Steck, Palmesano, Friend, Fitzpatrick, Hawley, Giglio JM
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §§7209 & 7307, Ed L
 
Increases to $50,000 the cost of the construction of a building, structure or public work, above which a professional engineer, land surveyor or architect must be utilized to plan and supervise the construction thereof.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A4327
SPONSOR: Gunther
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to increasing the thresh-
old at which certain buildings, structures and public works are required
to be planned and supervised by a professional engineer, land surveyor
or architect
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To amend the Education Law in order to adjust the threshold at which the
services of a professional engineer, land surveyor or architect are
required.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
This bill amends section 7209, and section 7307, of the Education Law;
to increase the threshold at which construction and maintenance of
certain buildings, structures and public works must be supervised by
professional engineers, land surveyors, and licensed architects.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The current thresholds of $5,000 for public projects, and $10,000 for
private projects have not been changed for over 30 years and have not
kept up with the dramatic rise in building costs. Raising the threshold
to $50,000 is a sensible and necessary step to keep the law current and
encourage affordable construction, improvement and maintenance of build-
ings, structures and public works, and reflects an inflation adjusted
figure in keeping with current costs.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: A5282 referred to Higher Education
2019-20: A3626 referred to Higher Education
2017-18: A841 referred to Higher Education
2015-16: A1017/S6605 referred to Higher Education
2013-14: A1267A/S4333 referred to Higher Education
2011-12: A5827 referred to Higher Education/S4357 committed to Rules
2009-10: A8257 referred to Higher Education/S5487 referred to Higher
Education
2007-08: A6686A referred to Higher Education/S3225A Passed Senate.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4327
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 14, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER, STECK, PALMESANO, FRIEND, FITZPATRICK,
HAWLEY, J. M. GIGLIO -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to increasing the thresh-
old at which certain buildings, structures and public works are
required to be planned and supervised by a professional engineer, land
surveyor or architect
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 7209 of the education law, as
2 added by chapter 987 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
3 3. No county, city, town or village or other political subdivision of
4 this state shall engage in the construction or maintenance of any public
5 work involving engineering or land surveying for which plans, specifica-
6 tions and estimates have not been made by, and the construction and
7 maintenance supervised by, a professional engineer or land surveyor;
8 provided that this section shall not apply to the construction, improve-
9 ment or maintenance of county roads or town highways, nor to any other
10 public works wherein the contemplated expenditure for the completed
11 project does not exceed [five] fifty thousand dollars. This section
12 shall not be construed as affecting or preventing any county, city, town
13 or village or other political subdivision of this state from engaging an
14 architect licensed in this state for the preparation of plans, specifi-
15 cations and estimates for and the supervision of construction or mainte-
16 nance of public works.
17 § 2. Paragraph b of subdivision 7 of section 7209 of the education
18 law, as added by chapter 987 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as
19 follows:
20 b. To alterations to any building or structure costing [ten] fifty
21 thousand dollars or less which do not involve changes affecting the
22 structural safety or public safety thereof nor to farm buildings,
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09063-01-3
A. 4327 2
1 including barns, sheds, poultry houses and other buildings used directly
2 and solely for agricultural purposes; nor to residence buildings of
3 gross floor area of fifteen hundred square feet or less, not including
4 garages, carports, porches, cellars, or uninhabitable basements or
5 attics.
6 § 3. Subdivision 5 of section 7307 of the education law, as added by
7 chapter 987 of the laws of 1971, paragraph 1 as amended by chapter 994
8 of the laws of 1971 and paragraph 2 as amended by chapter 591 of the
9 laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
10 5. This article shall not apply to: [1.] a. Farm buildings, including
11 barns, sheds, poultry houses and other buildings used directly and sole-
12 ly for agricultural purposes; nor to residence buildings of gross area
13 of fifteen hundred square feet or less, not including garages, carports,
14 porches, cellars, or uninhabitable basements or attics; or
15 [2.] b. Alterations, costing ten thousand dollars or less, to any
16 building or structure within the city of New York and [twenty] fifty
17 thousand dollars or less, to any building or structure outside the city
18 of New York which do not involve changes affecting the structural safety
19 or public safety thereof.
20 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.