On
October 1, 2014, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that his Administration is
dramatically increasing its state contracting
utilization goal for minority- and women-owned enterprises to 30 percent. The press release announcing this increase can be viewed here: http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/10114-mwbe-contracting
Interestingly, the current increase in the state contracting utilization goal is not based
upon an updated disparity study. The last study was performed in 2010; based upon that study, the goal was set at 10%. Since 2010, the goal
has tripled to 30% without the support of an updated
disparity study. Can this be an election year?
This
new goal will place increasing pressure on contractors to develop compliant
minority participation plans and I would not be surprised if there is increased
scrutiny of those plans.
If
you need assistance in developing a minority plan, a compliance program, or
navigating M/W/DBE matters, feel free to
contact Connell Foley’s New York Construction Law Group
for guidance on this or any other construction related issue.
