Share:
House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 7, 2016 09:56 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Jake Wheatley, Jr. |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Participation in State Procurement Legislation: |
| In the near future, I will be re-introducing legislation – former House Bill 85 – intended to promote participation by small disadvantaged businesses in Commonwealth procurement. Briefly, my proposal would amend Chapter 21 (Small and Disadvantaged Businesses) of Title 62 (Procurement) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. The current statutory definition of “disadvantaged business” would be modified to include veterans and service-disabled veterans. Consequently, under my legislation, individuals who served in our Armed Forces, including veterans who suffered disabling harm as a result of military service, would have the same opportunities to participate in Commonwealth procurement as women and people of color. The legislation would, among other things, give the Department of General Services the authority to waive the small business employment limit (100 or fewer employees) and accept the certification of any disadvantaged businesses certified under the State Unified Certification program. Governmental agencies would also be given the authority to establish disadvantaged business utilization programs, either by adopting and implementing the Department of General Services’ disadvantaged business utilization program or by developing their own program. The bill would apply to any “governmental agency, which would include Commonwealth agencies, local agencies, independent agencies, state-affiliated entities and state-related institutions. Furthermore, the proposed legislation would create a mentor-protégé program and a small business reserve program. A surety bond guarantee program, administered by the Department of Community and Economic Development, would also be created for the express purpose of assisting disadvantaged business to competitively bid for certain Commonwealth contracts. Finally, my proposal would require a contractor or subcontractor to pay any subcontractor the full or proportional amount received for the subcontractor’s work and material within seven days of receipt of a progress payment from a governmental agency, rather than the current law requirement of 14 days. The amount of any payment received by a subcontractor would be based on the work completed or services provided under the subcontract. Please support Pennsylvania’s small disadvantaged businesses by co-sponsoring this legislation. Previous Cosponsors: KINSEY, C. PARKER, DAVIDSON, COHEN, THOMAS, MURT, GOODMAN AND MAHONEY |