to do business
11 in the state and which is independently owned and operated.
12 (b) "Veteran" means a person, as defined in section one of this arti-
13 cle, who served on active duty and has been discharged or released ther-
14 efrom under conditions other than dishonorable, or has a qualifying
15 condition as defined in section one of this article and has received a
16 discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable, or is a discharged
17 LGBT veteran as defined in section one of this article and has received
18 a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable;
19 (c) "Service-disabled veteran" shall have the same meaning as defined
20 in section forty of this chapter;
21 (d) "Certified service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprise"
22 shall have the same meaning as defined in section forty of this chapter;
23 and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09081-01-5
A. 6081 2
1 (e) "Veteran-owned business enterprises" shall mean businesses owned
2 and controlled by veterans, and service-disabled veteran-owned business
3 enterprises.
4 2. The department, with the aid and assistance of the division of
5 small business, the department of labor, the division of service-disa-
6 bled veterans' business development, and the office of general services,
7 shall develop, regularly update, and make available to state agencies
8 and the public a directory of veteran-owned business enterprises which
9 shall, wherever practicable, be divided into categories of labor,
10 services, supplies, equipment, materials and recognized construction
11 trades and which shall indicate areas or locations of the state where
12 such enterprises are available to perform services. Such directory
13 shall use an asterisk or other special mark to denote any veteran-owned
14 business enterprises which are service-disabled veteran-owned business
15 enterprises. Such directory shall be posted on the department's
16 website.
17 3. The office of general services shall also use this information to
18 create and regularly update an internet based, searchable centralized
19 state database to promote veteran-owned business enterprises to the
20 public and shall post such database on the office of general services'
21 website.
22 4. The department with the office of general services shall conduct
23 outreach to notify veteran-owned business enterprises of such directory
24 and database.
25 5. The department shall develop a registration process with the office
26 of general services for veteran-owned business enterprises to complete
27 in order to compile information for inclusion in the directory and data-
28 base. The department shall be responsible for verifying businesses as
29 being a business owned and controlled by veterans as defined in this
30 section including the development of rules and regulations governing the
31 approval, denial, or revocation of a business's status as a business
32 owned and controlled by veterans.
33 § 2. Subdivision 7 of section 4 of the veterans' services law is
34 amended to read as follows:
35 7. To provide in cooperation with the office of general services and
36 the office of the comptroller a series of seminars, that shall be
37 conducted four or more times per year at regional sites located through-
38 out the state of New York for the purpose of advising veteran-owned
39 businesses regarding the opportunities available for obtaining procure-
40 ment contracts from New York state agencies, municipalities, and author-
41 ities. [Furthermore the] The seminars shall provide requirements and
42 training that will enable veteran-owned businesses to successfully
43 participate in the procurement process. Furthermore, the seminars shall
44 provide registration information regarding the veteran-owned business
45 directory and database pursuant to section twenty-nine-c of this arti-
46 cle.
47 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding
48 the date upon which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately,
49 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
50 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
51 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
