Prohibits a public authority or public benefit corporation from entering into any procurement contract with a contractor or legal entity in which the contractor holds a 10% or greater interest therein, unless such contractor or legal entity stipulates that it has no business operations in Northern Ireland or conducts any business that it has in Northern Ireland in accordance with the MacBride Fair Employment Principles; such principles promote nondiscrimination in employment and freedom of workplace opportunity in Northern Ireland.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5264
2013-2014 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 21, 2013
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BRENNAN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. GOTT-
FRIED, JACOBS, MAGEE, MILLMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to the applica-
tion of the MacBride principles to contracts of public authorities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 6, 7, 8 and 9 of section 2879 of the public
2 authorities law, subdivisions 7, 8 and 9 as renumbered by chapter 844 of
3 the laws of 1992, are renumbered subdivisions 7, 8, 9 and 10 and a new
4 subdivision 6 is added to read as follows:
5 6. Nondiscrimination in employment in Northern Ireland. (a) For the
6 purposes of this subdivision, "MacBride Fair Employment Principles"
7 means those principles relating to nondiscrimination in employment and
8 freedom of work place opportunity which would require employers doing
9 business in Northern Ireland to:
10 (i) increase the representation of individuals from underrepresented
11 religious groups in the work force, including managerial, supervisory,
12 administrative, clerical, and technical jobs;
13 (ii) take steps to promote adequate security for the protection of
14 employees from underrepresented religious groups both at the workplace
15 and while traveling to and from work;
16 (iii) ban provocative religious or political emblems from the work
17 place;
18 (iv) publicly advertise all job openings and make special recruitment
19 efforts to attract applicants from underrepresented religious groups;
20 (v) establish layoff, recall, and termination procedures which do not,
21 in practice, favor a particular religious group;
22 (vi) abolish all job reservations, apprenticeship restrictions, and
23 differential employment criteria which discriminate on the basis of
24 religion;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09138-01-3
A. 5264 2
1 (vii) develop training programs that will prepare substantial numbers
2 of current employees from underrepresented religious groups for skilled
3 jobs, including the expansion of existing programs and the creation of
4 new programs to train, upgrade, and improve the skills of workers from
5 underrepresented religious groups;
6 (viii) establish procedures to assess, identify, and actively recruit
7 employees from underrepresented religious groups with potential for
8 further advancement; and
9 (ix) appoint a senior management staff member to oversee affirmative
10 action efforts and develop a timetable to ensure their full implementa-
11 tion.
12 (b) (i) A corporation shall not enter into a procurement contract with
13 any contractor that does not agree to stipulate to the following, if
14 there is another contractor who will contract to supply the goods or
15 services of comparable quality at a comparable price or cost: the
16 contractor and any individual or legal entity in which the contractor
17 holds a ten percent or greater ownership interest and any individual or
18 legal entity that holds a ten percent or greater ownership interest in
19 the contractor either (A) have no business operations in Northern
20 Ireland or (B) will take lawful steps, in good faith, to conduct any
21 business operations they have in Northern Ireland in accordance with
22 MacBride Fair Employment Principles and will permit independent monitor-
23 ing of their compliance with such principles.
24 (ii) In the case of procurement contracts let by a competitive proc-
25 ess, whenever the responsive and responsible offerer having the lowest
26 price or best value offer has not agreed to stipulate to the conditions
27 set forth in this subdivision and another responsive and responsible
28 offerer who has agreed to stipulate to such conditions has submitted an
29 offer within five percent of the lowest price or best value offer for a
30 contract to supply goods or services of comparable quality, the corpo-
31 ration may make a determination, in accordance with applicable law and
32 rules, that it is in the best interest of the corporation that the
33 contract be awarded to other than the lowest price or best value offer.
34 (iii) In the case of procurement contracts let by other than a compet-
35 itive process involving an expenditure of an amount greater than the
36 threshold specified in section one hundred forty-one of the economic
37 development law, the corporation shall not award to a proposed contrac-
38 tor who has not agreed to stipulate to the conditions set forth in this
39 subdivision unless the corporation determines that the goods or services
40 are necessary for the corporation to perform its functions and there is
41 no other responsible contractor who will supply goods or services of
42 comparable quality at a comparable price. Such determinations shall be
43 made in writing and shall be public documents.
44 (c) Upon receiving information that a contractor who has made the
45 stipulation required by this subdivision is in violation thereof, the
46 corporation shall review such information and offer the contractor an
47 opportunity to respond. If the corporation finds that a violation has
48 occurred, it shall take such action as may be appropriate and provided
49 for by law, rule, or contract, including, but not limited to, imposing
50 sanctions, seeking compliance, recovering damages, or declaring the
51 contractor in default.
52 (d) As used in this subdivision, the term "contract" does not include
53 contracts with governmental and non-profit organizations, contracts
54 awarded pursuant to emergency procurement procedures or contracts,
55 resolutions, indentures, declarations of trust, or other instruments
56 authorizing or relating to the authorization, issuance, award, sale, or
A. 5264 3
1 purchase of bonds, certificates of indebtedness, notes, or other fiscal
2 obligations; provided that the policies of this subdivision shall be
3 considered when selecting a contractor to provide financial or legal
4 advice and when selecting managing underwriters in connection with such
5 activities.
6 (e) The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to contracts
7 for which the corporation receives funds administered by the United
8 States department of transportation, except to the extent that Congress
9 has directed that the department of transportation not withhold funds
10 from states and localities that choose to implement selective purchasing
11 policies based on agreement to comply with the MacBride Fair Employment
12 Principles or to the extent that such funds are not otherwise withheld
13 by the department of transportation.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
15 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that the provisions of
16 this act shall in no way affect the validity of contracts entered into
17 prior to such effective date.
