Legislative Issues

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Welcome to 2008!  It's a new year and the Governor and Legislature are back at it. Below, you can read about this year's issues and the actions GBC is taking on them.  We will update this page as new information becomes available.

Construction Legislative Issues GBC Is Following in 2007-2008

GBC’s bi-monthly Reports have been noting individual bills since the beginning of the session and subsequent actions by the Governor.  Some of those bills are listed below.  

For complete information on any current bill, visit the Assembly website at http://assembly.state.ny.us/, or the Senate website at http://senate.state.ny.us/ .  Both websites allow you to search for a bill and find its text and current status. Most of the bills listed below are already linked to the full information on the Assembly website.



GBC's Top Priority

Labor Law 240 Reform A.2528 (Morelle) 
After a strenuous effort in 2004 that showed real progress, even in the Democratically controlled Assembly, we restarted the effort for reform in coalition with several construction industry groups. While the Morelle bill is the industry's solution, some, including organized labor and the Assembly, continue to push the idea of a State Insurance Fund (SIF) solution. This bill has shown some movement in the Senate, but has drawn a strong memo from the SIF against it. An insurance crisis continues to grip the construction industry, so the problem does not go away. 

An effort was made to include this subject in the workers’ compensation reform package, without success. However, as the parties in that issue determined there was a lack of good data on many aspects of that subject and began to create work groups to explore that problem, we wondered if the same wasn’t true of the Labor Law 240 controversy and that a work group to develop more information on this issue might be worth considering. In 2008 we plan to ask the Governor to look at that approach. 

Click here for a sample letter you can send your legislator on this issue. (to be updated)
Click here to view Jeff Zogg's op-ed piece on this issue.
Click here to view Jeff Zogg's letter of January 6, 2006 to Assemblywoman Susan John, Chair of the Assembly Labor Committee, in which he explains that the construction industry wishes to reform Labor Law 240/241, not repeal it.



GBC-Sponsored Bills 

S.2011 (Winner) / A.3832 (Schimminger) 
Requires that timely notice of allegations of prevailing wage violations be given to contractors. 
Click here to read GBC's Memo in Support from last session.

S.1718 (Winner) / A.870 (Destito) 
Requires quality performance and payment bonds on public work. 

S.1717 (Winner) / A.860 (Destito) 
Provides standards and procedures for determining whether or not a contractor is responsible for purposes of public construction projects.

S.1962 (Golden) 
The bill would modify the New York City School Construction Authority’s current prequalification powers to ensure that all bidders prequalified to bid on contracts for construction for the authority are able to bid for that work and are not shut out of the process as a result of the current statutory provision to arbitrarily allow the SCA to limit the bidding to five parties. 

S.2153 (Libous) / A.1994 (Tonko), A.9366 (Kavanagh)
Requires public contracts to include a clause authorizing contractors to recover damages for delay for itself as well as on behalf of subcontractors or materialmen. This bill passed the Senate in 2007 but saw no further action.

S.2725 (Golden)
Clarified on SCA work that a subcontractor claiming payment issues with the general contractor cannot utilize both the lien withholding rights under the law and the complaint provisions to the SCA, thus creating a double withholding. The bill requires the sub to use one of the two procedures, not both. 



Subcontractor Bills to Watch 

S.1659 (Hannon) / A.3733 (Tonko) / A.9539 (Cusick)
A bill to allow the use of a post office box number when dealing with lien issues.
GBC position: No position

S.1660 (Hannon) / A.3145 (Tonko) / A.9538 (Cusick)
Provides for a reasonable amount of construction contract sum on a private project to be deposited in a separate interest-bearing escrow account with a third-party escrow agent. 
GBC position: Support

S.1917 (Hannon) / A.4742 (Tonko) / A.9639 (Cusick)
Makes provisions in contracts requiring subcontractors or contractors to indemnify certain parties for damages void and unenforceable. 
GBC position: New bill's terms to be reviewed.  Opposed last session, especially given the burdensome provisions of 240.  

S.2136 (Hannon) / A.2855 (Tonko) / A.9541 (Cusick)
A bill to amend the notice provisions of the State Finance Law in relation to actions on payment bonds.  
GBC position: Oppose in its current form, but working on amendments.

S.2137 (Hannon) / A.2854 (Tonko) / A.9540 (Cusick) 
Allows partial payment to contractors on public work projects upon completion of fifty percent of the project. 
GBC position: Oppose in current form, but offering an alternative idea.

S.5272 (DeFrancisco) / A.2687 (Cusick)
Design delegation reform.
GBC position: Support.

S.6694 (Hannon) / A.9638 (Cusick)
Would make null and void contract language that requires the subcontractor to exhaust his lien and other legal rights before filing a claim or commencing an action on a payment bond.
GBC position: Under development.


Other Issues of Interest 

Wicks Law “Reform” - S.6146-A (Rules) / A.9204 (John) 
GBC, throughout its 50-year history, has sought repeal or reform of New York State’s inflexible separate contract law on public work – commonly referred to as the Wicks Law. In 2007 the Governor urged reform and eventually negotiated a “reform” bill that was agreed to by the legislative leaders. The bill passed the Assembly, but was held in the Senate Rules Committee as other unrelated political issues take precedent. The initial reform sought was a simple increase in the $50,000 project threshold. As the Legislative Session progressed, other unrelated labor issues were added to the bill that effectively, in the opinion of the GBC, negated any modest improvements in the status quo. In the end, GBC opposed the bill. Our memo and an op-ed piece done with the subcontractors explain the GBC’s position. The Governor has reintroduced the bill in his 2008-09 Budget.

Safety Training on Public Work - S.1537 (Fuschillo) / A.2721 (John) 
As in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and some other states, a bill to require that all workers on public work be required to have at least 10 hours of OSHA safety training has been signed by the Governor. GBC sought and achieved a more reasonable one-year effective date on the legislation than the 90-day period proposed to ensure that all employers have the time to get their workforce trained. Chapter 282, Laws of 2007 - Effective July 18, 2008.  

QBS for Architects/Engineers - S.2162 (Robach) / A.5933 (Schimminger) 
This was a bill to apply the quality based selection process now used by state agencies to all public benefit corporations and authorities. The Governor vetoed it based on several technical objections. Veto #93.

Fire Suppression Licensing - A.6209 (John) / S.2887 (Maziarz)
This appears to be a sprinkler-fitter union bill to require that all those employees who install sprinklers on public and private work must be licensed or certified. GBC and many others opposed this bill. It was full of substantive and technical problems. The Governor’s veto message and the GBC memo in opposition are provided. Veto #129.

GBC's comments on NYS Department of Environmental Conservation's SPDES General Permit for Stormwater Discharges for Construction Activity (Permit No. GP-0-08-001), effective January 8, 2008. 




Labor/Prevailing Wage Bills

Stronger Prevailing Wage Enforcement - S.5506 (Flanagan) / A.8582 (Alessi)
This bill is a product of some downstate district attorneys and certain building trades unions attempting to strengthen the penalties and enforcement provisions of the prevailing wage laws. GBC and several others strenuously opposed its excessive and draconian terms. GBC and others became involved in discussions with the Governor's Counsel that resulted in a chapter amendment (S.6519) to the first bill, which deleted the onerous terms of the bill. GBC’s original memo in opposition is provided.  Both bills signed by the Governor on February 6, 2008.

Prevailing Wage Worker Notice - S.2391 (Leibell) / A.1553 (Brodsky)
This bill would have established a cumbersome process to better inform workers of their rights to be paid prevailing wages on public work. The bill was vetoed several times during the previous administration. Governor Spitzer vetoed the bill also and then facilitated discussions among GBC and several others to find a more appropriate bill. Veto #6.
S.6240 (Leibell) / A.9052 (Brodsky) is that bill. It will now require employers to take certain reasonable actions to inform workers of their rights in this area. Our original memo requesting and achieving Veto #6, the Governor’s veto message and our supporting memo are provided.  Chapter 629, Laws of 2007 - Effective Date February 24, 2008.

Prevailing Wages on Offsite Custom Fabrication - S.6797 (Marcellino) / A.6598-A (John)
This will would require any custom fabricated work for a public works project done off site to be paid under prevailing wages. GBC's memo in opposition is provided.
GBC Position:  Oppose

IDAs Reforms and Prevailing Wages
IDAs are an important economic development tool generating a lot of construction activity.  There is a strong effort to reform the operation of IDAs, extend their power to fund nonprofit projects and apply living and prevailing wages to these projects.  A.9238 (Hoyt) has re-passed the Assembly.  Application of prevailing wages will have a serious impact on the cost of many IDA projects and may stop several of them.
GBC Position: Oppose the prevailing wage aspects of this bill.

Other Labor Bills: Each year several other labor bills are introduced at the behest of particular building trades unions. Most seek to tilt the playing field in their direction. 2007-08 is no exception. One such bill will expand the application of prevailing wages when done by third parties.  Chapter 678, Laws of 2007, signed 8/28/07, approval memo #3. The Governor has signed this bill, which is a modified version of a stronger bill which was vetoed several times by the previous Governor. It also is the first of what may be a growing movement to apply prevailing wages and some of the ideas found in the Wicks bill, like PLAs and mandatory apprenticeship, to economic development, charter schools and similar projects. 



Testimonies

Click here to read Joe Hogans' testimony of December 7, 2005 before the Assembly Standing Committee on Libraries and Education Technology on Statewide Library Construction.

Click here to read Jeff Zogg’s testimony of March 10, 2005 before the Senate Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions on Reforming New York’s Public Authorities: Providing Improved Transparency, Accountability, Efficiency and Oversight to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century.

Click here to read Jeff Zogg’s testimony of April 14, 2005 before the Assembly Committee, Commission and Task Force Hearing on Access to Surety Bonds on State Contracts for Small, Minority and Women-Owned Businesses



The Business Council of New York State 

GBC often defers to The Business Council of New York State to advocate on issues that affect not only the construction community, but also the citizens of New York State as a whole. Such issues currently include workers' compensation reform, outsourcing, taxes, the Empire Zones, and a host of other business issues. Visit The Business Council's website at http://www.bcnys.org for more information.