Bill Text: NY S04271 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to notice provisions in public works contracts.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES AND COMMISSIONS [S04271 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S04271-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4271
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                      March 6, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen.  RANZENHOFER -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations, Author-
          ities and Commissions
        AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, the general  municipal  law,
          the  public  service  law  and  the  state finance law, in relation to
          notice provisions in public works contracts
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.    The  public  authorities law is amended by adding a new
     2  section 2882 to read as follows:
     3    § 2882. Notice provisions in public works contracts. 1.  For  purposes
     4  of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
     5    (a) "Public owner" shall mean any state or local authority, as defined
     6  by section two of this chapter.
     7    (b)  "Contract"  shall  mean any contract made and awarded by a public
     8  owner for construction, reconstruction, demolition,  alteration,  repair
     9  or maintenance of any public work project.
    10    (c)  "Contractor"  shall  mean  any  person, firm, partnership, corpo-
    11  ration, association, company, sub-contractor, materialman secured  by  a
    12  contractor  or  a subcontractor, or other entity or combination thereof,
    13  which enters into a contract to provide services to a public owner.
    14    (d) "Materially prejudice" shall  mean  to  substantially  impair  the
    15  ability of the public owner to investigate or defend the claim, provided
    16  that the public owner's actual knowledge of the events in question shall
    17  preclude  a  claim  of  material  prejudice  due to lack of any required
    18  notice.
    19    2. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary,  any  contract  made
    20  and awarded by a public owner for any public work project shall contain,
    21  or  be  presumed to contain, the following provision or a provision that
    22  is equally favorable to the contractor:
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10310-01-9

        S. 4271                             2
     1    The failure to give any notice required to be given by  such  contract
     2  within  the  time prescribed therein shall not invalidate any claim made
     3  by the contractor or any other claimant, unless the failure  to  provide
     4  timely notice has materially prejudiced the public owner.
     5    3.  In  any  action  in which a public owner alleges that it was mate-
     6  rially prejudiced as a result of a failure to provide timely notice, the
     7  burden of proof shall be on:
     8    (a) the public owner to prove that it  has  been  prejudiced,  if  the
     9  notice  was provided within one hundred eighty days of the time required
    10  under the contract; or
    11    (b) the contractor or any other claimant, to  prove  that  the  public
    12  owner  has not been prejudiced, if the notice was provided more than one
    13  hundred eighty days after the time required under the contract.
    14    § 2. The general municipal law is amended  by  adding  a  new  section
    15  109-e to read as follows:
    16    §  109-e. Notice provisions in public works contracts. 1. For purposes
    17  of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
    18    (a) "Public owner" shall mean  any  political  subdivision,  municipal
    19  corporation,  school  district, district corporation or board of cooper-
    20  ative educational services.
    21    (b) "Contract" shall mean any contract made and awarded  by  a  public
    22  owner  for  construction, reconstruction, demolition, alteration, repair
    23  or maintenance of any public work project.
    24    (c) "Contractor" shall mean  any  person,  firm,  partnership,  corpo-
    25  ration,  association,  company, sub-contractor, materialman secured by a
    26  contractor or a subcontractor, or other entity or  combination  thereof,
    27  which enters into a contract to provide services to a public owner.
    28    (d)  "Materially  prejudice"  shall  mean  to substantially impair the
    29  ability of the public owner to investigate or defend the claim, provided
    30  that the public owner's actual knowledge of the events in question shall
    31  preclude a claim of material prejudice  due  to  lack  of  any  required
    32  notice.
    33    2.  Notwithstanding  any  other law to the contrary, any contract made
    34  and awarded by a public owner for any public work project shall contain,
    35  or be presumed to contain, the following provision or a  provision  that
    36  is equally favorable to the contractor:
    37    The  failure  to give any notice required to be given by such contract
    38  within the time prescribed therein shall not invalidate any  claim  made
    39  by  the  contractor or any other claimant, unless the failure to provide
    40  timely notice has materially prejudiced the public owner.
    41    3. In any action in which a public owner alleges  that  it  was  mate-
    42  rially prejudiced as a result of a failure to provide timely notice, the
    43  burden of proof shall be on:
    44    (a)  the  public  owner  to  prove that it has been prejudiced, if the
    45  notice was provided within one hundred eighty days of the time  required
    46  under the contract; or
    47    (b)  the  contractor  or  any other claimant, to prove that the public
    48  owner has not been prejudiced, if the notice was provided more than  one
    49  hundred eighty days after the time required under the contract.
    50    §  3.  The public service law is amended by adding a new section 28 to
    51  read as follows:
    52    § 28. Notice provisions in public works contracts. 1. For purposes  of
    53  this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
    54    (a)  "Public  owner" shall mean the state, or any state agency, public
    55  department, public corporation, board, bureau, or  subdivision  thereof,

        S. 4271                             3
     1  any  public  benefit  corporation, or a commission appointed pursuant to
     2  law.
     3    (b)  "Contract"  shall  mean any contract made and awarded by a public
     4  owner for construction, reconstruction, demolition,  alteration,  repair
     5  or maintenance of any public work project.
     6    (c)  "Contractor"  shall  mean  any  person, firm, partnership, corpo-
     7  ration, association, company, sub-contractor, materialman secured  by  a
     8  contractor  or  a subcontractor, or other entity or combination thereof,
     9  which enters into a contract to provide services to a public owner.
    10    (d) "Materially prejudice" shall  mean  to  substantially  impair  the
    11  ability of the public owner to investigate or defend the claim, provided
    12  that the public owner's actual knowledge of the events in question shall
    13  preclude  a  claim  of  material  prejudice  due to lack of any required
    14  notice.
    15    2. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary,  any  contract  made
    16  and awarded by a public owner for any public work project shall contain,
    17  or  be  presumed to contain, the following provision or a provision that
    18  is equally favorable to the contractor:
    19    The failure to give any notice required to be given by  such  contract
    20  within  the  time prescribed therein shall not invalidate any claim made
    21  by the contractor or any other claimant, unless the failure  to  provide
    22  timely notice has materially prejudiced the public owner.
    23    3.  In  any  action  in which a public owner alleges that it was mate-
    24  rially prejudiced as a result of a failure to provide timely notice, the
    25  burden of proof shall be on:
    26    (a) the public owner to prove that it  has  been  prejudiced,  if  the
    27  notice  was provided within one hundred eighty days of the time required
    28  under the contract; or
    29    (b) the contractor or any other claimant, to  prove  that  the  public
    30  owner  has not been prejudiced, if the notice was provided more than one
    31  hundred eighty days after the time required under the contract.
    32    § 4. The state finance law is amended by adding a new  section  179-ff
    33  to read as follows:
    34    § 179-ff. Notice provisions in public works contracts. 1. For purposes
    35  of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
    36    (a)  "Public  owner" shall mean the state, or any state agency, public
    37  department, public corporation, board, bureau, or subdivision thereof or
    38  any political subdivision, municipal corporation, public benefit  corpo-
    39  ration,  public  authority,  school  district  or a commission appointed
    40  pursuant to law.
    41    (b) "Contract" shall mean any contract made and awarded  by  a  public
    42  owner  for  construction, reconstruction, demolition, alteration, repair
    43  or maintenance of any public work project.
    44    (c) "Contractor" shall mean  any  person,  firm,  partnership,  corpo-
    45  ration,  association,  company, sub-contractor, materialman secured by a
    46  contractor or a subcontractor, or other entity or  combination  thereof,
    47  which enters into a contract to provide services to a public owner.
    48    (d)  "Materially  prejudice"  shall  mean  to substantially impair the
    49  ability of the public owner to investigate or defend the claim, provided
    50  that the public owner's actual knowledge of the events in question shall
    51  preclude a claim of material prejudice  due  to  lack  of  any  required
    52  notice.
    53    2.  Notwithstanding  any  other law to the contrary, any contract made
    54  and awarded by a public owner for any public work project shall contain,
    55  or be presumed to contain, the following provision or a  provision  that
    56  is equally favorable to the contractor:

        S. 4271                             4
     1    The  failure  to give any notice required to be given by such contract
     2  within the time prescribed therein shall not invalidate any  claim  made
     3  by  the  contractor or any other claimant, unless the failure to provide
     4  timely notice has materially prejudiced the public owner.
     5    3.  In  any  action  in which a public owner alleges that it was mate-
     6  rially prejudiced as a result of a failure to provide timely notice, the
     7  burden of proof shall be on:
     8    (a) the public owner to prove that it  has  been  prejudiced,  if  the
     9  notice  was provided within one hundred eighty days of the time required
    10  under the contract; or
    11    (b) the contractor or any other claimant, to  prove  that  the  public
    12  owner  has not been prejudiced, if the notice was provided more than one
    13  hundred eighty days after the time required under the contract.
    14    § 5. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    15  it shall have become a law, and shall apply  to  all  contracts  entered
    16  into on and after such date.
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