Relates to cooperative purchasing agreements for public works

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10326

                                    I N  S E N A T E

                                      May 14, 2026
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Procurement and Contracts

        AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to the regulation
          and use of cooperative purchasing agreements for public works projects
          by political subdivisions in the state of New York

          THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
        BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

     1    Section 1. Legislative findings and purpose. The legislature finds and
     2  declares that subdivision 16 of section 103 of the general municipal law
     3  was  enacted  to  enhance  procurement efficiency by permitting New York
     4  political subdivisions to use cooperative purchasing agreements, includ-
     5  ing piggybacking competitively awarded contracts  from  other  jurisdic-
     6  tions. However, the increasing use of national cooperative contracts and
     7  those  from other states with divergent procurement standards has led to
     8  diminished oversight, lower worker protections, and a departure from New
     9  York's public bidding laws.
    10    This act affirms that cooperative purchasing for public works must  be
    11  subject to New York's public procurement laws and safeguards and explic-
    12  itly  limits  such  agreements  to  those  that are bid, advertised, and
    13  awarded solely by political subdivisions located within the state of New
    14  York. It seeks to clarify  allowable  uses  of  cooperative  purchasing,
    15  improve  transparency and accountability, and strengthen prevailing wage
    16  enforcement mechanisms to protect workers and ensure fair competition.
    17    The legislature further finds that clarification is necessary  regard-
    18  ing  the  definition  and  scope  of  services  related  to public works
    19  construction, to ensure that such services are subject to New York state
    20  labor protections, including prevailing wage requirements and  appropri-
    21  ate craft or trade separation. The legislature is concerned that cooper-
    22  ative  agreements  awarded by jurisdictions outside New York have led to
    23  inconsistent enforcement practices, improper assignment of trades  under
    24  Job  Order  Contracting (JOC) arrangements, and diminished public trans-
    25  parency.
    26    § 2. The general municipal law is amended  by  adding  a  new  section
    27  109-e to read as follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15839-01-6
        S. 10326                            2

     1    §  109-E.  COOPERATIVE  PURCHASING AGREEMENTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS. 1. (A)
     2  POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS MAY UTILIZE COOPERATIVE PURCHASING AGREEMENTS FOR
     3  GOODS AND SERVICES, PROVIDED THE CONTRACTS  WERE  COMPETITIVELY  BID  BY
     4  POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS EITHER WITHIN OR OUTSIDE NEW YORK.
     5    (B)  COOPERATIVE  PURCHASING  AGREEMENTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS CONSTRUCTION
     6  AND ANY SERVICES RELATED TO PUBLIC  WORKS  CONSTRUCTION  SHALL  ONLY  BE
     7  PERMITTED  WHEN  SUCH  CONTRACTS  ARE COMPETITIVELY BID, PUBLICLY ADVER-
     8  TISED, AND AWARDED BY A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION LOCATED WITHIN  THE  STATE
     9  OF  NEW  YORK,  IN  FULL  COMPLIANCE WITH ALL APPLICABLE NEW YORK PUBLIC
    10  PROCUREMENT LAWS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO SECTION ONE  HUNDRED  ONE
    11  OF THIS ARTICLE, PREVAILING WAGE STATUTES, AND REQUIREMENTS FOR CRAFT OR
    12  TRADE SEPARATION.
    13    (C)  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF THIS SECTION, ANY PROJECT EXECUTED UNDER A
    14  COOPERATIVE PURCHASING AGREEMENT SHALL BE CONSIDERED A  COVERED  PROJECT
    15  SUBJECT  TO  PARAGRAPH D OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWEN-
    16  TY-J OF THE LABOR LAW.
    17    (D) FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS  SECTION,  "SERVICES  RELATED  TO  PUBLIC
    18  WORKS  CONSTRUCTION"  SHALL  INCLUDE  CONSTRUCTION  MANAGEMENT,  GENERAL
    19  CONTRACTING, INSPECTION,  TESTING,  OR  OTHER  SIMILAR  SERVICES  TRADI-
    20  TIONALLY  PERFORMED  AS  PART  OF  PUBLIC  WORKS  PROCUREMENT,  AND SUCH
    21  SERVICES MUST ALSO COMPLY WITH ALL NEW YORK STATE  PROCUREMENT  REQUIRE-
    22  MENTS.
    23    2.  COOPERATIVE CONTRACTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS SHALL BE LOCALLY ADVERTISED
    24  AS REQUIRED BY SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED  THREE  OF  THIS
    25  ARTICLE  AND  SHALL  INCLUDE  DETAILED PROCEDURES FOR ISSUING AND ADDING
    26  PURCHASE ORDERS.
    27    3. POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS MAY AWARD  INDEFINITE  DELIVERY,  INDEFINITE
    28  QUANTITY  (IDIQ) CONTRACTS FOR GOODS, SERVICES, AND PUBLIC WORKS WITHOUT
    29  REQUIRING FINAL PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS AT  THE
    30  TIME OF CONTRACT EXECUTION. HOWEVER, WHEN USED FOR PUBLIC WORKS IN ADDI-
    31  TION  TO  THE  CONTRACTOR'S  REQUIRED  SUBMISSION  OF  CERTIFIED PAYROLL
    32  RECORDS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR'S WEBSITE IN PARAGRAPH B OF  SUBDIVI-
    33  SION  TWO OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-J OF THE LABOR LAW, THE CONTRAC-
    34  TOR SHALL SUBMIT CERTIFIED PAYROLL RECORDS FOR EACH  JOB  ORDER  TO  THE
    35  LEAD  AGENCY AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISION WHERE THE PUBLIC WORKS PROJECT IS
    36  PERFORMED TO VERIFY THAT PREVAILING WAGE REQUIREMENTS WERE MET.    ADDI-
    37  TIONALLY,  WORK MUST BE ASSIGNED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPROPRIATE CRAFT OR
    38  TRADE CLASSIFICATIONS AS REQUIRED UNDER NEW YORK LABOR LAW.
    39    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.