A 7286: Allows Westchester county to require bidders for public works, construction or purchase contracts to hire and retain persons residing in certain targeted communities based on the combined average poverty rate and unemployment rate.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7286 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY March 25, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Local Governments AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to allowing West- chester county to require bidders for public works, construction or purchase contracts to hire and retain persons residing in certain targeted communities The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new 2 section 103-h to read as follows: 3 § 103-h. Contracts for public works in Westchester county; targeted 4 communities. 1. For the purposes of this section, a "targeted community" 5 shall mean any city, town, or village or census tract within a munici- 6 pality, within a county where the combined average of the unemployment 7 rate and the poverty rate of such community is greater than the combined 8 countywide average of unemployment and poverty rate by ten percent. 9 2. Notwithstanding any provision of law, the county of Westchester may 10 require the lowest responsible bidder for all public works, construction 11 or purchase contracts to hire and retain persons residing in certain 12 targeted communities having the highest rates of unemployment within 13 such county. 14 3. The county may require that: 15 a. at least ten percent of the labor costs of construction contracts 16 awarded by the county be spent to hire persons residing in the targeted 17 communities within that county; 18 b. at least twenty percent of the labor costs of construction 19 contracts be spent to hire persons residing in the targeted communities, 20 if the combined average unemployment and poverty rate for a targeted 21 community is greater than twenty percent of the combined countywide 22 average of unemployment rate and the poverty rate; and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11005-01-5 
 A. 7286 2 1 c. at least thirty percent of the labor costs of construction 2 contracts cost be spent to hire persons residing in the targeted commu- 3 nities if the combined average community unemployment and poverty rate 4 is greater than thirty percent of the combined countywide average of 5 unemployment rate and the poverty rate. 6 4. The combined average unemployment rate and poverty rate shall be 7 computed annually based on statistics published by the New York state 8 bureau of labor statistics or similar government agencies for the period 9 ending December thirty-first of the year preceding the year in which the 10 contract is awarded. The county, in its sole discretion, may use the 11 most recent United States census data in determining the unemployment 12 rate and poverty rate of a targeted community or combined countywide 13 unemployment rate and poverty rate instead of data published by the New 14 York state bureau of labor statistics. The combined average shall be the 15 sum of the preceding year end unemployment rate plus the preceding year 16 end poverty rate divided by two. 17 5. The combined average unemployment rate and poverty rate shall be 18 established annually by resolution or local law of the county. The 19 county may require bidders to hire and retain persons who were previous- 20 ly incarcerated and who are participating in a re-entry program in such 21 county. 22 6. The county may require the lowest responsible bidder to establish 23 apprenticeship and training programs for workers residing within the 24 targeted communities in certain construction trades specified in a 25 resolution or local law passed by such county. 26 § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 27 have become a law.