Sen. Farley Co-Sponsors Bill for State Contract Set-Aside for Disabled Veterans

State Senator Hugh T. Farley (R, C, I – Schenectady) announced he and his colleagues in the New York State Senate passed legislation (S6865) on March 24th to facilitate the awarding of state contracts to disabled veterans.

Co-sponsored by Senator Farley, the bill will create a six percent state contract set-aside for service-connected disabled- veteran owned small businesses. The “Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Act” will ensure New York State’s service-connected disabled veterans are better able to compete for millions of dollars in state contracts.

The set-aside is very similar to the highly successful three percent preference that the federal government offers. A three-way agreement on the bill was announced during the Governor’s Veterans and Military Families Summit held last week in Albany.

According to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, New York State is home to nearly 900,000 veterans, 600,000 of whom have served during periods of conflict. According to Governor Andrew Cuomo, there are roughly 106,000 service-connected disabled veterans in New York State.

The bill was sent to the Assembly.