NY Pub Auth L § 1265-B (2021)
2021 New York Laws PBA - Public Authorities Article 5 - Public Utility Authorities Title 11 - Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority 1265-B - Metropolitan Transportation Authority Small Business Mentoring Program.

* §  1265-b.    Metropolitan  transportation  authority small business mentoring program. 1. Definitions. As used in this section,  unless  the context  requires  otherwise:  (a)  "authority"  means  the metropolitan transportation authority and its subsidiaries  consisting  of  the  Long Island   rail  road  company,  Metro-North  commuter  railroad  company, metropolitan  suburban  bus  authority,  Staten  Island  rapid   transit operating  authority,  MTA  bus,  MTA  capital construction company, and first  mutual  transportation  assurance  company,  and  its  affiliates consisting of the New York City transit authority, triborough bridge and tunnel  authority,  and  Manhattan  and  Bronx surface transit operating authority;  (b)  "chairman"  means  the  chairman  of  the   authority   and   its subsidiaries and affiliates;  (c) "small business" means a business in the construction trades which (i)  is  independently  owned and operated; (ii) has annual revenues not exceeding a fiscal limitation of five million  dollars  or  such  lesser amount as established by the authority pursuant to these provisions; and (iii) meets additional criteria as otherwise established by the chairman in  consultation  with  the  members of the MTA small business mentoring program advisory committee. The chair of  the  committee  shall  be  the chief  diversity  officer  of  the  MTA. The authority shall establish a detailed definition in general and specific to different segments of the construction industry to  the  extent  necessary  to  reflect  differing characteristics  of  such  segments  based  on  the criteria used by the United  States  small  business  administration  for  loans   to   small businesses  as  set  forth  in  Sections 121.301 through 121.305, or for awarding government  procurements  as  set  forth  in  Sections  121.401 through  121.413,  of  Subpart A of Part 121 of Chapter I of Title 13 of the Code of Federal Regulations as amended, and such other  criteria  as determined by the authority;  (d) "small business mentoring program" is a program established by the authority  pursuant  to  these  provisions  to  provide small businesses accepted into the program with the opportunity:  (i) for up to four years,  to  compete  for  and,  where  awarded,  to perform  certain authority public work contracts to be designated by the authority for inclusion in this program under  this  subparagraph,  with the  assistance  of  an authority-provided mentor, which shall be a firm competitively selected by the authority that has extensive  construction management  and  mentoring  experience,  with  the mentor to provide the small business with advice and assistance in competing for and  managing authority public work contracts; and  (ii)  for  a  small  business  mentoring program participant which the authority has determined has successfully completed  the  program  under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, for up to four additional years, (A) additional   opportunities   to  compete  with  other  designated  small businesses in the program  for  certain  public  work  contracts  to  be designated  for inclusion under this subparagraph and, where awarded, to perform  such  authority  public  work  contracts,  with   the   further assistance  of  an  authority-provided  mentor,  which  shall  be a firm competitively selected by the authority that has extensive  construction management  and  mentoring  experience,  with  the mentor to provide the small business with advice and technical assistance in competing for and managing authority public work  contracts,  and  (B)  authority-provided assistance, as determined by the authority, for such a small business to obtain  bonding for public work contracts that are competitively awarded pursuant to provisions of law other than this section.  (e) "small business mentoring program contract" means a  non-federally funded authority public work contract designated by the authority, in an  estimated  amount  of  not  more  than one million dollars for contracts under subparagraph (i) of paragraph (d) of this  subdivision  and  three million  dollars  for contracts under subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (d) of  this  subdivision, for which bids or proposals are to be invited and accepted only from businesses that are enrolled in  the  small  business mentoring program and have been selected by the authority to compete for the contract.   2. Small business mentoring program. (a) Pursuant to these provisions, the  authority  may  establish  a  small  business mentoring program. In connection therewith, the authority may determine the criteria  pursuant to  which  a  small  business  shall  be  eligible  for  and selected to participate in the program under subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (d) of subdivision one of this section, the number  of  participants  to participate in each such components of the program, the criteria for the competitive  selection  of  the firms that will provide small businesses with mentoring services, the assignment of a mentor to a specific  small business  in  the  small business mentoring program, and the funding for the program.  (b) Under the small business mentoring program, the  chairman  or  the chairman's  designee  is authorized, notwithstanding any other provision of law:  (i) to designate which eligible public work contracts shall  be  small business mentoring program contracts under subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (d) of subdivision one of this section, respectively;  (ii)  to  establish  standards for qualifying small business mentoring program participants to compete for a small business  mentoring  program contract, provided that no less than three qualified small businesses in the program must submit responsive offers to perform the contract;  (iii)  to  determine  when  bids  or  proposals  for  a small business mentoring program  contract  should  be  restricted  to  small  business mentoring  program  participants  which, prior to the receipt of bids or proposals, have been qualified by the authority for such competition;  (iv) to competitively select, designate and contract with one or  more experienced  construction  management  firms  that,  under  the  general supervision of the authority, will provide  mentoring  services  to  the small  businesses participating in the small business mentoring program, and to assign such mentors  one  or  more  designated  small  businesses participating in the program;  (v)  for  small  business  mentoring  program contracts, except as set forth herein, to waive requirements for the solicitation and award of  a public  work  contract  pursuant to sections twelve hundred nine, twelve hundred sixty-five-a  and  twenty-eight  hundred  seventy-nine  of  this chapter and any other provision of law;  (vi) to assist only small business mentoring program participants that have  been  awarded small business mentoring program contracts to obtain any surety bond or contract of insurance required of them in  connection with  such  contract  only  notwithstanding any provision of section two thousand five hundred four of the insurance law to the contrary; and  (vii) for small businesses that have  been  accepted  into  the  small business  mentoring  program under subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (d) of subdivision one of this section, in addition to  the  benefits  of  such program  and  notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of law, to provide technical assistance in obtaining bid, payment and  performance  bonding for  authority  public  work  contracts  that  are  not  small  business mentoring program contracts, for which the small business  is  otherwise qualified.   3.  Withdrawal  of  designation  of  small  business mentoring program contracts. (a) If the total number of qualified small business mentoring  program participants that respond to a competition  and  are  considered capable  of  meeting  the  specifications and terms of the invitation to compete is less than  three,  or  if  the  chairman  or  the  chairman's designee determines that acceptance of the best offer will result in the payment  of  an  unreasonable price, the authority may reject all offers and withdraw the  designation  of  the  contract  as  a  small  business mentoring program contract.  (b)  If the authority withdraws the designation of contract as a small business mentoring program contract, the firms, if any, that made offers shall be  notified.  Invitations  to  compete  containing  the  same  or rewritten  specifications  and  terms shall then be re-issued as a small business mentoring program contract for one or more additional  contract period.   4.  Construction  manager mentors. A mentor shall provide services and assistance to a small business as designated by the authority, which may include the following: (a)  provide  business  training  in  the  skills necessary  to  operate a successful construction business and to compete for and perform a public work contract;  (b) provide technical assistance to the small business to  assess  the outcome  if  the  small  business  competes  for  but  is  not awarded a contract;  (c) if the small business mentoring program contract is awarded to the small business, provide guidance, advice and technical assistance to the small business in the performance of the contract;  (d) provide other  technical  assistance  to  the  small  business  to facilitate learning, training and other issues which may arise.   5.  The  authority  may  delegate  to  the  chairman or the chairman's designee, the authority's responsibilities set forth herein.   6. The small business mentoring program contracts authorized  by  this legislation  shall,  for  the  initial  year  of  the  program, be in an aggregate amount of not less than ten million  dollars,  and  shall  not exceed  one  hundred  million dollars, with the maximum amount in future years to be set by the chairman.   * NB Repealed December 31, 2029