NY State Senate Bill 2021-S6770

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Corporations, Authorities And Commissions Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to corporations, authorities and commissions
May 14, 2021	referred to corporations, authorities and commissions

2021-S6770 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7070
Current Committee:: Senate Corporations, Authorities And Commissions
Law Section:: Public Authorities Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §1181, add §1181-a, Pub Auth L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: A2159

2021-S6770 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Specifies a time frame for the award of contracts with costs exceeding five hundred thousand dollars; grants authority to the general manager of the authority to designate certain contracts as small business set-asides; establishes procedures related thereto.

2021-S6770 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S6770

SPONSOR: KENNEDY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to certain
contracts for the Buffalo Sewer Authority

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this bill is to increase the dollar amount above which
construction projects must be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder,
and to create a small business set-aside program.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 1181 of the public authorities law to perma-
nently tie the lowest responsible bidder threshold for the Buffalo Sewer
Authority to General Municipal Law Section 103. Section 1 also temporar-
ily increases the threshold as the Authority completes Long Term Control
Plan (LTCP) public work.

Section 2 adds a new section 1181-a to the public authorities law in
order to allow the authority to designate as small business set-asides
any contract whenever there is a reasonable expectation that bids will
be obtained from at least three small businesses capable of completing
the work at a fair and reasonable price. For contracts designated as
small business set-asides, invitations to bid would be confined to the
small businesses only. Additionally, the authority would be authorized
to designate a portion of small business set-asides for those small
businesses owned or controlled by minority business concerns. All set-a-
side designations would be made prior to advertisements for bids. Addi-
tionally, the General Manager of the Authority would be granted the
authority to designate a contract as a small business set aside. Section
2 also grants the Authority the ability to define "small business" by
resolution adopted at a public meeting based on factors such as limits
in number of employees, annual revenues, and/or personal net worth of
owners.

Section 3 provides for an immediate effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Buffalo Sewer Authority is committed to building greater equity in
our region. To facilitate these efforts, the Authority the changes to
contracting processes in this bill would increase the number of local
disadvantaged business that could successfully compete for construction
contracts. The Authority anticipates undertaking between $30-$40 million
in capital projects annually, and wishes to leverage this funding to
improve economic development opportunities in Western New York.

It is appropriate to permanently tie the Authority's contracting thresh-
old to General Municipal Law Section 103. General Municipal Law-current-
ly provides that contracts for public work involving an expenditure of
more than thirty-five thousand dollars must be awarded to the lowest
responsible bidder. While the vast majority of Authority construction
contracts are above this $35,000 figure, raising the threshold to match
that in the General Municipal Law would provide the Authority with some
flexibility to award small construction contracts to minority, women,
and disadvantaged businesses that would otherwise be outbid by larger
entities. Tying the threshold to General Municipal Law Section 103 would
also provide greater opportunities for this threshold to be further
revised in the future to match requirements placed on other entities in
the State.

It is also appropriate to temporarily further increase the lowest
responsible bidder threshold as the Authority completes its Long Term
Control Plan public work. In 2014, state and federal regulatory agencies
approved the Authority's Long Term Control Plan to address sewer over-
flows to area waterways. The Plan notes an expected capital cost of
approximately $380 million over the 20-year period. Providing the
Authority flexibility to ensure that at least a portion of this spending
is intentionally recycled through its community by awarding construction
contracts under the Long Term Control Plan to local minority, women, and
disadvantaged businesses.  Very few, if any of these construction
contracts will be below a $35,000 threshold, so this change would
provide a much greater local impact. Therefore, until work for the Long
Term Control Plan is complete - currently scheduled for March 18, 2034 -
the threshold for the Authority should be raised to $500,000. This
amount reflects the contract costs for a little over 1/3 of the Authori-
ty's construction contracts over the past ten years. There is precedent
for a New York State Public Authority to have a higher figure beyond
which contracts must be awarded to a lowest responsible bidder.

Section 1265-A of the Public Authorities Law provides that contracts for
public work involving an estimated expenditure in excess of $1,000,000
must temporarily be awarded by the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation
Authority to the lowest responsible bidder. In addition to increasing
the dollar threshold for construction contracts, providing the Authority
the ability to designate certain construction contracts as small busi-
ness set-asides will have a positive impact on local businesses.

This legislation provides similar authority to the Buffalo Sewer Author-
ity as is found in Titles 4-A, 4-A*, and 4-C of Article 8 of the Public
Authorities Law, which jointly provide for small business concerns set-
asides at four City University of New York (CUNY) campuses where
purchase, construction, and service contracts may be bid by minority and
small businesses only. legislative authority. As is the case with the
CUNY set-aside program, this bill allows the Authority to designate as
small business set-asides any contract whenever there is a reasonable
expectation that bids will be obtained from at least three small busi-
nesses capable of completing the work at a fair and reasonable price.
For contracts designated as small business set-asides, invitations to
bid would be confined to the small businesses only. Additionally, and
also following the legislative authority for the CUNY program, The
Authority could designate a portion of small business set-asides for
those small businesses owned or controlled by minority business
concerns. All set-aside designations would be made prior to advertise-
ments for bids. To effectuate these contracts, it is also appropriate
that the Authority's General Manager be granted the authority to desig-
nate a contract as a small business set aside, and to permit the Author-
ity the ability to define 'small business" by resolution adopted at a
public meeting based on factors such as limits in number of employees,
annual revenues, and/or personal net worth of owners.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2021-S6770 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6770
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 14, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations,  Authorities
   and Commissions
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  public  authorities law, in relation to certain
   contracts for the Buffalo Sewer Authority

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 1181 of the public authorities law, as amended by
 chapter 665 of the laws of 1987, is amended to read as follows:
   § 1181. Construction contracts. If the project, or any portion  there-
 of, or any addition, betterment or extension to the facilities, shall be
 constructed  pursuant to a contract for which the estimated cost exceeds
 [seven] FIVE HUNDRED thousand dollars PRIOR TO THE DATE WHEN WORK  UNDER
 THE  AUTHORITY'S  LONG  TERM  CONTROL  PLAN IS COMPLETED, OR, AFTER SUCH
 DATE, THE AMOUNT PROVIDED FOR EXPENDITURES OF PUBLIC WORK IN SUBDIVISION
 ONE OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED THREE OF  THE  GENERAL  MUNICIPAL  LAW,  such
 contract  shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after adver-
 tisement for bids. The board may make  rules  and  regulations  for  the
 submission  of  bids and the construction of the project or such portion
 thereof or such addition, betterment, or extension. No contract shall be
 entered into for construction of the project or any portion  thereof  or
 any  addition,  betterment  or  extension  to the facilities, or for the
 purchase of materials, unless the contractor shall give  an  undertaking
 with a sufficient surety or sureties approved by the authority and in an
 amount  fixed  by  the  authority,  for  the faithful performance of the
 contract. As to contracts entered into for construction, such  undertak-
 ing  shall  provide,  among other things, that the person or corporation
 entering into such contract with the authority, will pay for all materi-
 als furnished and services rendered for the performance of the  contract
 and  that any person or corporation furnishing such materials or render-
 ing such services may maintain an action to recover for the same against
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD10705-01-1

 S. 6770                             2
 
 the obligor in the undertaking as though such person or corporation  was
 named  therein, provided the action is brought within one year after the
 time the cause of action accrued.  Nothing  in  this  section  shall  be
 construed  to  limit the power of the authority to construct the project
 or any portion thereof or any addition, betterment or extension  to  the
 facilities  directly  by  the  officers,  agents,  and  employees of the
 authority or otherwise than by contract.    The  authority  may  proceed
 jointly  with  the  state of New York in the construction of any highway
 which also includes sewage and storm water facilities and  by  agreement
 with  the  state  of  New  York fix and determine the amount which shall
 constitute the contribution by the authority  toward  the  cost  of  the
 construction  by  the state of New York of such facilities in connection
 with the construction or improvement of any highway. The portion of  the
 cost to be paid by the authority shall be deposited with the state comp-
 troller,  who  is  authorized  to  receive  and  accept  the  same. Upon
 completion of any project authorized by this section the commissioner of
 transportation shall render to the authority an itemized statement show-
 ing in full (a) the amount of money deposited as hereinbefore  provided,
 and  (b)  all  disbursements  made pursuant to this section. Any surplus
 money shall be paid to such authority on the warrant of the  comptroller
 on vouchers therefore approved by the commissioner of transportation.
   §  2.  The  public  authorities law is amended by adding a new section
 1181-a to read as follows:
   § 1181-A. SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE CONTRACTS FOR THE  AUTHORITY.    1.
 DEFINITIONS. AS USED IN THIS SECTION, UNLESS A DIFFERENT MEANING CLEARLY
 APPEARS FROM THE CONTEXT:
   (A)  "MINORITY  BUSINESS  CONCERN" SHALL MEAN A BUSINESS ENTERPRISE IN
 WHICH AT LEAST FIFTY-ONE PERCENT IS OWNED  BY  PERSONS  WHO  ARE  NATIVE
 AMERICAN  OR  ALASKAN NATIVE, ASIAN AMERICAN, BLACK OR AFRICAN-AMERICAN,
 HISPANIC OR LATINO, OR NATIVE HAWAIIAN OR PACIFIC ISLANDER.
   (B) "SMALL BUSINESS" SHALL MEAN A BUSINESS THAT IS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED
 AND OPERATED, AND WHICH IS NOT DOMINANT IN THE FIELD OF  OPERATION.  THE
 AUTHORITY SHALL ESTABLISH A DETAILED DEFINITION BY RESOLUTION ADOPTED AT
 A PUBLIC MEETING BASED ON FACTORS SUCH AS LIMITS IN NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES,
 ANNUAL REVENUES, AND/OR PERSONAL NET WORTH OF OWNERS.
   (C) "SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE" SHALL MEAN A REQUEST FOR WHICH BIDS ARE
 TO  BE  INVITED  AND  ACCEPTED ONLY FROM SMALL BUSINESSES BY THE GENERAL
 MANAGER.
   2. THE GENERAL MANAGER HAS THE AUTHORITY TO DESIGNATE AS  SMALL  BUSI-
 NESS   SET-ASIDES   SPECIFIED  CONTRACTS  FOR  PURCHASES,  SERVICES,  OR
 CONSTRUCTION. THE DESIGNATION SHALL BE MADE PRIOR TO  THE  ADVERTISEMENT
 FOR  BIDS AS PROVIDED BY LAW, AND WHEN THE ADVERTISEMENT IS PUBLISHED IT
 SHALL INDICATE THE PURCHASES OR WORK THAT HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED AS  SMALL
 BUSINESS  SET-ASIDES.  TO  EFFECTUATE  THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE
 GENERAL MANAGER MAY EXERCISE THIS AUTHORITY WHENEVER THERE IS A  REASON-
 ABLE  EXPECTATION  THAT  BIDS WILL BE OBTAINED FROM AT LEAST THREE SMALL
 BUSINESSES CAPABLE OF FURNISHING THE DESIRED PROPERTY OR  SERVICE  AT  A
 FAIR AND REASONABLE PRICE.
   3.  IN  THE CASE OF CONTRACTS DESIGNATED AS SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDES,
 INVITATIONS TO BID SHALL BE CONFINED TO SMALL BUSINESSES AND  BIDS  FROM
 OTHER  BUSINESSES  SHALL BE REJECTED. THE PURCHASE, CONTRACT OR EXPENDI-
 TURE OF FUNDS SHALL BE AWARDED TO THE LOWEST  RESPONSIBLE  BIDDER  AMONG
 THE  SMALL  BUSINESSES,  CONSIDERING  CONFORMITY WITH SPECIFICATIONS AND
 TERMS, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AUTHORITY'S PURCHASING GUIDELINES.
   4. A PORTION OF SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDES SHALL BE SET ASIDE  IN  TURN
 AS  EXCLUSIVELY  AS POSSIBLE, TO SMALL BUSINESSES OWNED OR CONTROLLED BY

 S. 6770                             3
 
 MINORITY BUSINESS CONCERNS, AND SUCH  BUSINESSES  SHALL  CONSTITUTE  NOT
 LESS  THAN  TWENTY-FIVE  PERCENT  OF  THE  SUCCESSFUL BIDDERS UNDER THIS
 TITLE.
   5.  IF  THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SMALL BUSINESSES RESPONDING TO THE INVITA-
 TION TO BID AND CONSIDERED CAPABLE OF  MEETING  THE  SPECIFICATIONS  AND
 TERMS  OF  THE  INVITATION  TO BID IS LESS THAN THREE, OR IF THE GENERAL
 MANAGER DETERMINES THAT ACCEPTANCE OF THE BEST BID WILL  RESULT  IN  THE
 PAYMENT  OF  AN UNREASONABLE PRICE, THE GENERAL MANAGER SHALL REJECT ALL
 BIDS AND WITHDRAW THE DESIGNATION OF SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE.
   6. IF THE GENERAL MANAGER WITHDRAWS THE DESIGNATION OF SMALL  BUSINESS
 SET-ASIDE,  THE AUTHORITY SHALL NOTIFY THE BIDDERS OF THE REASON WHY THE
 BIDS WERE REJECTED. INVITATIONS TO BID CONTAINING THE SAME OR  REWRITTEN
 SPECIFICATIONS AND TERMS SHALL THEN BE RE-ISSUED WITHOUT THE DESIGNATION
 OF SMALL BUSINESS SET-ASIDE.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S6770

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Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Corporations, Authorities And Commissions Committee

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2021-S6770 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S6770 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S6770 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S6770 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Timothy M. Kennedy

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Corporations, Authorities And Commissions Committee

Actions

2021-S6770 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S6770 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S6770 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S6770 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments