Enacts the "Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Act"; develops a comprehensive plan and operational guidelines to promote service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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S. 6865 A. 9135
SENATE - ASSEMBLY
March 20, 2014
___________
IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. BALL -- (at request of the Governor) --
read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Rules
IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ, BENEDETTO, ENGLEBRIGHT,
SILVER, RUSSELL, MORELLE, HOOPER, NOLAN, SWEENEY, CUSICK, LUPARDO,
SCHIMEL, DenDEKKER, MILLER, BRINDISI, RYAN, BARRETT, SANTABARBARA,
ABBATE, ABINANTI, BRONSON, CLARK, CRESPO, DINOWITZ, FAHY, GUNTHER,
HENNESSEY, MAGNARELLI, MARKEY, MCDONALD, ROBERTS, SCARBOROUGH, SCHIM-
MINGER, SIMANOWITZ, SKARTADOS, SKOUFIS, STECK, STIRPE, WEISENBERG,
ZEBROWSKI, O'DONNELL, THIELE, ARROYO -- Multi-Sponsored by M. of A. --
FARRELL, MOSLEY -- (at the request of the Governor) -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to expanding opportu-
nities for service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises; and
providing for the repeal of certain provisions upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings. New York state (the "state") is home
2 to more than 900,000 veterans, seventy-two percent of whom have served
3 during periods of conflict. Additionally, the state is home to approxi-
4 mately 30,000 active duty military personnel as well as 30,000 national
5 guard and reserve personnel. In honor of their service to and sacrifice
6 for our nation, New York state declares that it is the public policy of
7 the state to promote and encourage the continuing economic development
8 of service-disabled veteran-owned businesses. In the furtherance of
9 this policy, the state aims to assist service-disabled veterans in play-
10 ing a greater role in the economy of the state and to provide additional
11 assistance and support to disabled veterans to better equip them to form
12 and expand small businesses, thereby enabling them to realize the Ameri-
13 can dream they fought to protect. To achieve this objective without
14 disrupting the procurement practice and priorities already in law, the
15 legislature finds that it is in the best interest of the economic devel-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD12081-01-4
S. 6865 2 A. 9135
1 opment of the state to enact the "Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Busi-
2 ness Act".
3 § 1-a. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
4 "Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Act".
5 § 2. The executive law is amended by adding a new article 17-B to read
6 as follows:
7 ARTICLE 17-B
8 PARTICIPATION BY SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS WITH RESPECT TO
9 STATE CONTRACTS
10 Section 369-h. Definitions.
11 369-i. Division of service-disabled veterans' business develop-
12 ment.
13 369-j. Opportunities for certified service-disabled veteran-
14 owned business enterprises.
15 369-k. Severability.
16 § 369-h. Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms
17 shall have the following meanings:
18 1. "Certified service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprise"
19 shall mean a business enterprise, including a sole proprietorship, part-
20 nership, limited liability company or corporation that is:
21 (a) at least fifty-one percent owned by one or more service-disabled
22 veterans;
23 (b) an enterprise in which such service-disabled veteran ownership is
24 real, substantial, and continuing;
25 (c) an enterprise in which such service-disabled veteran ownership has
26 and exercises the authority to control independently the day-to-day
27 business decisions of the enterprise;
28 (d) an enterprise authorized to do business in this state and is inde-
29 pendently-owned and operated;
30 (e) an enterprise that is a small business which has a significant
31 business presence in the state, not dominant in its field and employs,
32 based on its industry, a certain number of persons as determined by the
33 director, but not to exceed three hundred, taking into consideration
34 factors which include, but are not limited to, federal small business
35 administration standards pursuant to 13 CFR part 121 and any amendments
36 thereto; and
37 (f) certified by the office of general services.
38 2. "Commissioner" shall mean the commissioner of the office of general
39 services.
40 3. "Director" shall mean the director of the division of service-disa-
41 bled veterans' business development.
42 4. "Division" shall mean the division of service-disabled veterans'
43 business development in the office of general services.
44 5. "Service-disabled veteran" shall mean (a) in the case of the United
45 States army, navy, air force, marines, coast guard, army national guard
46 or air national guard and/or reserves thereof, a veteran who received a
47 compensation rating of ten percent or greater from the United States
48 department of veterans affairs or from the United States department of
49 defense because of a service-connected disability incurred in the line
50 of duty, and (b) in the case of the New York guard or the New York naval
51 militia and/or reserves thereof, a veteran who certifies, pursuant to
52 the rules and regulations promulgated by the director, to having
53 incurred an injury equivalent to a compensation rating of ten percent or
54 greater from the United States department of veterans affairs or from
55 the United States department of defense because of a service-connected
56 disability incurred in the line of duty.
S. 6865 3 A. 9135
1 6. "State agency" shall mean: (a)(i) any state department; or (ii) any
2 division, board, commission or bureau of any state department; or (iii)
3 the state university of New York and the city university of New York,
4 including all their constituent units except community colleges and the
5 independent institutions operating statutory or contract colleges on
6 behalf of the state; or (iv) a board, a majority of whose members are
7 appointed by the governor or who serve by virtue of being state officers
8 or employees as defined in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of paragraph
9 (i) of subdivision one of section seventy-three of the public officers
10 law.
11 (b) a "state authority," as defined in subdivision one of section two
12 of the public authorities law, and the following:
13 Albany County Airport Authority;
14 Albany Port District Commission;
15 Alfred, Almond, Hornellsville Sewer Authority;
16 Battery Park City Authority;
17 Cayuga County Water and Sewer Authority;
18 (Nelson A. Rockefeller) Empire State Plaza Performing Arts Center
19 Corporation;
20 Industrial Exhibit Authority;
21 Livingston County Water and Sewer Authority;
22 Long Island Power Authority;
23 Long Island Rail Road;
24 Long Island Market Authority;
25 Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority;
26 Metro-North Commuter Railroad;
27 Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority;
28 Metropolitan Transportation Authority;
29 Natural Heritage Trust;
30 New York City Transit Authority;
31 New York Convention Center Operating Corporation;
32 New York State Bridge Authority;
33 New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority;
34 New York State Thruway Authority;
35 Niagara Falls Public Water Authority;
36 Niagara Falls Water Board;
37 Port of Oswego Authority;
38 Power Authority of the State of New York;
39 Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation;
40 Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority;
41 State Insurance Fund;
42 Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority;
43 State University Construction Fund;
44 Syracuse Regional Airport Authority;
45 Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority;
46 Upper Mohawk valley regional water board;
47 Upper Mohawk valley regional water finance authority;
48 Upper Mohawk valley memorial auditorium authority;
49 Urban Development Corporation and its subsidiary corporations.
50 (c) the following only to the extent of state contracts entered into
51 for its own account or for the benefit of a state agency as defined in
52 paragraph (a) or (b) of this subdivision:
53 Dormitory Authority of the State of New York;
54 Facilities Development Corporation;
55 New York State Energy Research and Development Authority;
56 New York State Science and Technology Foundation.
S. 6865 4 A. 9135
1 (d) "state contract" shall mean: (i) a written agreement or purchase
2 order instrument, providing for a total expenditure in excess of twen-
3 ty-five thousand dollars, whereby a contracting agency is committed to
4 expend or does expend funds in return for labor, services including but
5 not limited to legal, financial and other professional services,
6 supplies, equipment, materials or any combination of the foregoing, to
7 be performed for, or rendered or furnished to the contracting agency;
8 (ii) a written agreement in excess of one hundred thousand dollars
9 whereby a contracting agency is committed to expend or does expend funds
10 for the acquisition, construction, demolition, replacement, major repair
11 or renovation of real property and improvements thereon; and (iii) a
12 written agreement in excess of one hundred thousand dollars whereby the
13 owner of a state assisted housing project is committed to expend or does
14 expend funds for the acquisition, construction, demolition, replacement,
15 major repair or renovation of real property and improvements thereon for
16 such project.
17 7. "Veteran" shall mean a person who served in and who has received an
18 honorable or general discharge from, the United States army, navy, air
19 force, marines, coast guard, and/or reserves thereof, and/or in the army
20 national guard, air national guard, New York guard and/or the New York
21 naval militia.
22 § 369-i. Division of service-disabled veterans' business development.
23 1. The head of the division of service-disabled veterans' business
24 development shall be the director who shall be appointed by the governor
25 and who shall hold office at the pleasure of the commissioner.
26 2. The director may appoint such deputies, assistants, and other
27 employees as may be needed for the performance of the duties prescribed
28 herein subject to the provisions of the civil service law and the rules
29 and regulations of the civil service commission. The director may
30 request and shall receive from any (i) department, division, board,
31 bureau, or executive commission of the state or (ii) state agency, such
32 assistance as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this arti-
33 cle.
34 3. The director shall have the following powers and duties:
35 (a) Develop, collect, summarize and disseminate information that will
36 be helpful to persons and organizations throughout the state in under-
37 taking or promoting the establishment and successful operation of a
38 service-disabled veteran-owned business.
39 (b) Develop and make available to state agencies a directory of certi-
40 fied service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises which shall,
41 wherever practicable, be divided into categories of labor, services,
42 supplies, equipment, materials and recognized construction trades and
43 which shall indicate areas or locations of the state where such enter-
44 prises are available to perform services. Such directory shall be posted
45 on the office of general services website.
46 (c) Assist state agencies in the development of programs to foster and
47 promote the use of service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises
48 on state contracts.
49 (d) Coordinate the plans, programs and operations of the state govern-
50 ment which affect or may contribute to the establishment, preservation
51 and development of service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises.
52 (e) To appoint independent hearing officers who by contract or terms
53 of employment shall preside over adjudicatory hearings pursuant to this
54 section for the office and who are assigned no other work by the office.
55 (f) In conjunction with the commissioner, develop a comprehensive
56 statewide plan and operational guidelines to promote service-disabled
S. 6865 5 A. 9135
1 veteran-owned business enterprises and to assist them in obtaining
2 opportunities to participate in the procurement of goods and services by
3 the state, including identification of barriers to service-disabled
4 veterans' business development and investigation and evaluation of their
5 impact on achieving the objectives of this article.
6 4. The commissioner shall:
7 (a) Coordinate training of all procurement personnel of state agen-
8 cies, emphasizing increased sensitivity and responsiveness to the unique
9 needs and requirements of service-disabled veteran-owned business enter-
10 prises.
11 (b) Conduct a coordinated review of all existing and proposed state
12 training and technical assistance activities in direct support of the
13 service-disabled veterans' business development program to assure
14 consistency with the objectives of this article.
15 (c) Evaluate and assess availability of firms for the purpose of
16 increasing participation of such firms in state contracting in consulta-
17 tion with relevant state entities including, but not limited to, the New
18 York state division of veterans' affairs.
19 (d) Provide advice and technical assistance to promote service-disa-
20 bled veteran-owned business enterprises' understanding of state procure-
21 ment laws, practices and procedures to facilitate and increase the
22 participation of service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises in
23 state procurement.
24 (e) Establish regular performance reporting systems regarding imple-
25 mentation of the programs designed to increase service-disabled veter-
26 an-owned business participation in procurement contracts by state agen-
27 cies.
28 (f) Submit a report by the thirty-first of December each year, with
29 the first report due by the thirty-first of December in the calendar
30 year next succeeding the calendar year in which this article shall have
31 become a law, to the governor, the temporary president of the senate,
32 and the speaker of the assembly. Such report shall include information
33 including, but not limited to, the number of contracts entered into
34 pursuant to this article, the average amount of such contracts, the
35 number of service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises certified,
36 the number of applications for certification as a service-disabled
37 veteran-owned business enterprise, the number of denials for such
38 certification, the number of appeals of such denials, and the outcome of
39 such appeals and the average time that is required for such certif-
40 ication to be completed.
41 5. Certification. (a) The director, or in the absence of the director,
42 the commissioner, within ninety days of the effective date of this arti-
43 cle, shall promulgate rules and regulations providing for the establish-
44 ment of a statewide certification program including rules and regu-
45 lations governing the approval, denial, or revocation of any such
46 certification. Such rules and regulations shall include, but not be
47 limited to, such matters as may be required to ensure that the estab-
48 lished procedures thereunder shall at least be in compliance with the
49 code of fair procedure set forth in section seventy-three of the civil
50 rights law.
51 (b) The division of service-disabled veterans' business development
52 shall be responsible for verifying businesses as being owned, operated,
53 and controlled by a service-disabled veteran and for certifying such
54 verified businesses. Status as a service-disabled veteran pursuant to
55 paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be documented by a copy of the
56 veteran's certificate of release or discharge from active duty, includ-
S. 6865 6 A. 9135
1 ing but not limited to, a DD-214 form or an honorable service
2 certificate/report of causality from the department of defense, a letter
3 of certification by the United States department of veterans affairs or
4 the United States department of defense and any additional information
5 that may be required by the division of service-disabled veterans' busi-
6 ness development. In the case of the New York guard or the New York
7 naval militia and/or reserves thereof, status as a service-disabled
8 veteran pursuant to this paragraph shall be documented pursuant to rules
9 and regulations promulgated by the director, or in the absence of the
10 director, the commissioner.
11 (c) Following application for certification pursuant to this section,
12 the director shall provide the applicant with written notice of the
13 status of the application, including notice of any outstanding deficien-
14 cies, within thirty days. Within sixty days of submission of a final
15 completed application, the director shall provide the applicant with
16 written notice of a determination by the director approving or denying
17 such certification and, in the event of a denial, a statement setting
18 forth the reasons for such denial. Upon a determination denying or
19 revoking certification, the business enterprise for which certification
20 has been so denied or revoked shall, upon written request made within
21 thirty days from receipt of notice of such determination, be entitled to
22 a hearing before an independent hearing officer designated for such
23 purpose by the director. In the event that a request for a hearing is
24 not made within such thirty day period, such determination shall be
25 deemed to be final. The independent hearing officer shall conduct a
26 hearing and upon the conclusion of such hearing, issue a written recom-
27 mendation to the director to affirm, reverse, or modify such determi-
28 nation of the director. Such written recommendation shall be issued to
29 the parties. The director, within thirty days, by order, must accept,
30 reject or modify such recommendation of the hearing officer and set
31 forth in writing the reason therefor. The director shall serve a copy of
32 such order and reasons therefor upon the business enterprise by personal
33 service or by certified mail return receipt requested. The order of the
34 director shall be subject to review pursuant to article seventy-eight of
35 the civil practice law and rules.
36 (d) All certifications shall be valid for a period of five years.
37 § 369-j. Opportunities for certified service-disabled veteran-owned
38 business enterprises. 1. The director, or in the absence of the direc-
39 tor, the commissioner, within ninety days of the effective date of this
40 article shall promulgate rules and regulations for the following
41 purposes:
42 (a) provide measures and procedures to ensure that certified service-
43 disabled veteran-owned business enterprises are afforded the opportunity
44 for meaningful participation in the performance of state contracts and
45 to assist in state agencies' identification of those state contracts for
46 which certified service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises may
47 best perform;
48 (b) provide for measures and procedures that assist state agencies in
49 the identification of state contracts where service-disabled veteran
50 contract goals are practical, feasible and appropriate for the purpose
51 of increasing the utilization of service-disabled veteran-owned business
52 enterprise participation on state contracts;
53 (c) achieve a statewide goal for participation on state contracts by
54 service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises of six percent;
S. 6865 7 A. 9135
1 (d) provide for procedures relating to submission and receipt of
2 applications by service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises for
3 certification;
4 (e) provide for the monitoring and compliance of state contracts by
5 state agencies with respect to the provisions of this article;
6 (f) provide for the requirement that state agencies submit regular
7 reports, as determined by the director, with respect to their service-
8 disabled veteran-owned business enterprise program activity, including
9 but not limited to, utilization reporting and state contract monitoring
10 and compliance;
11 (g) notwithstanding any provision of the state finance law, the public
12 buildings law, the highway law, the transportation law or the public
13 authorities law to the contrary, provide for the reservation or set-a-
14 side of certain procurements by state agencies in order to achieve the
15 objectives of this article; provided, however, that such procurements
16 shall remain subject to (i) priority of preferred sources pursuant to
17 sections one hundred sixty-two and one hundred sixty-three of the state
18 finance law; (ii) the approval of the comptroller of the state of New
19 York pursuant to section one hundred twelve and section one hundred
20 sixty-three of the state finance law and section twenty-eight hundred
21 seventy-nine-a of the public authorities law; and (iii) the procurement
22 record requirements pursuant to paragraph g of subdivision nine of
23 section one hundred sixty-three of the state finance law; and
24 (h) provide for any other purposes to effectuate this article.
25 2. State agencies shall administer the rules and regulations promul-
26 gated by the director for the implementation of this article.
27 § 369-k. Severability. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section or
28 part of this article shall be adjudged by any court of competent juris-
29 diction to be invalid, the judgment shall not affect, impair or invali-
30 date the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to
31 the clause, sentence, paragraph, section or part of this article direct-
32 ly involved in the controversy in which the judgment shall have been
33 rendered.
34 § 3. Subdivisions 7 and 15 of section 310 of the executive law, as
35 amended by chapter 175 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read as
36 follows:
37 7. "Minority-owned business enterprise" shall mean a business enter-
38 prise, including a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability
39 company or corporation that is:
40 (a) at least fifty-one percent owned by one or more minority group
41 members;
42 (b) an enterprise in which such minority ownership is real, substan-
43 tial and continuing;
44 (c) an enterprise in which such minority ownership has and exercises
45 the authority to control independently the day-to-day business decisions
46 of the enterprise;
47 (d) an enterprise authorized to do business in this state and inde-
48 pendently owned and operated;
49 (e) an enterprise owned by an individual or individuals, whose owner-
50 ship, control and operation are relied upon for certification, with a
51 personal net worth that does not exceed three million five hundred thou-
52 sand dollars, as adjusted annually on the first of January for inflation
53 according to the consumer price index of the previous year; and
54 (f) an enterprise that is a small business pursuant to subdivision
55 twenty of this section.
S. 6865 8 A. 9135
1 15. "Women-owned business enterprise" shall mean a business enter-
2 prise, including a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability
3 company or corporation that is:
4 (a) at least fifty-one percent owned by one or more United States
5 citizens or permanent resident aliens who are women;
6 (b) an enterprise in which the ownership interest of such women is
7 real, substantial and continuing;
8 (c) an enterprise in which such women ownership has and exercises the
9 authority to control independently the day-to-day business decisions of
10 the enterprise;
11 (d) an enterprise authorized to do business in this state and inde-
12 pendently owned and operated;
13 (e) an enterprise owned by an individual or individuals, whose owner-
14 ship, control and operation are relied upon for certification, with a
15 personal net worth that does not exceed three million five hundred thou-
16 sand dollars, as adjusted annually on the first of January for inflation
17 according to the consumer price index of the previous year; and
18 (f) an enterprise that is a small business pursuant to subdivision
19 twenty of this section.
20 A firm owned by a minority group member who is also a woman may be
21 certified as a minority-owned business enterprise, a women-owned busi-
22 ness enterprise, or both, and may be counted towards either a minority-
23 owned business enterprise goal or a women-owned business enterprise
24 goal, in regard to any contract or any goal, set by an agency or author-
25 ity, but such participation may not be counted towards both such goals.
26 Such an enterprise's participation in a contract may not be divided
27 between the minority-owned business enterprise goal and the women-owned
28 business enterprise goal.
29 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
30 sections one, one-a and two of this act shall expire and be deemed
31 repealed March 31, 2019; and provided, further, however, that the amend-
32 ments to subdivisions 7 and 15 of section 310 of the executive law made
33 by section three of this act shall not affect the expiration of such
34 section and shall be deemed to expire therewith.