Bill Text: NY S08844 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Adds employee-owned enterprises and worker cooperatives to the list of preferred contractors for public contracts in the state; authorizes such enterprises and cooperatives to make certain purchases from centralized contracts for commodities, subject to conditions of the office of general services; authorizes the comptroller to conduct certain audits of employee-owned enterprises and worker cooperatives.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-20 - REFERRED TO PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTS [S08844 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S08844-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8844

                    IN SENATE

                                     March 20, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  RYAN  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Procurement and Contracts

        AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in relation to  adding  employee-
          owned  enterprises  to  the  list  of preferred contractors for public
          contracts in the state

          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, 9 and 10 of section 160 of the state
     2  finance law are renumbered subdivisions 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11,  and  a  new
     3  subdivision 6 is added to read as follows:
     4    6.  "Employee-owned enterprise" shall have the same meaning as defined
     5  by section eighteen hundred thirty-six-b of the public authorities law.
     6    § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 162 of the state finance law is  amended
     7  by adding a new paragraph g to read as follows:
     8    g.  Commodities  and services produced by an employee-owned enterprise
     9  or a worker cooperative incorporated under the laws of  this  state  and
    10  governed by article five-A of the cooperative corporations law.
    11    §  3.  Subparagraph  (iii) of paragraph a and the opening paragraph of
    12  paragraph b of subdivision 4 of section 162 of the state finance law, as
    13  amended by chapter 565 of the laws of  2022,  are  amended  to  read  as
    14  follows:
    15    (iii) When commodities are available, in the form, function and utili-
    16  ty  required by, a state agency or political subdivision or public bene-
    17  fit corporation having their own purchasing agency, and such commodities
    18  are not available pursuant to subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of  this  para-
    19  graph,  said  commodities  shall then be purchased from a qualified non-
    20  profit-making agency for other disabled  persons,  a  qualified  special
    21  employment  program for mentally ill persons, [or] a qualified veterans'
    22  entity, or a qualified employee-owned enterprise or worker  cooperative;
    23  provided,  however,  the preferred source shall perform fifty percent or
    24  more of the work;
    25    When services  are  available,  in  the  form,  function  and  utility
    26  required  by,  a state agency or political subdivision or public benefit
    27  corporation having their own purchasing agency, equal priority shall  be
    28  accorded  the  services  rendered and offered for sale by qualified non-
    29  profit-making agencies for the blind and those for the  other  disabled,
    30  by qualified special employment programs for mentally ill persons [and],

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14256-01-4
        S. 8844                             2

     1  by  qualified veterans' entities, and by qualified employee-owned enter-
     2  prises or worker cooperatives; provided, however, the  preferred  source
     3  shall  perform  fifty  percent  or  more  of  the  work.  In the case of
     4  services:
     5    §  4.  Subparagraph  (iii) of paragraph a and the opening paragraph of
     6  paragraph b of subdivision 4 of section 162 of the state finance law, as
     7  added by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, are amended to read as follows:
     8    (iii) When commodities are available, in the form, function and utili-
     9  ty required by, a state agency or political subdivision or public  bene-
    10  fit corporation having their own purchasing agency, and such commodities
    11  are  not  available pursuant to subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this para-
    12  graph, said commodities shall then be purchased from  a  qualified  non-
    13  profit-making  agency for other [severely] disabled persons, a qualified
    14  special employment program for mentally ill persons,  [or]  a  qualified
    15  veterans' [workshop] entity, or a qualified employee-owned enterprise or
    16  worker cooperative;
    17    When  services  are  available,  in  the  form,  function  and utility
    18  required by, a state agency or political subdivision or  public  benefit
    19  corporation  having their own purchasing agency, equal priority shall be
    20  accorded the services rendered and offered for sale  by  qualified  non-
    21  profit-making  agencies for the blind and those for the other [severely]
    22  disabled, by qualified special  employment  programs  for  mentally  ill
    23  persons [and], by qualified veterans' [workshops] entities, and by qual-
    24  ified  employee-owned enterprises or worker cooperatives. In the case of
    25  services:
    26    § 5. Section 162 of the state finance law is amended by adding  a  new
    27  subdivision 6-a to read as follows:
    28    6-a.  Prices  charged  by employee-owned enterprises or worker cooper-
    29  atives.
    30    a. Qualified employee-owned enterprises  or  worker  cooperatives  may
    31  make purchases of materials, equipment or supplies, except printed mate-
    32  rial,  from centralized contracts for commodities in accordance with the
    33  conditions set by the office of general  services;  provided  that  such
    34  qualified  employee-owned  enterprise or worker cooperative shall accept
    35  sole responsibility for any payment due to the vendor.
    36    b. The state comptroller may conduct audits and  examinations  of  all
    37  records, books and data of any employee-owned enterprise or worker coop-
    38  erative  qualified under this section to determine the costs of manufac-
    39  turing or the rendering of services and the  manner  and  efficiency  of
    40  production and administration of such employee-owned enterprise or work-
    41  er  cooperative  with relation to any product or services purchased by a
    42  state agency or political subdivision or public benefit corporation  and
    43  to furnish the results of such audit and examination to the commissioner
    44  for such action as he or she may deem appropriate under this section.
    45    §  6.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    46  have become a law; provided, however, that the  amendments  to  subpara-
    47  graph  (iii)  of paragraph a and the opening paragraph of paragraph b of
    48  subdivision 4 of section 162 of the state finance law  made  by  section
    49  three  of  this  act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of
    50  such subparagraph and opening paragraph  pursuant  to  section  four  of
    51  chapter  565  of  the  laws of 2022, as amended, when upon such date the
    52  provisions of section four of this  act  shall  take  effect.  Effective
    53  immediately,  the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regu-
    54  lation necessary for the implementation of this  act  on  its  effective
    55  date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective
    56  date.