Bill Text: NY S07522 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to work done by special order and bonds to secure payment of certain claims arising from a public improvement.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-05-28 - referred to governmental operations [S07522 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07522-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7522

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      June 2, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  COONEY  --  (at  request  of the Office of General
          Services) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when  printed  to  be
          committed to the Committee on Rules

        AN  ACT  to amend the public buildings law and the state finance law, in
          relation to work done by special order and bonds to secure payment  of
          certain claims arising from a public improvement

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

     1    Section 1. The second undesignated  paragraph  of  section  6  of  the
     2  public buildings law, as amended by section 1 of part N of chapter 55 of
     3  the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
     4    Notwithstanding  any  inconsistent provisions of law, the commissioner
     5  of general services may by rules delegate to the  agency  or  department
     6  having custody of any public building full responsibility for the prepa-
     7  ration of plans and specifications and the supervision of minor, routine
     8  or  uncomplicated  construction, reconstruction, alteration, improvement
     9  or repair of any such building, providing the value of such  work  shall
    10  not exceed [one] two hundred [fifty] thousand dollars.
    11    §  2. Section 20 of the public buildings law, as amended by section 12
    12  of part FF of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010,  is  amended  to  read  as
    13  follows:
    14    § 20. Work done by special order. The commissioner of general services
    15  shall  determine when minor work of construction, reconstruction, alter-
    16  ation or repair of any state building may  be  done  by  special  order.
    17  Special  orders  for such work shall be short-form contracts approved by
    18  the attorney general and by the comptroller. No work shall  be  done  by
    19  special  order  in  an  amount  in  excess of [one] two hundred thousand
    20  dollars and a bond shall not be required for  special  orders.  No  work
    21  shall  be done by special order unless the commissioner has presented to
    22  the comptroller evidence that he has made a diligent  effort  to  obtain
    23  competition  sufficient  to  protect the interests of the state prior to

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06729-01-3
        S. 7522                             2

     1  selecting the  contractor  to  perform  the  work.  Notwithstanding  the
     2  provisions  of  subdivision  two  of section eight of this chapter, work
     3  done by special order  under  this  section  may  be  advertised  solely
     4  through the regular public notification service of the office of general
     5  services.  At least five days shall elapse between the first publication
     6  of such public notice and the date so specified for the  public  opening
     7  of bids. All payments on special orders shall be made on the certificate
     8  of  the commissioner of general services and audited and approved by the
     9  state comptroller. All special orders shall contain a  clause  that  the
    10  special order shall only be deemed executory to the extent of the moneys
    11  available  and  no  liability  shall be incurred by the state beyond the
    12  moneys available for the purpose.
    13    § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 137 of the state finance law,  as  sepa-
    14  rately amended by section 17 of part MM of chapter 57 and chapter 619 of
    15  the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
    16    1. In addition to other bond or bonds, if any, required by law for the
    17  completion  of  a  work specified in a contract for the prosecution of a
    18  public improvement for the state of New York a municipal corporation,  a
    19  public benefit corporation or a commission appointed pursuant to law, or
    20  in the absence of any such requirement, the comptroller may or the other
    21  appropriate  official, respectively, shall nevertheless require prior to
    22  the approval of any such contract a bond guaranteeing prompt payment  of
    23  moneys  due to all persons furnishing labor or materials to the contrac-
    24  tor or any subcontractors in the prosecution of the work provided for in
    25  such contract. Whenever a municipal corporation issues a permit  subject
    26  to  compliance  with  section  two hundred twenty of the labor law, such
    27  permittee or its contractor or subcontractors furnishing  workers  shall
    28  post a payment bond subject to this section. Provided, however, that all
    29  performance  bonds  and payment bonds may, at the discretion of the head
    30  of the state agency, public benefit corporation or commission, or his or
    31  her designee, be dispensed with for the completion of a  work  specified
    32  in  a contract for the prosecution of a public improvement for the state
    33  of New York for which bids are solicited [where the aggregate amount  of
    34  the contract is under one hundred thousand dollars and provided further,
    35  that  in a case where], for all contracts, whether the contract is or is
    36  not subject to the multiple contract award requirements of  section  one
    37  hundred  thirty-five of this article, such requirements may be dispensed
    38  with where the head of the state agency, public benefit  corporation  or
    39  commission finds it to be in the public interest and where the aggregate
    40  amount of the contract awarded or to be awarded is less than two hundred
    41  thousand  dollars.  Provided further, that in a case where a performance
    42  or payment bond is dispensed with, twenty per  centum  may  be  retained
    43  from  each  progress  payment or estimate until the entire contract work
    44  has been completed and accepted, at which time the  head  of  the  state
    45  agency,  public  benefit  corporation  or  commission shall, pending the
    46  payment of the final estimate, pay not to exceed seventy-five per centum
    47  of the amount of the retained percentage.
    48    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.