New York K 1215: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim April 28, 2026, as MWBE Advocacy Day in the State of New York

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K01215 Summary:

BILL NOK01215 

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SAME ASNo Same As

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SPONSORBichotte Hermelyn

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COSPNSR

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MLTSPNSRAngelino, Blankenbush, Buttenschon, DeStefano, Glick, Griffin, Lunsford, Maher, McMahon,
 Santabarbara, Seawright, Shimsky, Simon, Simone, Simpson, Weprin, Woerner

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&nbsp

Go to top K01215 Actions:

BILL NOK01215 

&nbsp

04/27/2026referred to calendar

04/28/2026adopted

Go to topK01215 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topK01215 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topK01215 Text:

Assembly Resolution No. 1215

BY: M. of A. Bichotte Hermelyn

 MEMORIALIZING Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim
 April 28, 2026, as MWBE Advocacy Day in the State of
 New York

 WHEREAS, MWBE (Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise)
Advocacy Day represents economic empowerment for minorities and women
who own and operate businesses; and

 WHEREAS, Despite decades of legislation and programs in both New
York City and New York State to level the playing field for MWBEs,
disparities continue to persist; and

 WHEREAS, In 1988, the New York State Executive Law enacted Article
15-A to ensure and promote fair and equal employment and minority- and
women-owned business participation in State contracts through the
establishment of goals for minority- and women-owned business
participation; and

 WHEREAS, In 1989, the United States Supreme Court ruling in the
landmark case, City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co., and others that
followed it, set legal boundaries for municipalities intending to create
minority-owned business enterprise programs, establishing that
government must provide evidence that a significant disparity exists
between the utilization of minority- or women-owned companies and the
number of such companies capable and willing to do the work, and the
disparity cannot be based solely on population statistics; and

 WHEREAS, In 2005, New York City established the MWBE program, via
Local Law 129, to promote the growth and success of minority- and
women-owned businesses in the City, requiring that a certain percentage
of the City's contracts for goods, services, and construction be awarded
to MWBE firms and aiming both to address historical inequities in
contracting opportunities for MWBEs and to promote economic growth and
diversity in the City; and

 WHEREAS, Other municipalities across New York State launched and
established local MWBE programs, including Buffalo, Schenectady,
Rochester, and other highly-populated cities with successful results;
and

 WHEREAS, In 2010, the State first commissioned a disparity study
that would later be used to establish statewide goals for minorities and
women in State contracts, and in 2016, another study was completed; both
studies revealed a disparity of MWBEs, showing the continued
disenfranchisement of MWBEs from billions of dollars of State and City
contracting and procurement opportunities and revealing that they are
not on an equal playing field with MWBE utilization which is
disproportionately lower than MWBE availability in every category of
State contracting across racial groups; and

 WHEREAS, The Disparity Studies recommended several actions to
address these disparities, including increasing outreach to MWBEs,
improving access to bonding and insurance, and increasing the use of

race-conscious and gender-conscious measures in City contracting which
eliminates the personal net worth and increases minority and women
contract workers; and

 WHEREAS, In 2014, New York State launched the MWBE Certification
Campaign to encourage minority and women business owners to certify with
the State and take advantage of billions of dollars in State procurement
opportunities; the governor pledged to increase MWBE certification by an
additional 2,000 businesses, a goal the State exceeded in January 2016;
as a result, the number of State-certified firms had more than doubled
in only five years; and

 WHEREAS, The City has committed to implementing these
recommendations to improve equity and opportunity for MWBEs in City
contracting, and the New York City Certification Campaign tripled the
number of certified MWBE firms since 2015, from 4,000 to 11,000; through
implementing provisions of Local Law 174 of 2019 and Local Law 176 of
2019, various amendments to the process by whic