Requires prompt payment within thirty days for not-for-profit organizations under procurement contracts with the city of New York.
Summary
This bill, titled the "get nonprofits paid act," would amend the New York City Charter to require the City of New York to pay not-for-profit organizations promptly under procurement contracts. Specifically, payments would have to be made within 30 days, excluding legal holidays, after the contract is executed and filed with the comptroller, so long as the contract terms call for payment. The bill is aimed at addressing delayed reimbursements and cash-flow problems that can arise when nonprofits perform city work before receiving payment.
The bill also creates limited exceptions to the 30-day payment rule. The comptroller could waive the timing requirement if the nonprofit contractor is provided a non-interest-bearing short-term loan through the returnable grant fund or another financial institution, and the requirement could also be waived during emergency measures when the mayor has declared a state of emergency. In those cases, the nonprofit would not be entitled to interest and would also be ineligible for advance payments on the contract. The bill would take effect three years after becoming law.
Impact
The bill would amend section 332 of the New York City Charter and would impose a new prompt-payment mandate on city procurement contracts with not-for-profit organizations. It would change city payment practices by creating a statutory deadline for payment and by limiting the city’s ability to delay payment beyond 30 days unless a loan-based waiver or emergency exception applies. The measure would directly affect nonprofit vendors that contract with New York City, as well as the comptroller and other city agencies involved in contract processing and payment administration.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and available context, the measure appears to be generally supportive of nonprofits and intended to improve their financial stability by reducing payment delays. There is no recorded committee debate or vote history in the provided materials, so no formal opposition or support is documented in the transcript record. The framing of the bill as the "get nonprofits paid act" suggests a policy goal that is likely to be viewed favorably by nonprofit service providers and advocates for timely government contracting payments.
Contention
The main policy tension in the bill is between prompt payment to nonprofit contractors and the city’s administrative or cash-management flexibility. The bill addresses this by allowing waivers through short-term, non-interest-bearing loans or during declared emergencies, which may be intended to preserve city fiscal control while still ensuring nonprofits are not left waiting indefinitely. Potential points of contention would likely involve whether the 30-day deadline is operationally feasible for city procurement systems, whether the waiver provisions are sufficient, and whether the three-year delayed effective date is too long or too short for implementation.