Authorizes political subdivisions to award publicly competitively bid contracts to businesses that participate in a program designed to foster participation by local businesses in public procurement at a cost premium not to exceed ten percent of the lowest bid.

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S1353-2011 Actions

• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT
• Jan 6, 2011: REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT

S1353-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S1353

TITLE OF BILL:

An act
to amend the general municipal law, in relation to authorizing
political subdivisions to award public competitively bid contracts to
businesses
that participate in a program designed to foster participation
by local businesses in public procurement at a cost premium not to
exceed ten percent of the lowest bid

PURPOSE:

To ensure local businesses can compete for local procurement
opportunities.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Amends Section 104-a of the general municipal law to provide that when
purchasing goods, services or construction for public use by
competitive sealed bids on contracts less than one million a
municipality that employs a program to foster the participation of
local businesses in public procurement, may award such contracts to a
participant of such a program even if their bid is not the lowest bid
received, provided that the bid does not exceed the lowest bid by
more than ten percent.

JUSTIFICATION:

According to the NYC Economic Development Corporation, there are over
220,000 small businesses in New York City. Businesses with fewer than
100 employees comprise 98% of all businesses in the City. Moreover,
these businesses employ nearly 50% of all New Yorkers in the private
sector.

The current economic climate is having a devastating effect on small
businesses all over the City. According to the NYC Comptroller, the
economic downturn could cause up to 165,000 New Yorkers to be laid
off over the next two years. Furthermore, nearly 80% of the people
who may lose their jobs are likely to be employees of small businesses.

Due to General Municipal Law � 103, localities cannot require agencies
to award contracts to anyone but the lowest responsible bidder and
prohibits the City from any flexibility in the award of such
contracts. As a result, the City's current program that is designed to
assist local businesses in
obtaining contracts with the City, primarily assist businesses in
accessing contracting opportunities, informing them how to navigate
the procurement system and providing them with technical training
to improve their chances of being the lowest responsible bidder. GML
� 103 constrains localities from developing a stronger program that
might result in more contract awards to local businesses.

In order to strengthen the program aimed to assist local businesses in
obtaining contracts with the City, legislation that would allow the


localities to give certified firms a small price preference could
help address this problem. General Municipal Law � 104-a already
allows for such a price preference for the purchase of recycled
products by political subdivisions (political subdivisions may
purchase recycled products at a cost premium not to exceed ten
percent of what a nonrecycled product would cost or not to exceed 15%
for products manufactured with at least 50% secondary materials
generated from NY waste stream). Legislation that mirrors GML
104-a, would allow municipalities to give local businesses a small
price preference when awarding qualifying contracts.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2009-10:  S.3514/A.7369 - Passed Senate

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
have become a law.

S1353-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    1353

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                               January 6, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sens.  DILAN,  DIAZ,  HASSELL-THOMPSON -- read twice and
    ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
    Local Government

  AN  ACT  to  amend the general municipal law, in relation to authorizing
    political subdivisions to award public competitively bid contracts  to
    businesses  that  participate  in a program designed to foster partic-
    ipation by local businesses in public procurement at  a  cost  premium
    not to exceed ten percent of the lowest bid

    THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1. Section 104-a of the general municipal law, as  amended  by
  chapter 468 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:

    S  104-a. Purchasing [of products] for public use.  1. Notwithstanding
  the provisions of section one hundred three of this  [chapter]  ARTICLE,
  when  purchasing  products the officer, board or agency of any political
  subdivision or of any district therein  charged  with  the  awarding  of
  public  contracts may, wherever recycled products meet contract specifi-
  cations and the  price  of  such  products  is  reasonably  competitive,
  purchase  such  products.  For the purpose of this [section] SUBDIVISION
  and until July first, nineteen hundred  ninety-six,  "recycled  product"
  shall  mean any product which has been manufactured from secondary mate-
  rials, as defined in subdivision one of section two hundred sixty-one of
  the economic development  law,  and  meets  secondary  material  content
  requirements adopted by the office of general services under subdivision
  [one  of section one hundred seventy-seven] THREE OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED
  SIXTY-FIVE of the state finance law for products available to the  poli-
  tical  subdivision  or  district  under  state  contract  or, if no such
  contract for such product is available,  any  product  which  meets  the
  secondary  material content requirements adopted by the political subdi-
  vision or district thereof with respect to a specific commodity procure-
  ment by such entity. On and after July first, nineteen  hundred  ninety-

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD02926-01-1

 S. 1353                             2

  six,  "recycled  product" shall mean, for the purposes of this [section]
  SUBDIVISION, any product which is manufactured from secondary materials,
  as defined in subdivision one of section two hundred  sixty-one  of  the
  economic  development  law, and which meets the requirements of subdivi-
  sion two of section 27-0717 of the environmental  conservation  law  and
  regulations  promulgated  pursuant  thereto.  For  the  purpose  of this
  [section] SUBDIVISION, "reasonably competitive" shall mean that the cost
  of the recycled product does not exceed a cost premium  of  ten  percent
  above  the  cost  of a comparable product that is not a recycled product
  or, if at least fifty percent of the secondary materials utilized in the
  manufacture of that product are generated from the waste stream  in  New
  York  state,  the  cost  of  the recycled product does not exceed a cost
  premium of fifteen percent above the cost of a comparable  product  that
  is not a recycled product.
    Whenever  such  officer,  board  or agency shall purchase or cause the
  purchase of printing on recycled paper pursuant to this section,  he  or
  she  shall  require  the  printed material to contain the official state
  recycling emblem established pursuant  to  subdivision  two  of  section
  27-0717 of the environmental conservation law and regulations promulgat-
  ed pursuant thereto if such paper has been approved by the department of
  environmental  conservation as satisfying the requirements of such stat-
  ute and regulations, or, if such paper has not been so approved, require
  the printed material to include a printed statement which indicates  the
  percentages  of pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled material content
  of such paper.
    2.  NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  THREE  OF
  THIS ARTICLE, WHEN PURCHASING GOODS, SERVICES OR CONSTRUCTION FOR PUBLIC
  USE  THROUGH COMPETITIVE SEALED BIDDING, THE OFFICER, BOARD OR AGENCY OF
  ANY POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OR OF ANY DISTRICT THEREIN  CHARGED  WITH  THE
  AWARDING  OF  PUBLIC  CONTRACTS  THAT  EMPLOYS  A  PROGRAM TO FOSTER THE
  PARTICIPATION OF LOCAL BUSINESSES IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, MAY  AWARD  ANY
  CONTRACT  VALUED  AT  UNDER ONE MILLION DOLLARS TO A PARTICIPANT OF SUCH
  PROGRAM EVEN IF SUCH PARTICIPANT IS  NOT  THE  LOWEST  BIDDER  FOR  SUCH
  CONTRACT,  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER  THAT  SUCH  AWARD MAY ONLY BE MADE TO THE
  LOWEST BID SUBMITTED BY THE PARTICIPANT THAT IS REASONABLY  COMPETITIVE.
  FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS SUBDIVISION, "REASONABLY COMPETITIVE" SHALL MEAN
  THAT  THE LOCALLY BASED BUSINESS'S BID DOES NOT EXCEED THE LOWEST BID BY
  MORE THAN TEN PERCENT.
    S 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
  have become a law.