NY State Senate Bill 2025-S596

Senate Bill S596

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Provides a rebuttable presumption relating to recertification as a minority and women-owned business enterprise

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Procurement And Contracts Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2025	referred to procurement and contracts

co-Sponsors

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2025-S596 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Procurement And Contracts
Law Section:: Executive Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §314, Exec L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S1687

2025-S596 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides a rebuttable presumption relating to recertification as a minority and women-owned business enterprise if there is no change in the ownership of the enterprise and no material change in the nature or management of the enterprise from the time of approval of the previous minority and women-owned business enterprise certification.

2025-S596 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S596

SPONSOR: HINCHEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to providing a rebuttable
presumption relating to recertification as a minority and women-owned
business enterprise

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 314 of the executive law relating to the minor-
ity and women-owned business enterprise (MWBE) certification process.
This Section provides that, if there is no change in ownership or mate-
rial change in the nature or management of the MWBE, a rebuttable
presumption exists for that MWBE's recertification.

Section 2 establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The application process for the MWBE program - especially with respect

to recertification is at times arbitrary and leads to lengthy and unnec-
essary delays of recertification for MWBE business that have been long
established. The delay in recertification has also led to these estab-
lished MWBE businesses being unofficially in purgatory on whether they
are certified or not which leads to a loss in opportunity and business.

This legislation would address some of the more serious concerns with
the MWBE process by creating a rebuttable presumption for recertif-
ication. This rebuttable presumption will only apply in cases where
there has been no material change to the business or change in ownership
since the original certification.

This legislation will help ensure the inclusiveness of State contracting
and will ensure that minority and women-owned businesses not be
subjected to arbitrary State decision-making and delays which could hurt
their livelihood. At a time when projects are underway and state public
policy is encouraging higher participation of MWBE entities, it makes
perfect sense to make sure that existing MWBE businesses do not see an
interruption in their certification to help move projects forward and
build success across New York.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022 - S9588 referred to Rules

2023 - S1687A passed Senate / A1621B referred to Governmental Operations

2024 - S1687A passed Senate / A1621B referred to Governmental Operations

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
On the first of July next succeeding the date upon which it shall have
become law, and is only applicable to certification applications filed
on or after that date.

2025-S596 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    596
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. HINCHEY, COONEY, FERNANDEZ, MURRAY, PARKER, WEBB --
   read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
   the Committee on Procurement and Contracts
 
 AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to providing a rebuttable
   presumption  relating to recertification as a minority and women-owned
   business enterprise
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  5  of  section  314 of the executive law, as
 amended by chapter 96 of the  laws  of  2019,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   5.  (A)  With  the  exception  of  provisional  MWBE certification, as
 provided for in subdivision twenty-three of section three hundred ten of
 this article, all minority and women-owned business  enterprise  certif-
 ications shall be valid for a period of five years.
   (B)  UPON THE EXPIRATION OF A MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTER-
 PRISE CERTIFICATION AND THE SUBMISSION OF A NEW APPLICATION FOR MINORITY
 AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE  RECERTIFICATION,  IF  THERE  IS  NO
 CHANGE  IN THE OWNERSHIP OF THE ENTERPRISE AND NO MATERIAL CHANGE IN THE
 NATURE OR MANAGEMENT OF THE ENTERPRISE FROM THE TIME OF  APPROVAL  OF  A
 PREVIOUS  ORIGINAL  MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE CERTIF-
 ICATION THAT WAS APPROVED WITHIN THE PREVIOUS TEN YEARS, IF SUCH  APPLI-
 CATION  IS COMPLIANT WITH 21 NYCRR 9606 THEN THERE SHALL BE A REBUTTABLE
 PRESUMPTION THAT THE PREVIOUS MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE  SATIS-
 FIES  THE  REQUIREMENTS  OF  PARAGRAPHS  (A), (B) AND (C) OF SUBDIVISION
 SEVEN OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED TEN OF THIS ARTICLE AND THAT THE PREVIOUS
 WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE SATISFIES THE REQUIREMENTS OF PARAGRAPHS
 (A), (B) AND (C) OF SUBDIVISION FIFTEEN OF SECTION THREE HUNDRED TEN  OF
 THIS ARTICLE.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01747-01-5

 S. 596                              2
 
   §  2.  This act shall take effect on the first of July next succeeding
 the date upon which it shall have become a law and shall apply to appli-
 cations submitted by a business enterprise for minority and  women-owned
 business  enterprise  recertification submitted on and after such effec-
 tive  date; provided, however, that the amendments to section 314 of the
 executive law made  by section one of this  act  shall  not  affect  the
 repeal of such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.

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Senate Bill S596

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Sponsored By

Michelle Hinchey

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Procurement And Contracts Committee

co-Sponsors

Jeremy A. Cooney

Nathalia Fernandez

Dean Murray

Kevin S. Parker

2025-S596 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S596 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S596 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S596 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments