2023 New York Laws › VET - Veterans' Services Law › Article 3 - Participation by Service-Disabled Veterans With Respect to State Contracts › 41 - Division of Service-Disabled Veterans' Business Development.

§  41. Division of service-disabled veterans' business development. 1.
The  head  of  the  division  of  service-disabled  veterans'   business
development shall be the director who shall be appointed by the governor
and who shall hold office at the pleasure of the commissioner.
2.  The  director  may  appoint  such  deputies, assistants, and other
employees as may be needed for the performance of the duties  prescribed
herein  subject to the provisions of the civil service law and the rules
and regulations of  the  civil  service  commission.  The  director  may
request  and  shall  receive  from  any (i) department, division, board,
bureau, or executive commission of the state or (ii) state agency,  such
assistance  as  may  be  necessary  to  carry out the provisions of this
article.
3. The director shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) Develop, collect, summarize and disseminate information that  will
be  helpful  to  persons  and  organizations  throughout  the  state  in
undertaking or promoting the establishment and successful operation of a
service-disabled veteran-owned business.
(b) Develop and make  available  to  state  agencies  a  directory  of
certified  service-disabled  veteran-owned  business  enterprises  which
shall, wherever  practicable,  be  divided  into  categories  of  labor,
services,  supplies,  equipment,  materials  and recognized construction
trades and which shall indicate areas or locations of  the  state  where
such enterprises are available to perform services. Such directory shall
be posted on the office of general services website.
(c) Assist state agencies in the development of programs to foster and
promote  the  use of service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises
on state contracts.
(d) Coordinate  the  plans,  programs  and  operations  of  the  state
government   which  affect  or  may  contribute  to  the  establishment,
preservation and development of service-disabled veteran-owned  business
enterprises.
(e)  To  appoint independent hearing officers who by contract or terms
of employment shall preside over adjudicatory hearings pursuant to  this
section for the office and who are assigned no other work by the office.
(f)  In  conjunction  with  the  commissioner, develop a comprehensive
statewide plan and operational guidelines  to  promote  service-disabled
veteran-owned  business  enterprises  and  to  assist  them in obtaining
opportunities to participate in the procurement of goods and services by
the state, including  identification  of  barriers  to  service-disabled
veterans' business development and investigation and evaluation of their
impact on achieving the objectives of this article.
4. The commissioner shall:
(a)   Coordinate  training  of  all  procurement  personnel  of  state
agencies, emphasizing increased sensitivity and  responsiveness  to  the
unique needs and requirements of service-disabled veteran-owned business
enterprises.
(b)  Conduct  a  coordinated review of all existing and proposed state
training and technical assistance activities in direct  support  of  the
service-disabled   veterans'  business  development  program  to  assure
consistency with the objectives of this article.
(c) Evaluate and assess availability  of  firms  for  the  purpose  of
increasing   participation   of  such  firms  in  state  contracting  in
consultation with relevant state entities including, but not limited to,
the New York state department of veterans' services.
(d)   Provide   advice   and   technical   assistance    to    promote
service-disabled  veteran-owned  business  enterprises' understanding of
state procurement laws,  practices  and  procedures  to  facilitate  and

increase  the  participation  of service-disabled veteran-owned business
enterprises in state procurement.
(e)   Establish   regular   performance  reporting  systems  regarding
implementation of the programs  designed  to  increase  service-disabled
veteran-owned  business  participation in procurement contracts by state
agencies.
(f) Submit a report by the thirty-first of December each year, to  the
governor,  the  temporary  president  of  the senate, the speaker of the
assembly and the chairpersons of the senate finance  and  assembly  ways
and  means  committees. Such report shall include information including,
but not limited to, the number of contracts  entered  into  pursuant  to
this  article,  the  average  amount  of  such  contracts, the number of
service-disabled  veteran-owned  business  enterprises  certified,   the
number   of   applications   for  certification  as  a  service-disabled
veteran-owned business  enterprise,  the  number  of  denials  for  such
certification, the number of appeals of such denials, and the outcome of
such   appeals   and   the  average  time  that  is  required  for  such
certification to be completed. Also to be included shall be the level of
service-disabled veteran-owned businesses participating in each agency's
contracts for goods and services and on activities of the  division  and
efforts   by   each   contracting   agency  to  promote  utilization  of
service-disabled veteran-owned businesses and to  promote  and  increase
participation  by  certified  service-disabled  veteran-owned businesses
with respect to state contracts and  subcontracts  to  such  businesses.
Such  report may recommend new activities and programs to effectuate the
purposes of this article.
5. Certification. (a) The director, or in the absence of the director,
the commissioner, within ninety days  of  the  effective  date  of  this
article,  shall  promulgate  rules  and  regulations  providing  for the
establishment of a statewide certification program including  rules  and
regulations  governing  the  approval, denial, or revocation of any such
certification. Such rules and regulations  shall  include,  but  not  be
limited  to,  such  matters  as  may  be  required  to  ensure  that the
established procedures thereunder shall at least be in  compliance  with
the  code  of  fair  procedure set forth in section seventy-three of the
civil rights law.
(b) The division of service-disabled  veterans'  business  development
shall  be responsible for verifying businesses as being owned, operated,
and controlled by a service-disabled veteran  and  for  certifying  such
verified  businesses.  Status  as a service-disabled veteran pursuant to
paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be documented by a copy  of  the
veteran's   certificate  of  release  or  discharge  from  active  duty,
including but not limited to, a DD-214  form  or  an  honorable  service
certificate/report  of casualty from the Department of Defense, a letter
of certification by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs  or
the  United  States Department of Defense and any additional information
that may be required  by  the  division  of  service-disabled  veterans'
business  development. In the case of the New York guard or the New York
naval militia and/or reserves  thereof,  status  as  a  service-disabled
veteran pursuant to this paragraph shall be documented pursuant to rules
and  regulations  promulgated  by the director, or in the absence of the
director, the commissioner.
(c) Following application for certification pursuant to this  section,
the  director  shall  provide  the  applicant with written notice of the
status  of  the  application,  including  notice  of   any   outstanding
deficiencies,  within  thirty days. Within sixty days of submission of a
final completed application, the director shall  provide  the  applicant
with  written  notice  of  a  determination by the director approving or

denying such certification and, in the event of a  denial,  a  statement
setting  forth the reasons for such denial. Upon a determination denying
or  revoking  certification,   the   business   enterprise   for   which
certification  has been so denied or revoked shall, upon written request
made within thirty days from receipt of notice of such determination, be
entitled to a hearing before an independent hearing  officer  designated
for  such  purpose  by  the  director. In the event that a request for a
hearing is not made within such thirty-day  period,  such  determination
shall  be  deemed  to  be  final.  The independent hearing officer shall
conduct a hearing and upon the  conclusion  of  such  hearing,  issue  a
written  recommendation  to  the  director to affirm, reverse, or modify
such determination of the director. Such written recommendation shall be
issued to the parties. The director, within thirty days, by order,  must
accept,  reject or modify such recommendation of the hearing officer and
set forth in writing the reason therefor. The  director  shall  serve  a
copy  of such order and reasons therefor upon the business enterprise by
personal service or by certified  mail  return  receipt  requested.  The
order  of  the  director  shall be subject to review pursuant to article
seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.
(d) All certifications shall be valid for a period of five years.