1. REVISED

2. Economic Development Specialist II
Presenters’ Contact Information
Mildred Polite Smith,
Director
OM/WBE Program Operations
Office of General Services
(518)
Virginia Lazzaro,
Team Leader
Customer Services
Procurement Services Group
Office of General Services
(518)
Sue Buckman,
Economic Development Specialist II
Division of Minority and Women’s Business Development
Empire State Development
(518)

3. ESTABLISHING THE MWBE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL AND THE MWBE
Executive Order No. 8
ESTABLISHING THE MWBE EXECUTIVE
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL AND THE MWBE
CORPORATE ROUNDTABLE
On February 8, 2007, Governor Eliot Spitzer
issued Executive Order No. 8 establishing a comprehensive, statewide Minority
and Women-Owned Business
Enterprise Program.

4. OGS Policy
PARTICIPATION BY MINORITY GROUP MEMBERS AND WOMEN WITH RESPECT TO STATE CONTRACTS It is the policy of the Office of General Services (OGS) to comply with the provisions of Article 15-A of the New York State Executive Law (Participation by Minority Group Members and Women with Respect to State Contracts) and the rules and regulations contained within 5 NYCRR Parts , and to ensure that minority group members, women and New York State certified Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) are given maximum practical opportunities to participate in OGS procurements involving equipment, supplies, services, design, and construction.

5. Participation by minority group members
NYS Executive Law Article 15-A
Article 15-A
Participation by minority group members
and women with respect to state
contracts
Article 15-A of the NYS Executive law
was enacted on July 19, 1988,
authorizing the creation of the Empire
State Development (ESD) Division of
Minority and Women’s Business
Development

6. A Minority-owned Business Enterprise (MBE) is:
A business enterprise that is at least 51 percent owned by citizens or permanent resident aliens who are…

7. Minority-owned Business Enterprise
Black persons having origins in any of the
Black African racial groups;
Hispanic persons of Mexican, Puerto
Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Central or
South American descent of either Indian
or Hispanic origin, regardless of race;

8. Minority-owned Business Enterprise
Asian and Pacific Islander persons having
origins in any of the far east countries,
Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent
the Pacific Islands; or
Native American or Alaskan native
persons having origins in any of the
original peoples of North America.

9. A Women-owned Business Enterprise (WBE) is:
A business enterprise that is at least 51 percent owned by citizens or permanent resident aliens who are women.

10. A business enterprise that is independently owned, operated and
M/WBE Certification
A business enterprise that is
independently owned, operated and
controlled by a minority group member
and/or woman is eligible to obtain
certification from ESD.
The ownership interest must have the
authority to independently control the
business decisions of the enterprise.

11. Under Article 15-A, State Agencies are responsible for:
State Agency Responsibilities
Under Article 15-A, State Agencies are responsible for:
Preparing and submitting an annual goal
plan to ESD.
Compiling and submitting annual and
quarterly reports to ESD.
Establishing agency-wide goals (Expressed
as a percentage of total agency
expenditures).

12. State Agency Responsibilities (continued)
Evaluating procurement processes to identify
opportunities for participation by certified
Minority/Women-owned business enterprises.
Setting goals for certified MBE and WBE
participation in contracts in excess of $25,000
($100,000 for construction).
Outreach and recruitment.
Ensuring agency and contractor compliance
with the requirements of Article 15-A.

13. Where to Find ESD Certified M/WBEs
The Empire State Development Minority and
Women-owned Business Searchable
Database is located at
The database contains approximately 7000+
certified Minority and Women-owned Business
Enterprises.
Making this search a part of your procurement
processes will help you to, identify M/WBEs,
increase M/WBE participation and achieve
participation goals.

14. Discretionary Purchases
Discretionary Purchases are not subject to NYS competitive bidding requirements, but must be advertised in the Contract Reporter over $15,000 and have prior approval by OSC over $50,000.
Discretionary transactions for goods/services cannot exceed $50,000 except for printing, which cannot exceed $5,000.

15. Discretionary Purchases (continued)
State Agencies have discretion to purchase
commodities or services not available from a
preferred source or under OGS contracts up to
$100,000 under the following circumstances:
Purchases from ESD certified MBEs or
WBEs
NYS Resident Small Businesses, or
Purchases of commodities or technology
that are recycled or remanufactured

16. To find PSG contract information go to: www.ogs.state.ny.us/purchase
OGS Procurement Services
OGS Procurement Services Group contracts include a designation on the contractor information page indicating if the contractor is a New York State ESD certified M/WBE.
To find PSG contract information go to:

17. Miscellaneous Office Supplies

18. How to Find ESD Certified M/WBEs
This is the opening screen for the Minority & Women-owned Businesses Searchable Database.
This is
where you
will begin
your search
for certified
M/WBEs.

19. How to Find ESD Certified M/WBEs (continued)
Since system defaults have been pre-set you can perform a broad search by Starting Here.
Using the box to the left scroll down and select the product
codes or
description
you need.
Press Ctrl
to make
more
than one
choice,
then hit
“Search.”

20. Tips for Conducting a Search
To make your search more effective, limit the
number of options you select. ALL records are
searched by default if nothing is selected. When
choosing check boxes and radio buttons, DO NOT
select the ALL Category. 
When selecting from the list boxes (Counties, SIC
and Product Codes), try to limit your selections as
much as possible.
Once your search has been conducted, you can
print your query results by selecting "Print Report."

21. For More Information about the OGS M/WBE Program
Contact
The Office of Minority/Women-owned Business Enterprise Program Operations (OM/WBEO):
Van E. Holland
OM/WBE Program
Operations Specialist
Mildred Polite Smith
Director, OM/WBE Program Operations
Telephone: (518)

22. Questions and Answers ?

23. Economic Development Specialist II
Presenters’ Contact Information
Mildred Polite Smith,
Director
OM/WBE Program Operations
Office of General Services
(518)
Virginia Lazzaro,
Team Leader
Customer Services
Procurement Services Group
Office of General Services
(518)
Sue Buckman,
Economic Development Specialist II
Division of Minority and Women’s Business Development
Empire State Development
(518)