A 359: Encourages the participation of minority- and women-owned business enterprises in state contracts by avoiding unnecessary and unjustified bundling of contract requirements that preclude minority- and women-owned business participation.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 359 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. JACKSON, ZACCARO, DAVILA -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Govern- mental Operations AN ACT to amend the executive law and the state finance law, in relation to encouraging the participation of minority and women-owned business enterprises in state contracts The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2-a of section 313 of the executive law is 2 amended by adding a new paragraph (k) to read as follows: 3 (k) require that each state contract avoids unnecessary and unjusti- 4 fied bundling of contract requirements that precludes minority and 5 women-owned business enterprises' participation in procurements as prime 6 contractors. For purposes of this paragraph, "unnecessary and unjusti- 7 fied" shall mean not required, not needed and with no legitimate reason. 8 § 2. Section 139-g of the state finance law is amended by adding a new 9 subdivision (e) to read as follows: 10 (e) require that each state contract avoids unnecessary and unjusti- 11 fied bundling of contract requirements that precludes small and certi- 12 fied women and minority-owned business' participation in procurements as 13 prime contractors. For purposes of this subdivision, "unnecessary and 14 unjustified" shall mean not required, not needed and with no legitimate 15 reason. 16 § 3. Subdivision 4 of section 313 of the executive law, as amended by 17 chapter 96 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 18 4. In the implementation of this section, the contracting agency shall 19 (a) consult the findings contained within the disparity study evidencing 20 relevant industry specific disparities in the utilization of minority 21 and women-owned businesses relative to their availability; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00548-01-5 
 A. 359 2 1 (b) implement a program that will enable the agency to evaluate each 2 contract to determine the appropriate goal for participation by minori- 3 ty-owned business enterprises and women-owned business enterprises; and 4 (c) [consider where practicable, the severability of construction 5 projects and other bundled contracts; and 6 (d)] consider compliance with the requirements of any federal law 7 concerning opportunities for minority and women-owned business enter- 8 prises which effectuates the purpose of this section. The contracting 9 agency shall determine whether the imposition of the requirements of any 10 such law duplicate or conflict with the provisions hereof and if such 11 duplication or conflict exists, the contracting agency shall waive the 12 applicability of this section to the extent of such duplication or 13 conflict. 14 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided however, that 15 the amendments to section 313 of the executive law made by sections one 16 and three of this act shall not affect the repeal of such article and 17 shall be deemed repealed therewith.