S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  4355

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 3, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of  A. KOON, ORTIZ -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
  BENJAMIN, BRENNAN, COOK, GALEF, MAGEE, MAYERSOHN, ROBINSON,  TOWNS  --
  read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

AN  ACT  to  amend  the  state finance law, in relation to reducing late
  payments to contractors

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

  Section  1.  Legislative  intent.  The  legislature  hereby  finds and
declares that interest penalties paid by the  state  for  overdue  bills
have  exceeded  one  million  dollars each fiscal year since 1994-95, as
shown by the annual reports issued by the comptroller pursuant to subdi-
vision 3 of section 179-m of the state finance  law.  This  inefficiency
and  tardiness  in meeting the state's obligations is unacceptable. Late
payments and the  associated  penalty  interest  represent  a  waste  of
taxpayers'  money,  a  hardship for small businesses, and a disincentive
for contractors to do state work. It is the intent of  this  legislation
to  require the division of the budget and the executive branch agencies
of the state to identify and remedy impediments to their prompt process-
ing and payment of the state's bills.
  S 2. Section 179-m of the state finance law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 4 to read as follows:
  4. THE DIRECTOR OF THE BUDGET SHALL DEVELOP AN ACTION PLAN FOR  REDUC-
ING  LATE  PAYMENTS  BY  EXECUTIVE  BRANCH  AGENCIES. THE PLAN SHALL SET
REDUCTION TARGETS FOR INDIVIDUAL AGENCIES. SUCH PLAN SHALL BE  SUBMITTED
TO  THE  GOVERNOR, THE TEMPORARY PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER
OF THE ASSEMBLY NO LATER THAN OCTOBER FIRST, TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN.
  S 3. Section 179-h of the state finance law, as amended by chapter 153
of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as follows:
  S  179-h.  Determination  of  appropriations  against  which  interest
payments are to be charged. Except in situations when federal law or the
provisions of section one hundred seventy-nine-o of this article require

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01619-01-9
              

A. 4355                             2

otherwise,  an  interest  payment required by this article shall be paid
from [the same appropriation as  that  from  which  the  related  proper
invoice  is  paid]  APPROPRIATIONS THAT OTHERWISE WOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR
THE ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATIONS OF THE STATE AGENCY WHICH INCURRED THE
INTEREST PAYMENT; provided, however, (1) that the interest payment shall
not  reduce  the  amount  of money that otherwise will be payable to the
contractor under the terms of the relevant contract and (2) that if  the
obligation  to  make an interest payment is incurred in whole or in part
because it takes the department of audit and  control  more  than  eight
calendar  days,  excluding  legal holidays, from the date it receives an
approvable voucher from another  state  agency  to  process  a  contract
payment,  then the portion of the total interest payment that is attrib-
utable to delays by the department of audit and control  shall  be  paid
from  funds  made  available  to  the  department  of audit and control.
Notwithstanding any other provision of  law  to  the  contrary,  if  the
amount of money available from any such appropriation to the state agen-
cy which received the proper invoice is insufficient to pay the interest
and  if for any reason it is not feasible for the director of the budget
to exercise the transfer or interchange authority established by section
fifty-one or ninety-three of this chapter, the director  of  the  budget
may  issue  a  certificate or certificates transferring or interchanging
within a fund such amount as is needed  to  pay  the  interest  to  said
appropriation within such fund from the unspent balance of any appropri-
ation  that  is  available  to  the same state agency. In exercising the
latter transfer or interchange authority, the  director  of  the  budget
shall  transfer or interchange amounts that are not needed to accomplish
the purposes for which the appropriation was made[, except, however, the
director of the budget may, to  the  extent  he  deems  it  practicable,
transfer or interchange amounts from appropriations that otherwise would
be  available  for the administration and operations of the state agency
which incurred the interest payment]. Any such  certificate  or  certif-
icates  issued  by the director of the budget shall be sent to the state
comptroller and copies shall be filed with the chairman  of  the  senate
finance  committee  and  the  chairman  of  the  assembly ways and means
committee.
  S 4. Subdivision (d) of section 139-g of the  state  finance  law,  as
amended  by  chapter  636  of  the  laws  of 2003, is amended to read as
follows:
  (d) label those invoices of small-business  and  certified  women  and
minority-owned  business  concerns  which  that  agency,  department  or
authority processes  so  as  to  promote  the  expeditious  payment  for
services,  COMMODITIES and construction provided by such businesses on a
priority basis.
  S 5. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
have become a law.