Bill Text: NY S03257 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Includes entities that provide employment or services to formerly incarcerated persons in the preferred source exemption for purposes of state purchasing.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-24 - REFERRED TO PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTS [S03257 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S03257-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3257 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 24, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. COONEY, ASHBY -- 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 preferred source status for entities that provide employment and services to certain persons The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 162 of the state finance law, as 2 added by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows: 3 1. Purpose. To advance special social and economic goals, selected 4 providers shall have preferred source status for the purposes of 5 procurement in accordance with the provisions of this section. Procure- 6 ment from these providers shall be exempted from the competitive 7 procurement provisions of section one hundred sixty-three of this arti- 8 cle and other competitive procurement statutes. Such exemption shall 9 apply to commodities produced, manufactured or assembled, including 10 those repackaged, assembled or fulfilled to meet the form, function and 11 utility required by state agencies, in New York state and, where so 12 designated, services provided by those sources in accordance with this 13 section. 14 § 2. Paragraph d of subdivision 2 of section 162 of the state finance 15 law, as amended by chapter 565 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read 16 as follows: 17 d. Commodities and services produced by any qualified charitable non- 18 profit-making agency for other disabled persons and/or formerly incar- 19 cerated persons approved for such purposes by the commissioner of educa- 20 tion, or incorporated under the laws of this state and approved for such 21 purposes by the commissioner of education; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02990-01-5S. 3257 2 1 § 2-a. Paragraph d of subdivision 2 of section 162 of the state 2 finance law, as amended by chapter 501 of the laws of 2002, is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 d. Commodities and services produced by any qualified charitable non- 5 profit-making agency for other severely disabled persons and/or formerly 6 incarcerated persons approved for such purposes by the commissioner of 7 education, or incorporated under the laws of this state and approved for 8 such purposes by the commissioner of education; 9 § 3. Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section 162 10 of the state finance law, as amended by chapter 565 of the laws of 2022, 11 is amended to read as follows: 12 (iii) When commodities are available, in the form, function and utili- 13 ty required by, a state agency or political subdivision or public bene- 14 fit corporation having their own purchasing agency, and such commodities 15 are not available pursuant to subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this para- 16 graph, said commodities shall then be purchased from a qualified non- 17 profit-making agency for other disabled persons and/or formerly incar- 18 cerated persons, a qualified special employment program for mentally ill 19 persons, or a qualified veterans' entity; provided, however, the 20 preferred source shall perform fifty percent or more of the work; 21 § 3-a. Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section 22 162 of the state finance law, as added by chapter 83 of the laws of 23 1995, is amended to read as follows: 24 (iii) When commodities are available, in the form, function and utili- 25 ty required by, a state agency or political subdivision or public bene- 26 fit corporation having their own purchasing agency, and such commodities 27 are not available pursuant to subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this para- 28 graph, said commodities shall then be purchased from a qualified non- 29 profit-making agency for other severely disabled persons and/or formerly 30 incarcerated persons, a qualified special employment program for mental- 31 ly ill persons, or a qualified veterans' workshop; 32 § 4. The opening paragraph of paragraph b of subdivision 4 of section 33 162 of the state finance law, as amended by chapter 565 of the laws of 34 2022, is amended to read as follows: 35 When services are available, in the form, function and utility 36 required by, a state agency or political subdivision or public benefit 37 corporation having their own purchasing agency, equal priority shall be 38 accorded the services rendered and offered for sale by qualified non- 39 profit-making agencies for the blind and those for [the] other disabled 40 persons and/or formerly incarcerated persons, by qualified special 41 employment programs for mentally ill persons and by qualified veterans' 42 entities; provided, however, the preferred source shall perform fifty 43 percent or more of the work. In the case of services: 44 § 4-a. The opening paragraph of paragraph b of subdivision 4 of 45 section 162 of the state finance law, as added by chapter 83 of the laws 46 of 1995, is amended to read as follows: 47 When services are available, in the form, function and utility 48 required by, a state agency or political subdivision or public benefit 49 corporation having their own purchasing agency, equal priority shall be 50 accorded the services rendered and offered for sale by qualified non- 51 profit-making agencies for the blind and those for [the] other severely 52 disabled persons and/or formerly incarcerated persons, by qualified 53 special employment programs for mentally ill persons and by qualified 54 veterans' workshops. In the case of services: 55 § 5. Subdivision 6 of section 162 of the state finance law, as amended 56 by chapter 565 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:S. 3257 3 1 6. Prices charged by agencies for the blind, other disabled persons 2 and/or formerly incarcerated persons and veterans' entity. 3 a. Except with respect to the correctional industries program of the 4 department of corrections and community supervision, it shall be the 5 duty of the commissioner to determine, and from time to time review, the 6 prices of all commodities and to approve the price of all services 7 provided by preferred sources as specified in this section offered to 8 state agencies, political subdivisions or public benefit corporations 9 having their own purchasing office. The commissioner's price review and 10 approval shall not be required for any purchases below one hundred thou- 11 sand dollars. 12 b. In determining and revising the prices of such commodities or 13 services, consideration shall be given to the reasonable costs of labor, 14 materials and overhead necessarily incurred by such preferred sources 15 under efficient methods of procurement, production, performance and 16 administration; however, the prices of such products and services shall 17 be as close to prevailing market price as practicable, but in no event 18 greater than fifteen percent above the prevailing market prices for the 19 same or equivalent commodities or services. 20 c. Such qualified charitable non-profit-making agencies for the blind 21 and other disabled persons and/or formerly incarcerated persons may make 22 purchases of materials, equipment or supplies, except printed material, 23 from centralized contracts for commodities in accordance with the condi- 24 tions set by the office of general services; provided that the qualified 25 charitable non-profit-making agency for the blind or other disabled 26 persons and/or formerly incarcerated persons shall accept sole responsi- 27 bility for any payment due the vendor. 28 d. Such qualified charitable non-profit-making agencies for the blind 29 and other disabled persons and/or formerly incarcerated persons may make 30 purchases of materials, equipment and supplies directly from the correc- 31 tional industries program administered by the commissioner of 32 corrections and community supervision, subject to such rules as may be 33 established from time to time pursuant to the correction law; provided 34 that the qualified charitable non-profit-making agency for the blind or 35 other disabled persons and/or formerly incarcerated persons shall accept 36 sole responsibility for any payment due the department of corrections 37 and community supervision. 38 e. The commissioner of the office of children and family services 39 shall appoint the New York state commission for the blind, or other 40 non-profit-making agency, other than the agency representing [the] other 41 disabled persons and/or formerly incarcerated persons, to facilitate the 42 distribution of orders among qualified non-profit-making charitable 43 agencies for the blind. The state commissioner of education shall 44 appoint a non-profit-making agency, other than the agency representing 45 the blind, to facilitate the distribution of orders among qualified 46 non-profit-making charitable agencies for [the] other disabled persons 47 and/or formerly incarcerated persons and the veterans' entities. The 48 state commissioner of mental health shall facilitate the distribution of 49 orders among qualified special employment programs operated or approved 50 by the office of mental health serving mentally ill persons. 51 f. The commissioner may request the state comptroller to conduct 52 audits and examinations to be made of all records, books and data of any 53 agency for the blind or [the] other disabled persons and/or formerly 54 incarcerated persons, any special employment program for mentally ill 55 persons or any veterans' entity qualified under this section to deter- 56 mine the costs of manufacture or the rendering of services and theS. 3257 4 1 manner and efficiency of production and administration of such agency or 2 special employment program or veterans' entity with relation to any 3 product or services purchased by a state agency or political subdivision 4 or public benefit corporation and to furnish the results of such audit 5 and examination to the commissioner for such action as [he or she] the 6 commissioner may deem appropriate under this section. 7 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that: 8 (a) the amendment to paragraph d of subdivision 2 of section 162 of 9 the state finance law made by section two of this act shall be subject 10 to the expiration and reversion of such paragraph pursuant to section 4 11 of chapter 565 of the laws of 2022, as amended, when upon such date the 12 provisions of section two-a of this act shall take effect; 13 (b) the amendment to subparagraph (iii) of paragraph a of subdivision 14 4 of section 162 of the state finance law made by section three of this 15 act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such subpara- 16 graph pursuant to section 4 of chapter 565 of the laws of 2022, as 17 amended, when upon such date the provisions of section three-a of this 18 act shall take effect; and 19 (c) the amendments to the opening paragraph of paragraph b of subdivi- 20 sion 4 of section 162 of the state finance law made by section four of 21 this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such para- 22 graph pursuant to section 4 of chapter 565 of the laws of 2022, as 23 amended, when upon such date the provisions of section four-a of this 24 act shall take effect.
