2015 New York Laws
EXC - Executive
Article 17-B - (Executive) PARTICIPATION BY SERVICE-DISABLED VETERANS WITH RESPECT TO STATE CONTRACTS
369-I - Division of service-disabled veterans' business development.

*    369-i.   Division   of   service-disabled   veterans'   business
  development.  1. The head of the division of service-disabled  veterans'
  business development shall be the director who shall be appointed by the
  governor and who shall hold office at the pleasure of the commissioner.
2.  The  director  may  appoint  such  deputies, assistants, and other
  employees as may be needed for the performance of the duties  prescribed
  herein  subject to the provisions of the civil service law and the rules
  and regulations of  the  civil  service  commission.  The  director  may
  request  and  shall  receive  from  any (i) department, division, board,
  bureau, or executive commission of the state or (ii) state agency,  such
  assistance  as  may  be  necessary  to  carry out the provisions of this
  article.
3. The director shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) Develop, collect, summarize and disseminate information that  will
  be  helpful  to  persons  and  organizations  throughout  the  state  in
  undertaking or promoting the establishment and successful operation of a
  service-disabled veteran-owned business.
(b) Develop and make  available  to  state  agencies  a  directory  of
  certified  service-disabled  veteran-owned  business  enterprises  which
  shall, wherever  practicable,  be  divided  into  categories  of  labor,
  services,  supplies,  equipment,  materials  and recognized construction
  trades and which shall indicate areas or locations of  the  state  where
  such enterprises are available to perform services. Such directory shall
  be posted on the office of general services website.
(c) Assist state agencies in the development of programs to foster and
  promote  the  use of service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises
  on state contracts.
(d) Coordinate  the  plans,  programs  and  operations  of  the  state
  government   which  affect  or  may  contribute  to  the  establishment,
  preservation and development of service-disabled veteran-owned  business
  enterprises.
(e)  To  appoint independent hearing officers who by contract or terms
  of employment shall preside over adjudicatory hearings pursuant to  this
  section for the office and who are assigned no other work by the office.
(f)  In  conjunction  with  the  commissioner, develop a comprehensive
  statewide plan and operational guidelines  to  promote  service-disabled
  veteran-owned  business  enterprises  and  to  assist  them in obtaining
  opportunities to participate in the procurement of goods and services by
  the state, including  identification  of  barriers  to  service-disabled
  veterans' business development and investigation and evaluation of their
  impact on achieving the objectives of this article.
4. The commissioner shall:
(a)   Coordinate  training  of  all  procurement  personnel  of  state
  agencies, emphasizing increased sensitivity and  responsiveness  to  the
  unique needs and requirements of service-disabled veteran-owned business
  enterprises.
(b)  Conduct  a  coordinated review of all existing and proposed state
  training and technical assistance activities in direct  support  of  the
  service-disabled   veterans'  business  development  program  to  assure
  consistency with the objectives of this article.
(c) Evaluate and assess availability  of  firms  for  the  purpose  of
  increasing   participation   of  such  firms  in  state  contracting  in
  consultation with relevant state entities including, but not limited to,
  the New York state division of veterans' affairs.
(d)   Provide   advice   and   technical   assistance    to    promote
  service-disabled  veteran-owned  business  enterprises' understanding of
  state procurement laws,  practices  and  procedures  to  facilitate  and

  increase  the  participation  of service-disabled veteran-owned business
  enterprises in state procurement.
(e)   Establish   regular   performance  reporting  systems  regarding
  implementation of the programs  designed  to  increase  service-disabled
  veteran-owned  business  participation in procurement contracts by state
  agencies.
(f) Submit a report by the thirty-first of December  each  year,  with
  the  first  report  due  by the thirty-first of December in the calendar
  year next succeeding the calendar year in which this article shall  have
  become  a  law,  to the governor, the temporary president of the senate,
  and the speaker of the assembly. Such report shall  include  information
  including,  but  not  limited  to,  the number of contracts entered into
  pursuant to this article, the average  amount  of  such  contracts,  the
  number of service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises certified,
  the  number  of  applications  for  certification  as a service-disabled
  veteran-owned business  enterprise,  the  number  of  denials  for  such
  certification, the number of appeals of such denials, and the outcome of
  such   appeals   and   the  average  time  that  is  required  for  such
  certification to be completed.
5. Certification. (a) The director, or in the absence of the director,
  the commissioner, within ninety days  of  the  effective  date  of  this
  article,  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. 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 seventy-three of the
  civil rights law.
(b) The division of service-disabled  veterans'  business  development
  shall  be responsible for verifying businesses as being owned, operated,
  and controlled by a service-disabled veteran  and  for  certifying  such
  verified  businesses.  Status  as a service-disabled veteran pursuant to
  paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be documented by a copy  of  the
  veteran's   certificate  of  release  or  discharge  from  active  duty,
  including but not limited to, a DD-214  form  or  an  honorable  service
  certificate/report of causality from the department of defense, a letter
  of  certification by the United States department of veterans affairs or
  the United States department of defense and any  additional  information
  that  may  be  required  by  the  division of service-disabled veterans'
  business development. In the case of the New York guard or the New  York
  naval  militia  and/or  reserves  thereof,  status as a service-disabled
  veteran pursuant to this paragraph shall be documented pursuant to rules
  and regulations promulgated by the director, or in the  absence  of  the
  director, the commissioner.
(c)  Following application for certification pursuant to this section,
  the director shall provide the applicant  with  written  notice  of  the
  status   of   the  application,  including  notice  of  any  outstanding
  deficiencies, within thirty days. Within sixty days of submission  of  a
  final  completed  application,  the director shall provide the applicant
  with written notice of a determination  by  the  director  approving  or
  denying  such  certification  and, in the event of a denial, a statement
  setting forth the reasons for such denial. Upon a determination  denying
  or   revoking   certification,   the   business   enterprise  for  which
  certification has been so denied or revoked shall, upon written  request
  made within thirty days from receipt of notice of such determination, be
  entitled  to  a hearing before an independent hearing officer designated
  for such purpose by the director. In the event  that  a  request  for  a

  hearing  is  not  made within such thirty day period, such determination
  shall be deemed to be  final.  The  independent  hearing  officer  shall
  conduct  a  hearing  and  upon  the  conclusion of such hearing, issue a
  written  recommendation  to  the  director to affirm, reverse, or modify
  such determination of the director. Such written recommendation shall be
  issued to the parties. The director, within thirty days, by order,  must
  accept,  reject or modify such recommendation of the hearing officer and
  set forth in writing the reason therefor. The  director  shall  serve  a
  copy  of such order and reasons therefor upon the business enterprise by
  personal service or by certified  mail  return  receipt  requested.  The
  order  of  the  director  shall be subject to review pursuant to article
  seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.
(d) All certifications shall be valid for a period of five years.
* NB Repealed March 31, 2019