S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    195
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. BERGER -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Governmental Operations
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the executive law, in relation to minority and women-
   owned business enterprise certification

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 7 of section 310 of the execu-
 tive  law,  as  amended by chapter 96 of the laws of 2019, is amended to
 read as follows:
   (e) an enterprise owned by an individual or individuals, whose  owner-
 ship,  control  and  operation are relied upon for certification, with a
 personal net worth that does not exceed  fifteen  million  dollars,  and
 such  other  amount  as  the director shall set forth in regulations, as
 adjusted annually on the first of January for inflation according to the
 consumer price index of the previous year; PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  NOTWITH-
 STANDING  ANY  OTHER  PROVISION  OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, FOR PURPOSES OF
 CERTIFICATION OF A  MINORITY-OWNED  BUSINESS  ENTERPRISE  UNDER  SECTION
 THREE  HUNDRED FOURTEEN OF THIS ARTICLE, THE PERSONAL NET WORTH LIMIT OF
 FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS OR MORE SHALL NOT APPLY TO  ANY  SMALL  BUSINESS
 ENTERPRISE  THAT  MANUFACTURES  METAL  OR VINYL WINDOWS AND DOORS (NAICS
 CODES 332321 AND 326199) THAT IS LOCATED IN A CITY WITH A POPULATION  OF
 MORE  THAN ONE MILLION AND WHERE EIGHTY PERCENT OR MORE OF ITS EMPLOYEES
 THAT WORK AT SUCH LOCATION IN SUCH CITY ARE MINORITY  GROUP  MEMBERS  AS
 DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION EIGHT OF THIS SECTION; and
   § 2. Subdivision 20 of section 310 of the executive law, as amended by
 chapter 44 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   20.  "Small  business" as used in this section, unless otherwise indi-
 cated, shall mean a business which has a significant  business  presence
 in  the  state, is independently owned and operated, not dominant in its
 field and employs, based on its industry, a certain number of persons as
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD00852-01-5
 A. 195                              2
 
 determined by the director, but not  to  exceed  three  hundred,  except
 during  a  declared  state  disaster  emergency  as  defined pursuant to
 section twenty-eight of  this  chapter,  not  to  exceed  three  hundred
 employees  who  work  thirty  or  more hours per week over the period of
 fifty-two weeks for a total of one thousand  five  hundred  sixty  hours
 worked,  taking  into  consideration  factors which include, but are not
 limited to, federal small business administration standards pursuant  to
 13  CFR part 121 and any amendments thereto; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, NOTWITH-
 STANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE  CONTRARY,  FOR  PURPOSES  OF
 CERTIFICATION  OF  A  MINORITY-OWNED  BUSINESS  ENTERPRISE UNDER SECTION
 THREE HUNDRED FOURTEEN OF THIS  ARTICLE,  THE  SMALL  BUSINESS  EMPLOYEE
 LIMIT  OF  THREE  HUNDRED  PERSONS  OR MORE SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY SMALL
 BUSINESS ENTERPRISE THAT MANUFACTURES METAL OR VINYL WINDOWS  AND  DOORS
 (NAICS  CODES  332321 AND 326199) THAT IS LOCATED IN A CITY WITH A POPU-
 LATION OF MORE THAN ONE MILLION AND WHERE EIGHTY PERCENT OR MORE OF  ITS
 EMPLOYEES  THAT  WORK  AT  SUCH LOCATION IN SUCH CITY ARE MINORITY GROUP
 MEMBERS AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION EIGHT OF THIS SECTION.   The  director
 may  issue  regulations  on  the construction of the terms in this defi-
 nition. For purposes of this subdivision, an  employee  may  break  from
 employment  for up to thirteen weeks without the fifty-two week lookback
 period resetting.
   § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 314 of the executive law, as amended  by
 chapter 567 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  The  director shall promulgate rules and regulations providing for
 the establishment of a statewide certification program  including  rules
 and regulations governing the approval, denial or revocation of any such
 certification  including  revocations  for  convictions for fraudulently
 misrepresenting the status of minority or  women-owned  business  enter-
 prises.  Such  rules shall set forth the maximum personal net worth of a
 minority group member or woman who may be relied upon to certify a busi-
 ness as a minority-owned business  enterprise  or  women-owned  business
 enterprise  with  a  minimum  personal  net  worth  threshold of fifteen
 million dollars, and may thereafter establish different  maximum  levels
 of  personal net worth for minority group members and women on an indus-
 try-by-industry basis for such industries as the director  shall  deter-
 mine.  Such  regulations relating to the classification of the industry-
 by-industry personal net worth  thresholds  above  the  fifteen  million
 dollar  threshold shall consider the personal net worth of the owners of
 both certified and non-certified businesses, including but  not  limited
 to,  prime  contractors  and  subcontractors,  as well as any such other
 factors needed to establish such thresholds. Such rules and  regulations
 shall include, but not be limited to, such matters as may be required to
 ensure  that  the established procedures thereunder shall at least be in
 compliance with the code of fair procedure set forth in  section  seven-
 ty-three  of the civil rights law, and consistent with the provisions of
 article twenty-three-A of  the  correction  law.    NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY
 PROVISION  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION  OR  ANY  OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE
 CONTRARY, FOR PURPOSES OF CERTIFICATION  OF  A  MINORITY-OWNED  BUSINESS
 ENTERPRISE,  THE  PERSONAL NET WORTH LIMIT OF FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS OR
 MORE SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE THAT  MANUFACTURES
 METAL OR VINYL WINDOWS AND DOORS (NAICS CODES 332321 AND 326199) THAT IS
 LOCATED  IN  A CITY WITH A POPULATION OF MORE THAN ONE MILLION AND WHERE
 EIGHTY PERCENT OR MORE OF ITS EMPLOYEES THAT WORK AT  SUCH  LOCATION  IN
 SUCH  CITY ARE MINORITY GROUP MEMBERS AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION EIGHT OF
 SECTION THREE HUNDRED TEN OF THIS ARTICLE.
 A. 195                              3
 
   § 4. Subparagraph (vi) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 2-a of  section
 314  of the executive law, as amended by chapter 96 of the laws of 2019,
 is amended to read as follows:
   (vi)  be  owned  by  an  individual  or  individuals, whose ownership,
 control and operation are relied upon for certification, with a personal
 net worth that does not exceed fifteen million dollars  and  such  other
 amount as the director shall set forth in regulations, as adjusted annu-
 ally  for  inflation  according  to  the consumer price index; PROVIDED,
 HOWEVER, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, FOR
 PURPOSES OF CERTIFICATION OF A MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS  ENTERPRISE,  THE
 PERSONAL  NET  WORTH  LIMIT OF FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS OR MORE SHALL NOT
 APPLY TO ANY SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE THAT MANUFACTURES METAL OR  VINYL
 WINDOWS  AND  DOORS (NAICS CODES 332321 AND 326199) THAT IS LOCATED IN A
 CITY WITH A POPULATION OF MORE THAN ONE MILLION AND WHERE EIGHTY PERCENT
 OR MORE OF ITS EMPLOYEES THAT WORK AT SUCH LOCATION  IN  SUCH  CITY  ARE
 MINORITY  GROUP MEMBERS AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION EIGHT OF SECTION THREE
 HUNDRED TEN OF THIS ARTICLE; and
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided  the  amendments
 to  article  15-A  of the executive law made by sections one, two, three
 and four of this act shall not affect the repeal  of  such  article  and
 shall be deemed repealed therewith.