S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
7855
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
May 19, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SCHIMMINGER -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, the state finance law, and
the labor law, in relation to project labor agreements for public work
projects
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "public
construction savings act".
S 2. Subdivision 1 of section 103 of the general municipal law, as
amended by section 1 of part FF of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is
amended to read as follows:
1. Except as otherwise expressly provided by an act of the legislature
or by a local law adopted prior to September first, nineteen hundred
fifty-three, 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 furnishing
the required security after advertisement for sealed bids in the manner
provided by this section. In any case where a responsible bidder's gross
price is reducible by an allowance for the value of used machinery,
equipment, apparatus or tools to be traded in by a political subdivi-
sion, the gross price shall be reduced by the amount of such allowance,
for the purpose of determining the low bid. In cases where two or more
responsible bidders furnishing the required security submit identical
bids as to price, such officer, board or agency may award the contract
to any of such bidders. Such officer, board or agency may, in his or her
or its discretion, reject all bids and readvertise for new bids in the
manner provided by this section. In determining whether a purchase is an
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08866-02-1
A. 7855 2
expenditure within the discretionary threshold amounts established by
this subdivision, the officer, board or agency of a political subdivi-
sion 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 permit-
ted if the change or renewal would bring the reasonably expected aggre-
gate amount of all purchases of the same commodities, services or tech-
nology from the same provider within the twelve-month period commencing
on the date of the first purchase to an amount greater than the discre-
tionary buying threshold amount. For purposes of this section, "sealed
bids", as that term applies to purchase contracts, shall include bids
submitted in an electronic format including submission of the statement
of non-collusion required by section one hundred three-d of this arti-
cle, provided that the governing board of the political subdivision or
district, by resolution, has authorized the receipt of bids in such
format. Submission in electronic format may, for technology contracts
only, be required as the sole method for the submission of bids. Bids
submitted in an electronic format shall be transmitted by bidders to the
receiving device designated by the political subdivision or district.
Any method used to receive electronic bids shall comply with article
three of the state technology law, and any rules and regulations promul-
gated and guidelines developed thereunder and, at a minimum, must (a)
document the time and date of receipt of each bid received electron-
ically; (b) authenticate the identity of the sender; (c) ensure the
security of the information transmitted; and (d) ensure the confiden-
tiality of the bid until the time and date established for the opening
of bids. The timely submission of an electronic bid in compliance with
instructions provided for such submission in the advertisement for bids
and/or the specifications shall be the responsibility solely of each
bidder or prospective bidder. No political subdivision or district ther-
ein shall incur any liability from delays of or interruptions in the
receiving device designated for the submission and receipt of electronic
bids. A CONTRACTOR BIDDING ON A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL ISSUED 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, OFFERING AN OPTIONAL PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT PURSUANT TO PARA-
GRAPH (A) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO OF THE
LABOR LAW, MAY SUBMIT A BID THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE A PROJECT LABOR AGREE-
MENT, AND SUCH CONTRACT FOR PUBLIC WORK SHALL BE AWARDED TO THE CONTRAC-
TOR WITH THE LOW BID REGARDLESS OF WHETHER A PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT WAS
INCLUDED IN A CONTRACTOR'S BID PROPOSAL.
S 3. Subdivision 1 of section 103 of the general municipal law, as
amended by section 2 of part FF of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is
amended to read as follows:
1. Except as otherwise expressly provided by an act of the legislature
or by a local law adopted prior to September first, nineteen hundred
fifty-three, 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 furnishing
A. 7855 3
the required security after advertisement for sealed bids in the manner
provided by this section. 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 subdivi-
sion 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 discre-
tionary 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. In any case where a responsible bidder's gross price
is reducible by an allowance for the value of used machinery, equipment,
apparatus or tools to be traded in by a political subdivision, the gross
price shall be reduced by the amount of such allowance, for the purpose
of determining the low bid. In cases where two or more responsible
bidders furnishing the required security submit identical bids as to
price, such officer, board or agency may award the contract to any of
such bidders. Such officer, board or agency may, in his, her or its
discretion, reject all bids and readvertise for new bids in the manner
provided by this section. A CONTRACTOR BIDDING ON A REQUEST FOR
PROPOSAL ISSUED BY THE APPROPRIATE OFFICER, BOARD OR AGENCY OF A POLI-
TICAL SUBDIVISION OR OF ANY DISTRICT THEREIN, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED
TO A SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICT, OFFERING AN OPTIONAL PROJECT LABOR
AGREEMENT PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (A) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION TWO
HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO OF THE LABOR LAW, MAY SUBMIT A BID THAT DOES NOT
INCLUDE A PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT, AND SUCH CONTRACT FOR PUBLIC WORK
SHALL BE AWARDED TO THE CONTRACTOR WITH THE LOW BID REGARDLESS OF WHETH-
ER A PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT WAS INCLUDED IN A CONTRACTOR'S BID
PROPOSAL.
S 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 148 to
read as follows:
S 148. PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS. A CONTRACTOR BIDDING ON A REQUEST
FOR PROPOSAL ISSUED BY AN OFFICER, BOARD, DEPARTMENT, COMMISSION OR
COMMISSIONS FOR THE ERECTION, CONSTRUCTION OR ALTERATION OF BUILDINGS
FOR THE STATE, OFFERING AN OPTIONAL PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT PURSUANT TO
PARAGRAPH (A) OF SUBDIVISION TWO OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO OF
THE LABOR LAW, MAY SUBMIT A BID THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE A PROJECT LABOR
AGREEMENT AND SUCH CONTRACT FOR PUBLIC WORK SHALL BE AWARDED TO THE
CONTRACTOR WITH THE LOW BID REGARDLESS OF WHETHER A PROJECT LABOR AGREE-
MENT WAS INCLUDED IN A CONTRACTOR'S BID PROPOSAL.
S 5. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 222 of the labor law,
as added by section 18 of part MM of chapter 57 of the laws of 2008, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Any agency, board, department, commission or officer of the state
of New York, or of any political subdivision thereof as defined in
section one hundred of the general municipal law, municipal corporation
as defined in section sixty-six of the general construction law, public
benefit corporation, or local or state authority as defined in section
two of the public authorities law having jurisdiction over the public
work may NOT require[a contractor awarded a contract, subcontract,
lease, grant, bond, covenant or other agreement for a project to enter
A. 7855 4
into], BUT MAY OFFER AS AN OPTION, PARTICIPATION IN a project labor
agreement [during and for the work involved with such project when such
requirement is], AND SHALL NOTIFY EACH CONTRACTOR OF THE OPTION TO
INCLUDE OR NOT INCLUDE PARTICIPATION IN A PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT WITH
ITS BID, AS part of the agency, board, department, commission or officer
of the state of New York, political subdivision, municipal corporation,
public benefit corporation or local or state authority having jurisdic-
tion over the public work request for proposals for the project and when
the agency, board, department, commission or officer of the state of New
York, political subdivision, municipal corporation, public benefit
corporation or local or state authority having jurisdiction over the
public work determines that its interest in obtaining the best work at
the lowest possible price, preventing favoritism, fraud and corruption,
and other considerations such as the impact of delay, the possibility of
cost savings advantages, and any local history of labor unrest, are best
met by requiring a project labor agreement, BUT SHALL IN ANY EVENT
AWARD THE SUBCONTRACT, LEASE, CONTRACT, GRANT, BOND, COVENANT OR OTHER
AGREEMENT FOR A PROJECT TO THE CONTRACTOR WITH THE LOW BID REGARDLESS OF
WHETHER A PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENT WAS INCLUDED IN THE CONTRACTOR'S BID
PROPOSAL.
S 6. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
have become a law, and shall control all contracts advertised or solic-
ited for bid on or after the effective date of this act under the
provisions of any law requiring contracts to be let pursuant to
provisions of law amended by this act; provided, however that the amend-
ments to subdivision 1 of section 103 of the general municipal law made
by section two of this act shall be subject to the expiration and rever-
sion of such subdivision pursuant to subdivision (a) of section 41 of
part X of chapter 62 of the laws of 2003, as amended, when upon such
date the provisions of section three of this act shall take effect.