§ 311 — Division of minority and women's business development

New York § 311

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law EXC: Executive
• Art. 15-A: Participation By Minority Group Members and Women With Respect to State Contracts

Text

* § 311. Division of minority and women's business development. 1. The\nhead of the division of minority and women's business development shall\nbe the director who shall be appointed by the governor and hold office\nat the pleasure of the commissioner. It shall be the duty of the\ndirector of the division of minority and women's business development to\nassist the governor in the formulation and implementation of laws and\npolicies relating to minority and women-owned business enterprises.\n 2. The director may appoint such deputies, assistants, and other\nemployees as may be needed for the performance of the duties prescribed\nherein subject to the provisions of the civil service law and the rules\nand regulations of the civil service commission. The director may\nrequest and shall receive from any department, division, board, bureau,\nexecutive commission or agency of the state such assistance as may be\nnecessary to carry out the provisions of this article.\n 3. The director shall have the following powers and duties:\n (a) to encourage and assist contracting agencies in their efforts to\nincrease participation by minority and women-owned business enterprises\non state contracts and subcontracts so as to facilitate the award of a\nfair share of such contracts to them;\n (b) to develop standardized forms and reporting documents necessary to\nimplement this article;\n (c) to conduct educational programs consistent with the purposes of\nthis article;\n (d) to review periodically the practices and procedures of each\ncontracting agency with respect to compliance with the provisions of\nthis article, and to require them to file periodic reports with the\ndivision of minority and women's business development as to the level of\nminority and women-owned business enterprises participation in the\nawarding of agency contracts for goods and services;\n (d-1) to require all contracting state agencies to develop a four-year\ngrowth plan to determine a means of promoting and increasing\nparticipation by minority-owned and women-owned business enterprises\nwith respect to state contracts and subcontracts. Every four years,\nbeginning September fifteenth, two thousand twenty, each contracting\nstate agency shall submit a four-year growth plan as part of its annual\nreport to the governor and legislature pursuant to section one hundred\nsixty-four of this chapter.\n (e) on January first of each year report to the governor and the\nchairpersons of the senate finance and assembly ways and means\ncommittees on the level of minority and women-owned business enterprises\nparticipating in each agency's contracts for goods and services and on\nactivities of the office and effort by each contracting agency to\npromote employment of minority group members and women, and to promote\nand increase participation by certified businesses with respect to state\ncontracts and subcontracts so as to facilitate the award of a fair share\nof state contracts to such businesses. The comptroller shall assist the\ndivision in collecting information on the participation of certified\nbusiness for each contracting agency. Such report may recommend new\nactivities and programs to effectuate the purposes of this article;\n (f) to prepare and update, no less than annually, a directory of\ncertified minority and women-owned business enterprises which shall,\nwherever practicable, (i) make publicly available records of all\ncertifications and recertifications, (ii) be divided into categories of\nlabor, services, supplies, equipment, materials and recognized\nconstruction trades, and (iii) indicate areas or locations of the state\nwhere such enterprises are available to perform services;\n (g) to appoint independent hearing officers who by contract or terms\nof employment shall preside over adjudicatory hearings pursuant to\nsection three hundred fourteen of this article for the office and who\nare assigned no other work by the office;\n (h) to make publicly available on the division's website records of\nall revocations of certification for convictions for fraudulently\nmisrepresenting the status of minority or women-owned business\nenterprises or for evidence of fraudulent conduct with regard to\nparticipation of a minority or women-owned business enterprise in the\nperformance of state contracts and the reasoning for such revocations\nafter a final determination has been made, provided that information\nfalling into the categories enumerated in paragraphs (a) through (j) of\nsubdivision two of section eighty-seven of the public officers law shall\nbe withheld;\n (i) notwithstanding the provisions of section two hundred ninety-six\nof this chapter, to file a complaint pursuant to the provisions of\nsection two hundred ninety-seven of this chapter where the director has\nknowledge that a contractor may have violated the provisions of\nparagraph (a), (b) or (c) of subdivision one of section two hundred\nninety-six of this chapter where such violation is unrelated, separate\nor distinct from the state contract as expressed by its terms;\n (j) to streamline the state certification process to accept federal\nand municipal corporation certifications;\n (k) to make publicly available on the division's website records of\nall waivers of compliance reported pursuant to paragraph (b) of\nsubdivision six of section three hundred thirteen of this article,\nincluding the reasoning for denial of such waivers after a final\ndetermination has been made, provided that information falling into the\ncategories enumerated in paragraphs (a) through (j) of subdivision two\nof section eighty-seven of the public officers law shall be withheld;\n (l) to work in conjunction with the industrial commissioner pursuant\nto paragraph (j) of subdivision one of section eight hundred eleven of\nthe labor law to assist contractors in identifying minority group\nmembers and women who are participating in apprenticeship agreements\nunder article twenty-three of the labor law; and\n (m) to coordinate with appropriate offices, agencies, or authorities,\nwhere applicable, to conduct site visits or perform inspections of\nfinancial records of minority or women-owned business enterprises in\naccordance with this article and the regulations of the director.\n 4. The director shall provide assistance to, and facilitate access to\nprograms serving certified businesses as well as applicants to ensure\nthat such businesses benefit, as needed, from technical, managerial and\nfinancial, and general business assistance; training; marketing;\norganization and personnel skill development; project management\nassistance; technology assistance; bond and insurance education\nassistance; and other business development assistance. The director\nshall maintain a toll-free number at the department of economic\ndevelopment to be used to answer questions concerning the MWBE\ncertification process. In addition, the director may, either\nindependently or in conjunction with other state agencies:\n (a) develop a clearinghouse of information on programs and services\nprovided by entities that may assist such businesses;\n (b) review bonding and paperwork requirements imposed by contracting\nagencies that may unnecessarily impede the ability of such businesses to\ncompete; and\n (c) seek to maximize utilization by minority and women-owned business\nenterprises of available federal resources including but not limited to\nfederal grants, loans, loan guarantees, surety bonding guarantees,\ntechnical assistance, and programs and services of the federal small\nbusiness administration.\n (d) conduct outreach events, training workshops, seminars, and other\nsuch educational programs throughout the state, including all regional\noffices, to state agencies, external stakeholders, and the public, to\npromote awareness and utilization of minority and women-owned business\nenterprises; and\n (e) identify and establish mentorship opportunities and other business\ndevelopment programs to increase capacity and better prepare MWBEs for\nbidding on contracts with state agencies upon successful completion of\nthe mentorship opportunity. Such mentorship opportunities shall be\nintended to ensure that mentor and mentee are connected based on a\ncommercially useful function.\n * NB Repealed July 1, 2028\n