Bill > A03848

This bill amends the General Municipal Law to raise the thresholds for when local government agencies must seek sealed bids for public contracts. Specifically, the bill increases the threshold for public works contracts from $35,000 to $125,000 and the threshold for purchase contracts from $20,000 to $80,000. When these monetary thresholds are reached, local government entities must advertise for sealed bids and award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder. The bill also allows for some flexibility in bid awarding, such as the ability to use "best value" criteria for purchase contracts in certain circumstances, and permits electronic bid submissions with appropriate security and authentication measures. Additionally, the bill clarifies that purchases cannot be artificially divided to circumvent the bidding thresholds, and that the aggregate value of purchases within a 12-month period should be considered when determining whether sealed bids are required. The bill uses gender-neutral language by replacing "his or her" with "their" and provides technical amendments to ensure proper implementation of the new thresholds.

Government Affairs

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A3848