Brooklyn Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte says 2018 is “a critical year” for all Minority-and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBE).
Bichotte, who represents the 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn, said on Monday that the State Assembly this month will be voting on what she hopes will be “a robust MWBE Program, Article 15-A.
“The high-profile, Personal Net Worth legislation that I put forward last session, which passed both the Assembly and the Senate, was vetoed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo,” said Bichotte, Chair, Subcommittee, Oversight of MWBEs New York State Assembly.
“Another piece of legislation worth noting that was signed into law is the legislation, which allows New York City to increase its discretionary spending from $20K to $150K, which is still very limited.”
In the current legislative session, Bichotte said she has introduced several new bills, including the re-introduction of the elimination of the $3.5 million Personal Net Worth Bill (A9631).
Some of the other highlighted Bills include: Redefine the way an MWBE graduates out of the MWBE program instead of imposing a personal net work cap (Bill A9977); Increase NYC discretionary spending to $400K, including the School Construction Agency (SCA) (Bill A9813); and Municipalities and Localities having participation goals if receiving state contracts (Bill A453).
Other bills focus on conduct a study on the feasibility of a minority- and women-owned business for capacity enterprise mentorship program (Bill A230); and change the finance statute and public utilities law to include DASNY, OGS, DOH, DOT, CUNY, SUNY, Thruway, Bridges, and ESD to have capacity building and mentorship programs.
“I will continue to work as a strong advocate and utilize the recommendations from the 2016 Disparity Study and those garnered from members of the MWBE community to continue to fight for the strengthening of MWBEs,” Bichotte affirmed.
