Bill Text: NY A04905 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires a surety bond for contractors and subcontractors where no public fund has been established for the financing of a public improvement.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-10 - referred to judiciary [A04905 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A04905-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4905

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 10, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. HUNTER, COLTON, SIMON, JACOBSON -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Judiciary

        AN ACT to amend the lien law, in relation to requiring a surety bond for
          contractors and subcontractors where no public fund  has  been  estab-
          lished for the financing of a public improvement

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 5 of the lien law, as amended by chapter 155 of the
     2  laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 5. Liens under contracts for public improvements. A person  perform-
     4  ing  labor  for  or  furnishing  materials to a contractor, [his or her]
     5  their subcontractor or legal representative,  for  the  construction  or
     6  demolition  of  a  public  improvement  pursuant  to  a contract by such
     7  contractor with the state or a public corporation, and any trust fund to
     8  which benefits and wage supplements are due or payable for  the  benefit
     9  of such person performing labor, shall have a lien for the principal and
    10  interest  of the value or agreed price of such labor, including benefits
    11  and wage supplements due or  payable  for  the  benefit  of  any  person
    12  performing  labor,  or materials upon the moneys of the state or of such
    13  corporation  applicable  to  the  construction  or  demolition  of  such
    14  improvement,  to  the  extent of the amount due or to become due on such
    15  contract, and under a judgment of the court of  claims  awarded  to  the
    16  contractor  for  damages arising from the breach of such contract by the
    17  state, or awarded for furnishing labor or materials not contemplated  by
    18  the  provisions  of  said  contract,  upon  filing  a  notice of lien as
    19  prescribed in this  article,  except  as  hereinafter  in  this  article
    20  provided. Where no public fund has been established for the financing of
    21  a  public improvement with estimated cost in excess of two hundred fifty
    22  thousand dollars, the chief financial officer of the public owner  shall
    23  require the private entity for whom the public improvement is being made
    24  to  post,  or  cause to be posted, a surety bond issued by a surety duly

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09174-01-5
        A. 4905                             2

     1  licensed in the state of New York or  [other  form  of  undertaking]  an
     2  irrevocable  letter  of  credit,  in  an amount equal to the cost of the
     3  construction work guaranteeing prompt  payment  of  moneys  due  to  the
     4  contractor,  [his  or  her]  their  subcontractors  and  to  all persons
     5  furnishing labor or materials to the contractor or [his  or  her]  their
     6  subcontractors in the prosecution of the work on the public improvement.
     7    §  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately  and shall apply to
     8  contracts entered into on or after such effective date.