Bill Text: NY A09575 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Requires public authorities and public benefit corporations to negotiate with professional firms providing architectural, engineering, geological, landscape architectural or surveying services in order from the most qualified to the least qualified with regard to the provision of services to the authority or corporation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-09 - print number 9575a [A09575 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A09575-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9575

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 20, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions

        AN ACT to amend the public authorities law,  in  relation  to  requiring
          public  authorities  and public benefit corporations to negotiate with
          professional firms providing architectural or engineering services  in
          order  from  the  most qualified to the least qualified with regard to
          the provision of services to the authority or corporation

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

     1    Section  1.  Subparagraph  (iv)  of  paragraph (b) of subdivision 3 of
     2  section 2879 of the public authorities law, as amended by chapter 383 of
     3  the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (iv) as used in this subparagraph, the term "professional firm"  shall
     5  be defined as any individual or sole proprietorship, partnership, corpo-
     6  ration,  association, or other legal entity permitted by law to practice
     7  the professions of architecture, engineering or surveying.
     8    It is the policy of New York state to negotiate contracts  for  archi-
     9  tectural  and/or  engineering  services and/or surveying services on the
    10  basis of demonstrated competence  and  qualification  for  the  type  of
    11  professional services required and at fair and reasonable fees.
    12    In   the  procurement  of  architectural,  engineering  and  surveying
    13  services, the corporation is required to  encourage  professional  firms
    14  engaged  in  the  lawful  practice of the profession to submit an annual
    15  statement of qualifications and performance data.  The  corporation  for
    16  each  proposed  project  is  required  to evaluate current statements of
    17  qualifications and performance data on file with the  corporation.    If
    18  desired,  the  corporation  may  conduct  discussions with three or more
    19  professional firms regarding anticipated design  concepts  and  proposed
    20  methods  of  approach  to the assignment. The corporation is required to
    21  select, in order of preference, based upon criteria established  by  the
    22  corporation, no less than three professional firms deemed to be the most
    23  highly qualified to provide the services required.
    24    Every corporation is required to negotiate a contract with the highest
    25  qualified   professional   firm  for  architectural  and/or  engineering

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04392-01-3
        A. 9575                             2

     1  services and/or surveying services at compensation which the corporation
     2  determines in writing to be fair and reasonable to such corporation.  In
     3  making  this  decision, the corporation is required to take into account
     4  the estimated value of the services to be rendered, including the costs,
     5  the scope, complexity and professional nature thereof.
     6    The corporation shall not refuse to negotiate with a professional firm
     7  solely  because  the  ratio  of the "allowable indirect costs" to direct
     8  labor costs of the professional firm or the hourly  labor  rate  in  any
     9  labor  category  of the professional firm exceeds a limitation generally
    10  set by the corporation in the determination of the reasonableness of the
    11  estimated cost of services to be rendered by the professional firm,  but
    12  rather  the  corporation should also consider the reasonableness of cost
    13  based on the total estimated cost of the  service  of  the  professional
    14  firm  which  should  include,  among  other things, all the direct labor
    15  costs of the professional firm for such  services  plus  all  "allowable
    16  indirect  costs,"  other  direct  costs,  and  negotiated  profit of the
    17  professional firm. "Allowable indirect costs" of a professional firm are
    18  defined as those costs generally associated with overhead  which  cannot
    19  be  specifically  identified  with  a single project or contract and are
    20  considered reasonable and allowable under  specific  state  contract  or
    21  allowability limits.  Should the corporation choose to engage in a qual-
    22  ification  based  procurement  and be unable to negotiate a satisfactory
    23  contract with the professional firm considered to be the most qualified,
    24  at a fee the corporation determines to be fair  and  reasonable  to  the
    25  corporation,  negotiations with that professional firm shall be formally
    26  terminated.  The corporation shall then undertake negotiations with  the
    27  second  most qualified professional firm. Failing accord with the second
    28  most qualified professional firm, the corporation shall formally  termi-
    29  nate  negotiations.  The  corporation  shall then undertake negotiations
    30  with the third most qualified professional firm. Should the  corporation
    31  be  unable to negotiate a satisfactory contract with any of the selected
    32  professional firms, it shall select  additional  professional  firms  in
    33  order of their competence and qualifications and it shall continue nego-
    34  tiations  in accordance with this section until an agreement is reached.
    35  The provisions of this subparagraph  shall  only  apply  to  engineering
    36  and/or  architectural  services  and/or  surveying services in excess of
    37  twenty-five thousand dollars and shall not  apply  to  the  metropolitan
    38  transportation  authority,  the  New  York city transit authority or the
    39  Triborough bridge and tunnel authority or to any of their subsidiaries.
    40    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.