Authorizes local contracting units to establish joint venture and set-aside programs.

A4323

ASSEMBLY, No. 4323

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 19, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� SHANIQUE SPEIGHT

District 29 (Essex and Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Authorizes local contracting units to establish joint
venture and set-aside programs.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
authorizing local joint venture and set-aside programs
and amending P.L.1985, c.482.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� Section 1 of P.L.1985,
c.482 (C.40A:11-41) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1.��� As used in
[
this act
]

P.L.1985,
c.482 (C.40A:11-41 et seq.)
:

���� a.���� "County or
municipal contracting agency" shall mean the governing body of a county or
municipality or any department, board, commission, committee, authority or
agency of a county or municipality but shall not include school districts;

���� b.��� "Minority group
members" shall mean persons who are black, Hispanic, Portuguese,
Asian-American, American Indian or Alaskan natives;

���� c.���� "Qualified women's
business enterprise" shall mean a business which has its principal place
of business in this State, is independently owned and operated, is at least 51
percent owned and controlled by women and is qualified pursuant to section 25
of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-25);

���� d.��� "Qualified minority
business enterprise" shall mean a business which has its principal place
of business in this State, is independently owned and operated, is at least 51
percent owned and controlled by minority group members and is qualified pursuant
to section 25 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-25);

���� e.���� "Qualified small
business enterprise" shall mean a business which has its principal place
of business in this State, is independently owned and operated and meets all
other qualifications as may be established in accordance with P.L.1981, c.283
(C.52:27H-21.1 et seq.);

���� f.���� "Set-aside
contracts" shall mean (1) a contract for goods, equipment, construction,
or services which is designated as a contract for which bids are invited and
accepted only from qualified small business enterprises, qualified veteran
business enterprises, qualified minority business enterprises or qualified
women's business enterprises, as appropriate,
and, if authorized by the
contracting agency, joint ventures,
(2) a portion of a contract when that
portion has been so designated, or (3) any other purchase or procurement so
designated;

���� g.��� "Total
procurements" shall mean all purchases, contracts or acquisitions of a
county or municipal contracting agency, whether by competitive bidding, single
source contracting, or other method of procurement, as prescribed or permitted
by law;

���� h.��� "Veteran"
means any resident of this State now or hereafter who has served in any branch
of the Armed Forces of the United States or a Reserve component thereof or the
National Guard of this State or another state as defined in section 1 of P.L.1963,
c.109 (C.38A:1-1), and has been discharged honorably or under general honorable
conditions from such service, except that the veteran shall present to the
Adjutant General of the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs sufficient
evidence of a record of service, which shall include the applicant's DD-214,
DD-215, or DD-256 form as issued by the federal government; NGB-22 or other
approved separation forms as outlined by all branches of the Armed Forces; a
county-issued veteran identification card pursuant to P.L.2012, c.30
(C.40A:9-78.1 et seq.); or a veteran identification card as issued by the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs under the "Veterans
Identification Card Act of 2015,"

(38 U.S.C. s.5706) and receive a determination of status no later than the date
established for the submission of bids; and

���� i.���� "Qualified veteran
business enterprise" shall mean a business which has its principal place
of business in this State, is independently owned and operated, is at least 51
percent owned and controlled by a veteran or that wherein at least twenty five
percent of the required workforce for the contract are veterans, including new
hires if additional workers are required to perform the contract, and is
qualified pursuant to section 25 of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-25). The business
shall also submit forms quarterly to the contracting agency showing proof of
veteran status for all the veteran employees.

����
j.���� "Joint
venture" shall mean an association of one or more qualified women's
business enterprises, qualified minority business enterprises, or qualified
veteran business enterprises and one or more businesses that are not qualified
women's business enterprises, qualified minority business enterprises, or
qualified veteran business enterprises, which association proposes to perform a
contract as a single for-profit enterprise.� To qualify as a joint venture,
each business and business enterprise joining together shall enter into a
written agreement which specifies the terms and conditions of the relationship
between the members of the joint venture and the role of each member of the
joint venture in performing the contract.� Each member of a joint venture shall
contribute property, capital, efforts, skill, and knowledge to the joint
venture.�

(cf: P.L.2019, c.500, s.11)

���� 2.��� Section 2 of P.L.1985,
c.482 (C.40A:11-42) is amended to read as follows:

���� 2.��� a.� The governing body
of a county or municipality may, by ordinance or resolution, as appropriate,
establish a qualified minority business enterprise set-aside program
or a joint
venture and set-aside program
.� In authorizing such a program, the
governing body of a county or municipality shall establish a goal for its
contracting agencies of setting aside a certain percentage of the dollar value
of total procurements to be awarded as set-aside contracts to qualified
minority business enterprises
, joint ventures which include one or more
qualified minority business enterprises, or both qualified minority business
enterprises and joint ventures
.

���� b.��� The governing body of a
county or municipality may, by ordinance or resolution, as appropriate,
establish a qualified women's business enterprise set-aside program
or a joint
venture and set-aside program
.� In authorizing such a program, the
governing body of a county or municipality shall establish a goal for its
contracting agencies of setting aside a certain percentage of the dollar value
of total procurements to be awarded as set-aside contracts to qualified women's
business enterprises
, joint ventures which include one or more qualified women's
business enterprises, or both qualified women's business enterprises and joint
ventures
.

���� c.���� The governing body of a
county or municipality may, by ordinance or resolution, as appropriate,
establish a qualified small business enterprise set-aside program.� In
authorizing such a program, the governing body of a county or municipality
shall establish a goal for its contracting agencies of setting aside a certain
percentage of the dollar value of total procurements to be awarded as set-aside
contracts to qualified small business enterprises.

���� d.��� The governing body of a
county or municipality may, by ordinance or resolution, as appropriate,
establish a qualified veteran business enterprise set-aside program
or a joint
venture and set-aside program
.� In authorizing such a program, the
governing body of a county or municipality shall establish a goal for its
contracting agencies of setting aside a certain percentage of the dollar value
of total procurements to be awarded as set-aside contracts to qualified veteran
business enterprises
, joint ventures which include one or more qualified veteran
business enterprises, or both qualified veteran business enterprises and joint
ventures
.

(cf: P.L.2013, c.5, s.2)

���� 3.��� Section 3 of P.L.1985,
c.482 (C.40A:11-43) is amended to read as follows:

���� 3.��� a.� Any goal established
pursuant to section 2 of
[
this
act
]

P.L.1985,
c.482 (C.40A:11-42)
may be attained by requiring that a portion of a
contract be subcontracted to a qualified small business enterprise, qualified
veteran business enterprise, qualified minority business enterprise
[
or
]
,

qualified women's business enterprise,
and, if applicable, joint ventures,

in addition to designating entire contracts to these enterprises
and joint
ventures
.

���� b.��� Each contracting agency
shall make a good faith effort to attain any goal established by its governing
body.� The governing body shall evaluate each contracting agency's efforts by
comparing the percentage of the dollar value of a contracting agency's total
procurements awarded to qualified small business enterprises, qualified veteran
business enterprises, qualified minority business enterprises
[
or
]
,

qualified women's business enterprises,
and, if applicable, joint ventures,

as appropriate, to the percentage of the dollar value of the county's or
municipality's total procurements awarded to qualified small business
enterprises, qualified veteran business enterprises, qualified minority
business enterprises
[
or
]
,

qualified women's business enterprises,
and, if applicable, joint ventures,

as appropriate.

(cf: P.L.2013, c.5, s.3)

���� 4.��� Section 5 of P.L.1985,
c.482 (C.40A:11-45) is amended to read as follows:

���� 5.��� Notwithstanding the
provisions of any law to the contrary, a contracting agency of a county or
municipality which has established a qualified small business enterprise
set-aside program, a qualified veteran business enterprise set-aside
or
joint venture and set-aside
program, a qualified minority business
enterprise set-aside
or joint venture and set-aside
program or a
qualified women's business enterprise set-aside
or joint venture and
set-aside
program shall designate that a contract, subcontract or other
means of procurement of goods, services, equipment, or construction be awarded
to a qualified small business enterprise, a qualified veteran business
enterprise, a qualified minority business enterprise
[
or
]
,
a qualified women's
business enterprise,
or, if applicable, a joint venture,
if a
contracting agency is likely to receive bids from at least two qualified small
business enterprises, qualified veteran business enterprises, qualified
minority business enterprises
[
or
]
,

qualified women's business enterprises,
or, if applicable, joint ventures,

as appropriate, at a fair and reasonable price.�

���� Such designations shall be
made prior to any advertisement for bids, if required.� Once designated, the
advertisement for bids, if necessary, shall indicate that the contract to be
awarded is a qualified small business enterprise set-aside contract, qualified
veteran business enterprise set-aside contract, a qualified minority business
enterprise set-aside contract or a qualified women's business enterprise
set-aside contract, as appropriate.� All advertisements for bids shall be
published in at least one newspaper which will best provide notice thereof to
qualified small business enterprises, qualified veteran business enterprises,
qualified minority business enterprises or to qualified women's business
enterprises, as appropriate, sufficiently in advance of the date fixed for
receiving the bids to promote competitive bidding, but shall not be published
less than 10 days prior to that date.

(cf: P.L.2013, c.5, s.4)

���� 5.��� Section 6 of P.L.1985,
c.482 (C.40A:11-46) is amended to read as follows:

���� 6.��� a.� If the contracting
agency determines that two bids from qualified small, qualified veteran,
qualified minority
[
or
]
,
�
qualified women's businesses
, or, if applicable, joint ventures,
cannot
be obtained, the contracting agency may withdraw the designation of the
set-aside contract and resolicit bids on an unrestricted basis pursuant to the
provisions of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et seq.).� The cancelled designation
shall not be considered in determining the percentage of contracts awarded
pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of
[
this
act
]

P.L.1985,
c.482 (C.40A:11-43)
.

���� b.��� If the contracting
agency determines that the acceptance of the lowest responsible bid will result
in the payment of an unreasonable price, the contracting agency shall reject
all bids and withdraw the designation of the set-aside contract.� Qualified small
business enterprises, qualified veteran business enterprises, qualified
minority business enterprises
[
or
]
,

qualified women's business enterprises,
or joint ventures,
as
appropriate, shall be notified in writing of the set-aside cancellation, the
reasons for the rejection and the agency's intent to resolicit bids on an
unrestricted basis pursuant to the provisions of P.L.1971, c.198 (C.40A:11-1 et
seq.).� The cancelled bid solicitation shall not be considered in determining
the percentage of contracts awarded pursuant to subsection b. of section 3 of
[
this act
]

P.L.1985,
c.482 (C.40A:11-43)
.

(cf: P.L.2013, c.5, s.5)

���� 6.��� Section 8 of P.L.1985,
c.482 (C.40A:11-48) is amended to read as follows:��

���� 8.��� Each contracting agency
of a county or municipality which has established a qualified small business
enterprise set-aside program, a qualified veteran business enterprise set-aside

or joint venture and set-aside
program, a qualified minority business
enterprise set-aside
or joint venture and set-aside
program or a
qualified women's business enterprise set-aside
or joint venture and
set-aside
program shall submit a report to its governing body by January 31
of each year describing the agency's efforts in attaining the set-aside goals
and the percentage of the dollar value of total procurements awarded pursuant
to subsection b. of section 3 of
[
this
act
]

P.L.1985,
c.482 (C.40A:11-43)
.� The governing body shall publish a list of each
agency's attainments in the immediately preceding local fiscal year, to include
the county or municipal average, in at least one newspaper circulating in the
county or municipality, as appropriate, by March 1 of each year.

(cf: P.L.2013, c.5, s.7)

���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill would authorize
local contracting units to establish women's, minority, and veteran business
enterprise joint venture and set-aside programs.� The "Local Public
Contracts Law" has authorized local contracting units to establish
minority and women's business enterprise set-aside programs since 1985, and
veteran business enterprise set-aside programs since 2013, as a way to
encourage the growth and competitiveness of minority, women's, and veteran
businesses.�

���� This bill would amend the
current local set-aside law to permit a local contracting unit to set aside a
percentage of the dollar value of total procurements to be awarded as set-aside
contracts to joint ventures which include one or more qualified women's, minority,
or veteran business enterprises.� This joint venture method, allowing
traditionally disadvantaged women's, minority, and veteran-owned businesses to
partner with more seasoned businesses into joint ventures, has been
successfully employed in other places as a way to remove historic roadblocks
that prevent disadvantaged businesses from competing in the public bidding
process.