Bill Text: NY S05994 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Establishes a registration system for contractors and subcontractors engaged in public work and covered projects in order to better enforce existing labor laws and regulations in the public works industry.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-4)
Status: (Passed) 2022-12-30 - APPROVAL MEMO.105 [S05994 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S05994-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Establishes a registration system for contractors and subcontractors engaged in public work and covered projects in order to better enforce existing labor laws and regulations in the public works industry.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-4)
Status: (Passed) 2022-12-30 - APPROVAL MEMO.105 [S05994 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S05994-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5994 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 25, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. RYAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to establishing a registra- tion system for contractors and subcontractors engaged in public work projects in order to better enforce existing labor laws and regu- lations in the public works industry The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 220-i to 2 read as follows: 3 § 220-i. Registration system for contractors and subcontractors. 1. 4 As used in this section: 5 a. "Contractor" means any contractor or subcontractor entering into a 6 contract to perform construction, demolition, reconstruction, exca- 7 vation, rehabilitation, repair, installation, renovation, alteration, or 8 custom fabrication, which is subject to the provisions of this article. 9 b. "Bureau" means the department's bureau of public works. 10 2. a. Prior to submitting a bid on a contract for a public work, a 11 contractor shall register in writing with the bureau on a form provided 12 by the commissioner. The form shall require the following information: 13 i. The name, principal business address and telephone number of the 14 contractor. 15 ii. Whether the contractor is a person, partnership, association, 16 joint stock company, trust, corporation, or other form of business enti- 17 ty. 18 iii. The name and address of each person with a financial interest in 19 the contractor and the percentage interest, except that if the contrac- 20 tor is a publicly-traded corporation, the contractor shall supply the 21 names and addresses of the corporation's officers. 22 iv. The contractor's tax identification number and unemployment insur- 23 ance registration number. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01736-01-1S. 5994 2 1 v. Whether the contractor has any outstanding wage assessments against 2 it, pursuant to this article. 3 vi. Whether the contractor has been debarred under New York or federal 4 law within the last ten years. 5 vii. Whether the contractor has been debarred pursuant to the laws of 6 any other state within the last ten years. 7 viii. Whether the contractor has been finally determined by the appro- 8 priate authority to have violated any labor laws or employment tax laws 9 including, but not limited to, the requirement to have workers' compen- 10 sation coverage, payment of workers' compensation premiums, deduction 11 and payment of income taxes, payment of unemployment insurance contrib- 12 utions or payment of prevailing wage. 13 ix. Whether the contractor has been finally determined by the appro- 14 priate authority to have violated any laws establishing workplace safety 15 standards including the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act. 16 x. Whether or not the contractor is associated, or a signatory to, an 17 apprenticeship program under article twenty-three of this chapter. If 18 so, the apprenticeship program shall be provided by the contractor. 19 xi. Whether or not the contractor is a minority or women-owned busi- 20 ness enterprise pursuant to the provisions of article fifteen-A of the 21 executive law. 22 b. At the time of registration, and upon request, the contractor shall 23 submit to the commissioner documentation demonstrating that the contrac- 24 tor has workers' compensation insurance coverage for all workers as 25 required by law. This information shall be made readily available to the 26 public by the bureau within forty-eight hours of the initial public 27 request. 28 3. The contractor shall pay a non-refundable registration fee of two 29 hundred dollars to the commissioner which shall be paid to the general 30 fund. The commissioner, through regulations, shall reduce the registra- 31 tion fee associated with minority or women-owned business enterprises in 32 order to promote the use of such businesses on public work projects. 33 4. Unless, following notice and a hearing, the bureau determines a 34 contractor unfit to be registered, the commissioner shall issue a 35 certificate of registration to the contractor upon receipt of the fee, 36 form and documentation required by this section. A registration certif- 37 icate shall be valid for two calendar years from the date of registra- 38 tion. Registrations may be renewed not less than thirty days before the 39 expiration date of the immediately preceding registration. The commis- 40 sioner shall promulgate regulations to determine under what circum- 41 stances a contractor would be unfit to be registered pursuant to this 42 section. The notice to a contractor initially determined by the commis- 43 sioner to be unfit based upon the registration application shall be in 44 writing, shall not be conclusory, and shall state the factual basis upon 45 which the determination is based. Any documents, reports, or information 46 that form a basis for such determination shall be provided to the 47 contractor within a reasonable time before the hearing. For purposes of 48 this subdivision, the term "unfit" shall mean a contractor who the 49 commissioner determines to be unable to lawfully adhere to public work 50 contractual obligations and responsibilities including prevailing wage 51 requirements pursuant to this article. Such determination shall be based 52 on a clearly documented history, official record of past dealings, or a 53 present demonstrable inability to lawfully adhere to such obligations 54 and responsibilities. 55 5. No contractor shall bid on a contract for public work unless they 56 and all subcontractors listed in the bid, in addition to any subcontrac-S. 5994 3 1 tors associated with wage and/or fringe benefit payments to employees on 2 the public work project, are registered pursuant to this section. 3 Further, each contractor must submit their certificate of registration 4 as well as all certificates of registration for any and all subcontrac- 5 tors for such contract at the time the bid is made. Applications for 6 registration shall not be accepted as a substitute for a certificate of 7 registration for the purposes of this section. 8 6. a. A contractor who knowingly bids on a contract for public work 9 without registering, or knowingly submits a bid with subcontractors that 10 are not registered pursuant to subdivision five of this section shall, 11 after notice and a hearing, be subject to a civil penalty of up to one 12 thousand dollars. 13 b. The commissioner may revoke or suspend a registration if a contrac- 14 tor or subcontractor has been finally determined to be in violation of 15 the prevailing wage requirements of this article. 16 c. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or supersede 17 the authority of any state or municipal entity to enforce existing labor 18 laws, safety standards, regulations, codes or any other existing laws 19 relative to public work. 20 d. A registration pursuant to this section is not necessary for a bid 21 or work on a contract for public work and penalties pursuant to this 22 section shall not apply when a state of emergency is declared pursuant 23 to section twenty-four of the executive law, when the governor declares 24 a disaster emergency pursuant to section twenty-eight of the executive 25 law, or when the President issues a major disaster or emergency declara- 26 tion and such work arises from or is in connection with the actual or 27 impending declared emergency or disaster or pursuant to an emergency 28 construction contract, or other contract entered into due to an urgent 29 and unexpected event where public safety or the conservation of public 30 resources is at risk, as authorized by law, including but not limited to 31 the public buildings law, the state finance law, the general municipal 32 law, or the public authorities law. 33 7. The department shall prescribe regulations necessary to carry out 34 the provisions of this section within one hundred eighty days after its 35 effective date. 36 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately, provided however, subdi- 37 visions five and six of section 220-i of the labor law as added by 38 section one of this act shall take effect one year after such date and 39 shall apply to bids for public work projects on or after such date.
