Assemblymember Angelo Santabarbara (D-Rotterdam) announced that the “Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Act,” which he co-sponsored, has passed in the Assembly (A.9135). The act establishes a program to increase participation of service-disabled veteran-owned businesses in state contracting as a significant step in expanding economic opportunities for veterans.

“This act is long overdue in New York,” Assemblyman Santabarbara said. “This is a positive step toward giving the men and women who sacrifice so much for our country the opportunities they deserve. We need to continue to support our military heroes through acts like this one.

With passage of the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Act, New York will join 44 other states and the federal government in implementing a program to help self-employed service-disabled veterans gain more state contracts. However, this act doubles the federal standard to 6% for awarding contracts to businesses owned by service-disabled veterans.

New York is home to more than 900,000 veterans, 72 percent of whom have served during periods of conflict. There are approximately 35,485 veterans living in Albany, Schenectady and Montgomery counties, according to the 2010 census. In addition, 1 in 7 veterans are self-employed or small-business owners.

This act creates the Division of Service-Disabled Veterans’ Business Development within the Office of General Services (OGS). To qualify, small businesses must be at least 51 percent owned by a service-disabled veteran who controls day-to-day operations. The businesses will be certified for five years.

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