Establishes expanded construction mentorship opportunities for small and minority and women-owned business enterprises, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7235
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 21, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN -- read once and referred to
   the Committee on Governmental Operations
 
 AN ACT to amend the executive law, the state finance law and the  public
   authorities  law,  in  relation  to establishing expanded construction
   mentorship opportunities for small and minority and women-owned  busi-
   ness enterprises

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 4 of section 311 of the execu-
 tive law, as added by chapter 96 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read
 as follows:
   (e) identify and establish mentorship opportunities and other business
 development programs to increase capacity and better prepare  MWBEs  for
 bidding  on  contracts with state agencies upon successful completion of
 the mentorship  opportunity.  Such  mentorship  opportunities  shall  be
 intended  to  ensure  that  mentor  and  mentee are connected based on a
 commercially useful function.   MENTORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES SHALL  ALSO  BE
 IDENTIFIED  AND  ESTABLISHED  IN  INSTANCES  WHERE  THERE  IS PRIVITY OF
 CONTRACT BETWEEN A MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS  ENTERPRISE  AND  A
 SUBCONTRACTOR OR CONTRACTOR WORKING ON A STATE CONTRACT.
   §  2. Paragraph (j) of subdivision 2-a of section 313 of the executive
 law, as amended by chapter 96 of the laws of 2019, is amended and a  new
 paragraph (k) is added to read as follows:
   (j)  require  each  agency to consult the most current disparity study
 when calculating agency-wide and contract specific  participation  goals
 pursuant to this article; [and]
   (K)  ENCOURAGE  MENTOR-PROTEGE RELATIONSHIPS AS DEFINED IN SECTION ONE
 HUNDRED FORTY-SEVEN OF THE STATE FINANCE LAW,  BETWEEN  A  MINORITY  AND
 WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE AND A STATE AGENCY WHERE THERE IS PRIVI-
 TY  OF  CONTRACT  BETWEEN A MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE
 AND A SUBCONTRACTOR OR CONTRACTOR WORKING ON A STATE CONTRACT.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10443-01-5
 A. 7235                             2
 
   § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 147 of the state finance law,  as  added
 by chapter 360 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  In every state agency, department and authority which has let more
 than ten million dollars in service and construction  contracts  in  the
 prior  fiscal  year, the chief executive officer of that agency, depart-
 ment or authority shall develop a mentor-protege program to foster long-
 term relationships between STATE AGENCIES, approved  mentor  firms,  and
 small  business  concerns and minority and women-owned businesses certi-
 fied pursuant to article fifteen-A of the executive  law,  in  order  to
 enhance  the capabilities of small and minority and women-owned business
 concerns, improve their success in contracting with the state or receiv-
 ing subcontracts under a state contract, and to create sources of  reli-
 able  contractors  and  subcontractors  ready to perform larger jobs and
 responsibilities.  Participation in the program shall be  voluntary  for
 both the mentor firm and the protege firm.  SUCH MENTOR-PROTEGE PROGRAMS
 SHALL  BE  ESTABLISHED  IN  INSTANCES WHERE THERE IS PRIVITY OF CONTRACT
 BETWEEN A MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE AND A SUBCONTRAC-
 TOR OR CONTRACTOR WORKING ON A STATE CONTRACT.
   § 4. Subparagraphs (vi) and (vii) of paragraph b of subdivision  2  of
 section 1265-b of the public authorities law, as added by chapter 206 of
 the  laws of 2010, are amended and a new subparagraph (viii) is added to
 read as follows:
   (vi) to assist only small business mentoring program participants that
 have been awarded small business mentoring program contracts  to  obtain
 any  surety bond or contract of insurance required of them in connection
 with such contract only notwithstanding any  provision  of  section  two
 thousand five hundred four of the insurance law to the contrary; [and]
   (vii)  for  small  businesses  that  have been accepted into the small
 business mentoring program under subparagraph (ii) of paragraph  (d)  of
 subdivision  one  of  this  section, in addition to the benefits of such
 program and notwithstanding any other provision of law, to provide tech-
 nical assistance in obtaining bid, payment and performance  bonding  for
 authority  public  work  contracts that are not small business mentoring
 program contracts, for which the  small  business  is  otherwise  quali-
 fied[.]; AND
   (VIII)  TO FURTHER ESTABLISH SMALL BUSINESS MENTORING PROGRAMS BETWEEN
 THE AGENCY  AND  A  MINORITY  AND  WOMEN-OWNED  BUSINESS  ENTERPRISE  IN
 INSTANCES  WHERE  THERE  IS  PRIVITY  OF CONTRACT BETWEEN A MINORITY AND
 WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE AND A SUBCONTRACTOR OR CONTRACTOR  WORK-
 ING ON AN AUTHORITY PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACT.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that;
   (a)  the  amendments  to  article  15-A  of the executive law, made by
 sections one and two of this act, shall not  affect  the  expiration  of
 such article and shall expire and be deemed expired therewith; and
   (b)    the  amendments to section 1265-b of the public authorities law
 made by section four of this act shall not affect  the  repeal  of  such
 section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.