Bill Text: NY S08122 | 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 8122A [S08122 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S08122-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8122

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 8, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee 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.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04392-01-3
        S. 8122                             2

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