BILL NUMBER: S4455
SPONSOR: ORTT
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to expanding opportu-
nities for veteran-owned business enterprises; and providing for the
repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
 
PURPOSE:
To expand the availability of state contracts to all veteran-owned busi-
ness enterprises in New York State.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 - amends the executive law by adding a new article 17-C;
Participation by Veterans with Respect to State Contracts.
Section 2 - requires the commissioner of the office of general services
to conduct a study to determine the percentage of contracts to be set
aside under this act for veteran-owned businesses.
Section 3 - requires the commissioner to complete the study pursuant to
section two no later than ninety days after this act shall become law.
Section 4 - states the effective date and expiration date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State is home to more than 900,000 veterans. Of those, approxi-
mately 600,000 are combat veterans. Additionally, about 88,000 veterans
of the wars in Iraq .& Afghanistan reside in New York State.
In 2014, New York passed legislation to reserve 6% of state contracts
for service-disabled veterans. The pilot program created by this legis-
lation has been very beneficial to a small percentage of the population
of those who have served our state and our country. Now, it is time to
expand business opportunities for all of our veteran-owned businesses,
many of which employ their brethren veterans because of the excellent
training and skills they have.
As of 2014, there were approximately 106,000 service-disabled veterans
living in New York State. This represents 11.77% of the total population
of veterans living in New York State. In other words, there is an addi-
tional 88.33% of the population of veterans in New York who are not
eligible for additional business opportunities afforded under current
law. This legislation would seek to rectify this situation by expanding
the benefits of Article 17-B of the Executive Law, the Service Disabled
Veteran-Owned Business Act, to all of our State's veteran-owned busi-
nesses and therefore, as mentioned above, all of our veterans.
There can be no doubt that the existing Service-Disabled Veterans' Busi-
ness Development program has had a successful start. According to its
first Annual Report, December 31, 2015 by OGS, 155 businesses had been
certified as members of the program. By that time, 29% of these were
already engaged in contracting with New York State. By the end of 2015,
228 new applications had been submitted by business enterprises wishing
to avail themselves of the program. Of these, 178 were certified with an
average certification time of 39 days.
Contracts and purchase orders have been awarded across multiple economic
sectors including commodities, construction, and financial services as
well as other specialized services. According to the same OGS report,
during the first two quarters of fiscal year 2015-16, the pilot program
proved successful. Working with ten state agencies and authorities (and
an additional nine not in the pilot program), 1,179 purchase orders
and/or contracts were executed with forty-five service-disabled veter-
an-owned businesses. This led to awards totaling over $10 million. Addi-
tionally, OGS expected an additional $4.5 million dollar in set-asides
to be awarded by the end of the fiscal year.
The figures speak for themselves. The pilot program is encouraging the
growth of service-disabled veteran-owned businesses across New York
State. It is time to make these benefits available to all of New York's
veterans.
The most recent statistics published regarding veteran-owned businesses
originate from 2007 census data in the U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of
Business Owners. This study shows New York to be the fourth ranked state
in the number of veteran-owned firms. Statewide, there were 127,156
firms representing 6.5% of the businesses in New York, with total
sales/receipts of $70,786,543,000 or a 3.1% share of the state's
sales/receipts. This sounds impressive, however, the most important
statistic to consider in combination with the aforementioned is that New
York ranked 49th among the states in the percentage share of all
sales/receipts attributable to veteran-owned businesses. These statis-
tics are compelling in showing the need for this legislation. Providing
assistance with the procurement of state contracts is the catalyst need-
ed to increase sales/receipts for the many New York veteran-owned busi-
nesses allowing them to be more prosperous.
Presently, Arkansas, Illinois, and Michigan reserve 5% of all state
contracts for veteran owned businesses independent of whether they are
service-disabled veteran businesses or not. Likewise, the federal
government offers similar opportunities to all veterans through the
Small Business Administration. It is time for New York State to recog-
nize that all veteran-owned businesses should be entitled to the set-a-
side for the procurement of State contracts. This recognition will spur
the growth and longevity of veteran-owned businesses while providing
jobs for even more of our veterans. Helping New York State's Veterans to
be prosperous is the least we can do for those who previously removed
themselves from the business world and the job market to protect our
freedoms.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: S.2080 Referred to Veterans, Homeland Security, and Military
Affairs / A.4126 Referred to Veterans' Affairs
2019-20: S.3154 Referred to Veterans, Homeland Security, and Military
Affairs / A.11027 Referred to Veterans' Affairs
2017-18: S.220 Third Reading / A.2755 Referred to Veterans' Affairs
2015-16: S.6759 Reported and Committed to Finance / A.9326 Referred to
Veterans' Affairs
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The participation of veteran-owned businesses in NYS public procurements
of services, technology, public works and commodities will enhance
economic development in New York State and facilitate the success of
veteran-owned businesses and the welfare of our Veterans.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.