N.Y. Transportation Law § 428: Minority and women-owned business enterprise program

§ 428. Minority and women-owned business enterprise program. 1.

Federal assistance projects. Where a transportation infrastructure

renewal project or municipal transportation infrastructure project

involving federal assistance is undertaken to effectuate the provisions

of this article, applicable federal laws relative to participation of

minority and women-owned business enterprises shall apply.

2. Other transportation infrastructure renewal projects. a. In the

performance of transportation infrastructure renewal projects, minority

and women-owned business enterprises shall be given the opportunity for

meaningful participation. The governor shall establish measures and

procedures to secure meaningful participation and identify those

contracts and items of work for which minority and women-owned business

enterprises may best bid to actively and affirmatively promote and

assist their participation in the department's construction and

procurement program for transportation infrastructure renewal projects,

so as to facilitate the award of a fair share of contracts to such

enterprises; provided, however, that nothing in this article shall be

construed to limit the ability of the governor to assure that qualified

minority and women-owned business enterprises may participate in the

transportation infrastructure renewal program. For purposes hereof,

minority business enterprise shall mean any business enterprise which is

at least fifty-one per centum owned by, or in the case of a publicly

owned business, at least fifty-one per centum of the stock of which is

owned by citizens or permanent resident noncitizens who are Black,

Hispanic, Asian or American Indian, and such ownership interest is real,

substantial and continuing; and women-owned business enterprise shall

mean any business enterprise which is at least fifty-one per centum

owned by, or in the case of a publicly owned business, at least

fifty-one per centum of the stock of which is owned by citizens or

permanent resident noncitizens who are women, and such ownership

interest is real, substantial and continuing.

The provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed to limit the

ability of any minority business enterprise to bid on any contract.

b. In the implementation of this section, the department shall

consider compliance by any contractor with the requirements of any

federal, state, or local law concerning minority and women-owned

business enterprises, which may effectuate the requirements of this

section. If the department determines that by virtue of the imposition

of the requirements of any such law, in respect to capital project

contracts, the provisions thereof duplicate or conflict with such law,

the department may waive the applicability of this section to the extent

of such duplication or conflict.

c. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require that overall

state and federal requirements for participation of minority and

women-owned business enterprises in programs authorized under this

article be applied without regard to local circumstances to all projects

or in all communities.

3. In order to implement the requirements and objectives of this

section, the governor shall establish procedures to monitor the

contractors' compliance with provisions hereof, provide assistance in

obtaining competing qualified minority and women-owned business

enterprises to perform contracts proposed to be awarded, and take other

appropriate measures to improve the access of minority and women-owned

business enterprises to these contracts.