NY State Fin L § 139-K (2021)
2021 New York Laws STF - State Finance Article 9 - Contracts 139-K - Disclosure of Contacts and Responsibility of Offerers.

* §  139-k.  Disclosure of contacts and responsibility of offerers. 1.   For purposes  of  this  section,  the  following  terms  will  have  the   following meanings unless specified otherwise.a.  "Governmental  entity"  shall  mean:  (1)  any  department, board,   bureau, commission, division, office, council, committee or  officer  of   the  state,  whether permanent or temporary; (2) each house of the state   legislature; (3) the unified court system;  (4)  any  public  authority,   public benefit corporation or commission created by or existing pursuant   to  the public authorities law; (5) a public authority or public benefit   corporation, at least one of whose members is appointed by the  governor   or  who  serves  as  a member by virtue of holding a civil office of the   state; (6) municipal agency, as that term is defined in  paragraph  (ii)   of  subdivision  (s)  of  section one-c of the legislative law; or (7) a   subsidiary or affiliate of such a public authority.b.  "Article  of  procurement"  shall  mean  a   commodity,   service,   technology,  public  work, construction, revenue contract, the purchase,   sale or lease of real property or an acquisition or  granting  of  other   interest  in  real  property,  that  is  the  subject  of a governmental   procurement.c. "Contacts" shall mean any oral, written or electronic communication   with a governmental entity under circumstances where a reasonable person   would infer  that  the  communication  was  intended  to  influence  the   governmental  entity's  conduct  or  decision regarding the governmental   procurement.d. "Proposal" shall mean any bid, quotation, offer or  response  to  a   governmental   entity's   solicitation  of  submissions  relating  to  a   procurement.e. "Governmental procurement" shall mean: (i) the public announcement,   public notice, or public communication to  any  potential  vendor  of  a   determination  of a need for a procurement, which shall include, but not   be limited to,  the  public  notification  of  the  specifications,  bid   documents,   request   for  proposals,  or  evaluation  criteria  for  a   procurement contract, (ii)  solicitation  for  a  procurement  contract,   (iii) evaluation of a procurement contract, (iv) award, approval, denial   or  disapproval  of a procurement contract, or (v) approval or denial of   an assignment, amendment (other than amendments that are authorized  and   payable  under  the  terms of the procurement contract as it was finally   awarded or approved by  the  comptroller,  as  applicable),  renewal  or   extension of a procurement contract, or any other material change in the   procurement contract resulting in a financial benefit to the offerer.f.  "Restricted  period" shall mean the period of time commencing with   the earliest posting, on a governmental entity's website, in a newspaper   of general circulation, or in the procurement  opportunities  newsletter   in  accordance  with  article  four-C of the economic development law of   written notice, advertisement or solicitation of a request for proposal,   invitation for bids, or solicitation of proposals, or any  other  method   provided  for  by  law  or  regulation  for  soliciting  a response from   offerers  intending  to  result  in  a  procurement  contract   with   a   governmental  entity  and  ending  with  the  final  contract  award and   approval by the governmental entity and,  where  applicable,  the  state   comptroller.g.  "Procurement contract" shall mean any contract or other agreement,   including an amendment,  extension,  renewal,  or  change  order  to  an   existing  contract  (other  than  amendments,  extensions,  renewals, or   change orders that are authorized and payable under  the  terms  of  the   contract  as  it  was finally awarded or approved by the comptroller, as   applicable), for  an  article  of  procurement  involving  an  estimated   annualized  expenditure  in  excess of fifteen thousand dollars. Grants,    article eleven-B state finance law contracts, program contracts  between   not-for-profit  organizations,  as  defined  in article eleven-B of this   chapter, and the unified  court  system,  intergovernmental  agreements,   railroad   and   utility  force  accounts,  utility  relocation  project   agreements or orders, contracts governing organ  transplants,  contracts   allowing  for  state  participation  in a trade show, and eminent domain   transactions shall not be deemed procurement contracts.h. "Offerer" shall mean the individual or  entity,  or  any  employee,   agent  or  consultant  or  person acting on behalf of such individual or   entity,  that  contacts  a  governmental  entity  about  a  governmental   procurement   during   the   restricted   period  of  such  governmental   procurement whether or not the caller has a financial  interest  in  the   outcome  of  the  procurement;  provided,  however,  that a governmental   agency or its employees that  communicates  with  the  procuring  agency   regarding  a  governmental  procurement in the exercise of its oversight   duties shall not be considered an offerer.i. "Revenue contract" shall  mean  any  written  agreement  between  a   governmental entity, as that term is defined in subparagraphs one, four,   five,  six  or  seven of paragraph a of this subdivision, and an offerer   whereby the governmental entity  gives  or  grants  a  concession  or  a   franchise.j.  "Unified  court  system"  shall,  for the purposes of this section   only, mean the unified court system of the state of  New  York,  or  the   office  of  court administration, where appropriate, other than town and   village justice courts in jurisdictions with a  population  under  fifty   thousand, when it acts solely in an administrative capacity to engage in   governmental procurements and shall not include the unified court system   or  any  court  of  the  state judiciary when it acts to hear and decide   cases of original or appellate jurisdiction or  otherwise  acts  in  its   judicial, as opposed to administrative, capacity.2.   Each  governmental  entity  shall  ensure  that  solicitation  of   proposals or bid documents or specifications, or contract documents,  as   applicable, for procurement contracts shall require offerers to disclose   findings  of  non-responsibility  made within the previous four years by   any governmental entity where such prior finding  of  non-responsibility   was due to: (a) a violation of section one hundred thirty-nine-j of this   article,  or  (b)  the  intentional  provision  of  false  or incomplete   information to a governmental entity.3. The failure of an offerer to timely disclose accurate  or  complete   information to a governmental entity pursuant to subdivision two of this   section   shall  be  considered  by  such  governmental  entity  in  its   determination of the responsibility  of  such  offerer.  No  procurement   contract shall be awarded to any such offerer, its subsidiaries, and any   related   or  successor  entity  with  substantially  similar  function,   management, board of directors, officers and shareholders  (hereinafter,   for   the   purposes   of   this  subdivision,  "offerer"),  unless  the   governmental entity finds that the award of the procurement contract  to   the  offerer is necessary to protect public property or public health or   safety, and that the offerer is the only source capable of supplying the   required  article  of  procurement  within  the   necessary   timeframe,   provided,  that the governmental entity shall include in the procurement   record a statement describing the basis for such a finding.4. Upon any contact in the restricted period, the governmental  entity   shall  obtain  the  name,  address, telephone number, place of principal   employment and occupation of  the  person  or  organization  making  the   contact and inquire and record whether the person or organization making   such  contact was the offerer or was retained, employed or designated by   or on behalf of the offerer to appear before or contact the governmental    entity about the governmental procurement. All recorded  contacts  shall   be included in the procurement record for the procurement contract.5.  Any  procurement  contract award subject to the provisions of this   section and section one hundred  thirty-nine-j  of  this  article  shall   contain  a certification by the offerer that all information provided to   the procuring governmental  entity  with  respect  to  this  section  is   complete,  true  and  accurate, and each such procurement contract shall   contain a provision authorizing the  governmental  entity  to  terminate   such   contract   in  the  event  such  certification  is  found  to  be   intentionally false or intentionally incomplete. The governmental entity   shall include in the procurement record a statement describing the basis   for any action taken pursuant to such termination provision.6. Any communications received by a governmental entity  from  members   of  the  state  legislature, or legislative staffs, when acting in their   official capacity, shall not be considered to be a "contact" within  the   meaning  of  this  section  and  shall not be recorded by a governmental   entity pursuant to this section.* NB Repealed July 31, 2026