New Jersey S 3750: Establishes certification program for disabled-owned businesses.

Bill Text

(Sponsorship Updated As Of: 11/27/2023)
SENATE, No. 3750

STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED MARCH 30, 2023

Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH PENNACCHIO
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Senator NELLIE POU
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)

Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Diegnan

SYNOPSIS
Establishes certification program for disabled-owned businesses.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.

S3750 PENNACCHIO, POU
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AN ACT establishing a certification program for businesses owned 1
by persons with disabilities, and supplementing Title 52 of the 2
Revised Statutes. 3
4
BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 5
of New Jersey: 6
7
1. As used in this act: 8
“Appeal” means a filed written challenge to a denial or 9
revocation of a certification as a disabled-owned business. 10
“Applicant” means a business that applies for certification as a 11
disabled-owned business pursuant to this act. 12
“Business” means an entity organized for profit which includes, 13
but is not limited to, a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited 14
liability company, corporation, or joint venture. 15
“Certification” means a determination by the division that an 16
applicant has met the standards for certification as a disabled-17
owned business, pursuant to section 2 of this act. 18
“Control and managerial and operational control” means 19
authority over the affairs of a business, including, but not limited to, 20
capital investment, property acquisition, employee hiring, contract 21
negotiations, legal matters, officer and director selection, operating 22
responsibility, financial transactions, and the rights of other 23
shareholders or joint partners. Control shall not include absentee 24
ownership. Control shall be deemed not to exist where an owner is 25
not a person with a disability. Additionally, control shall not be 26
deemed to exist if someone, other than a person with a disability, is 27
disproportionately responsible for the daily operation of a business, 28
or for policy and contractual decisions. 29
“Day” or “business day” means any weekday, excluding 30
Saturdays, Sundays, State or federal legal holidays, and State-31
mandated furlough days. 32
“Denial” means an administrative decision by the division to 33
reject an application pursuant to section 7 of this act. 34
“Department” means the Department of the Treasury. 35
“Designated hearing officer” means a Department of the 36
Treasury employee designated by the State Treasurer to render 37
decisions on cases involving an appeal of a denial of a certification 38
or a challenge to a certification, pursuant to this act. 39
“Director” means the Director of the Division of Revenue and 40
Enterprise Services, in the Department of the Treasury. 41
“Division” means the Division of Revenue and Enterprise 42
Services, in the Department of the Treasury. 43
“Filed” means received by the director or a division 44
representative. 45
“Joint venture” means a business undertaking between two or 46
more entities who share risk and responsibility for a specific project 47
while otherwise retaining their distinct identities. 48

S3750 PENNACCHIO, POU
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“Disabled-owned business” means a business, which is: 1
(1) a sole proprietorship, owned and controlled by a person with 2
a disability; 3
(2) a partnership or joint venture, in which at least 51 percent of 4
the ownership interest is held by persons with a disability and the 5
management and daily business operations are controlled by one or 6
more of the persons with a disability; or 7
(3) a corporation or other entity, whose management and daily 8
business operations are controlled by one or more persons with a 9
disability which is at least 51 percent owned by one or more 10
persons with a disability or, if stock is issued, at least 51 percent of 11
the stock is owned by one or more persons with a disability. 12
“Person with a disability” means a person with a disability as 13
defined under the “Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990” (42 14
U.S.C. s.12101 et seq.); 15
“Selective Assistance Vendor Information (SAVI)” means the 16
database in which the division maintains a public listing of small 17
businesses, veteran’s businesses, disabled veteran-owned 18
businesses, minority, women, and disabled-owned businesses. 19
“State contracting agency” or “contracting agency” means any 20
board, commission, committee, authority, division, college, 21
university, department, or agency of the State that possesses the 22
legal authority to enter into, or award, contracts for goods and 23
services or construction contracts. 24
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2. a. A business may be eligible to be certified as a disabled-26
owned business, as set forth in this section. 27
b. In order to be eligible as a disabled-owned business, a 28
business shall be a sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, 29
corporation, or other business entity authorized pursuant to the laws 30
of the United States, which is at least 51 percent owned, operated, 3