New York — all political subdivisions
For New York, state and entity type is New York — all political subdivisions; entity type is all political subdivisions and districts, including soil conservation districts; spending category is public work (higher figure) and purchase contracts (lower figure); formal bid threshold (as stated in statute) is more than thirty-five thousand dollars; threshold (normalised) is $35,000 for public work; $20,000 for purchase contracts, recorded from its source on 2026-08-19.
- State and entity type
- New York — all political subdivisions our reading
- State
- New York our reading
- Entity type
- all political subdivisions and districts, including soil conservation districts our reading
- Spending category
- public work (higher figure) and purchase contracts (lower figure) our reading
- Formal bid threshold (as stated in statute)
- more than thirty-five thousand dollars verified
- Threshold (normalised)
- $35,000 for public work; $20,000 for purchase contracts our reading
- Informal quote tier
- below these figures the section treats a purchase as discretionary: no quotation procedure is set, but the reasonably expected aggregate of all purchases of the same commodities, services or technology over the following twelve months must be counted, purchases may not be artificially divided to satisfy the discretionary buying thresholds, and no change or renewal may bring the aggregate above the discretionary buying threshold amount (N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 103(1)) our reading
- Below the threshold
- a written local policy is mandatory, not optional: N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 104-b(1) requires the governing board of every political subdivision and district, by resolution, to adopt internal policies and procedures governing all procurements of goods and services that § 103 does not require to be competitively bid. So what governs a purchase below the § 103 discretionary thresholds is that locally adopted policy, and the statutory objectives it must serve — prudent and economical use of public moneys, maximum quality at the lowest possible cost, and a guard against favoritism, improvidence, extravagance, fraud and corruption. In cities with a population of one million or more the procurement policy board promulgates those policies and procedures by rule. our reading
- Indexation
- none in N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 103(1): both figures are spelled out in words in the operative sentence as flat amounts — 'more than thirty-five thousand dollars' for public work, 'more than twenty thousand dollars' for purchase contracts — and the subdivision states no index or formula. our reading
- Statutory citation
- N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 103(1) our reading
Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.
What the source says
all contracts for public work involving an expenditure of more than thirty-five thousand dollars and all purchase contracts involving an expenditure of more than twenty thousand dollars, shall be awarded by the appropriate officer, board or agency of a political subdivision or of any district therein including but not limited to a soil conservation district to the lowest responsible bidder
— nysenate.gov, retrieved 2026-08-19
Where each value comes from
These values are stated in different places, and not all on the same page, so each is shown with the passage that states it and the source that passage came from.
Informal quote tier
In determining whether a purchase is an expenditure within the discretionary threshold amounts established by this subdivision, the officer, board or agency of a political subdivision or of any district therein shall consider the reasonably expected aggregate amount of all purchases of the same commodities, services or technology to be made within the twelve-month period commencing on the date of purchase. Purchases of commodities, services or technology shall not be artificially divided for the purpose of satisfying the discretionary buying thresholds established by this subdivision. A change to or a renewal of a discretionary purchase shall not be permitted if the change or renewal would bring the reasonably expected aggregate amount of all purchases of the same commodities, services or technology from the same provider within the twelve-month period commencing on the date of the first purchase to an amount greater than the discretionary buying threshold amount.
— from nysenate.gov, retrieved 2026-08-19
Below the threshold
Goods and services which are not required by law to be procured by political subdivisions or any districts therein pursuant to competitive bidding must be procured in a manner so as to assure the prudent and economical use of public moneys in the best interests of the taxpayers of the political subdivision or district, to facilitate the acquisition of goods and services of maximum quality at the lowest possible cost under the circumstances, and to guard against favoritism, improvidence, extravagance, fraud and corruption. To further these objectives, the governing board of every political subdivision and any district therein, by resolution, shall adopt internal policies and procedures governing all procurements of goods and services which are not required to be made pursuant to the competitive bidding requirements of section one hundred three of this article or of any other general, special or local law.
— from law.onecle.com, retrieved 2026-08-19
Sources
- nysenate.govhttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GMU/103?format=raw
- law.onecle.comhttps://law.onecle.com/new-york/general-municipal/GMU0104-B_104-B.html
- newyork.public.lawhttps://newyork.public.law/laws/n.y._general_municipal_law_section_104-b