Relates to cooperative purchasing agreements for public works

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Jeremy Cooney says this is needed

Cooperative purchasing agreements have become increasingly common among local governments seeking cost savings and procurement efficiencies. However, the expanded use of contracts awarded outside New York State, particularly in public works construction and Job Order Contracting (JOC) arrangements has raised significant concerns regarding oversight, labor protections, and adherence to New York's procurement standards. New York maintains some of the strongest public bidding and prevailing wage protections in the nation to ensure transparency, fair competition, worker protection, and accountability in the expenditure of public funds. Contracts awarded by jurisdictions outside the State may not follow equivalent standards and can undermine New York's carefully established safeguards. This legislation preserves the ability of muni- cipalities to utilize cooperative purchasing agreements while ensuring that public works construction projects remain subject to New York law. By requiring public works cooperative contracts to originate from New York political subdivisions and comply fully with state procurement and labor stand- ards, this bill strengthens transparency, improves prevailing wage enforcement, and ensures appropriate trade classifications on publicly funded projects.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.