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S06906 Summary:

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S06906 Floor Votes:

S06906 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          6906
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                      March 4, 2016
                                       ___________
 
        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:
    23    The failure to give any notice required to be given by  such  contract
    24  within  the  time prescribed therein shall not invalidate any claim made
    25  by the contractor or any other claimant, unless the failure  to  provide
    26  timely notice has materially prejudiced the public owner.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14070-02-6
        S. 6906                             2
 
     1    3.  In  any  action  in which a public owner alleges that it was mate-
     2  rially prejudiced as a result of a failure to provide timely notice, the
     3  burden of proof shall be on:
     4    (a)  the  public  owner  to  prove that it has been prejudiced, if the
     5  notice was provided within one hundred eighty days of the time  required
     6  under the contract; or
     7    (b)  the  contractor  or  any other claimant, to prove that the public
     8  owner has not been prejudiced, if the notice was provided more than  one
     9  hundred eighty days after the time required under the contract.
    10    §  2.  The  general  municipal  law is amended by adding a new section
    11  109-c to read as follows:
    12    § 109-c. Notice provisions in public works contracts. 1. For  purposes
    13  of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
    14    (a)  "Public  owner"  shall  mean any political subdivision, municipal
    15  corporation, school district, district corporation or board  of  cooper-
    16  ative educational services.
    17    (b)  "Contract"  shall  mean any contract made and awarded by a public
    18  owner for construction, reconstruction, demolition,  alteration,  repair
    19  or maintenance of any public work project.
    20    (c)  "Contractor"  shall  mean  any  person, firm, partnership, corpo-
    21  ration, association, company, sub-contractor, materialman secured  by  a
    22  contractor  or  a subcontractor, or other entity or combination thereof,
    23  which enters into a contract to provide services to a public owner.
    24    (d) "Materially prejudice" shall  mean  to  substantially  impair  the
    25  ability of the public owner to investigate or defend the claim, provided
    26  that the public owner's actual knowledge of the events in question shall
    27  preclude  a  claim  of  material  prejudice  due to lack of any required
    28  notice.
    29    2. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary,  any  contract  made
    30  and awarded by a public owner for any public work project shall contain,
    31  or  be  presumed to contain, the following provision or a provision that
    32  is equally favorable to the contractor:
    33    The failure to give any notice required to be given by  such  contract
    34  within  the  time prescribed therein shall not invalidate any claim made
    35  by the contractor or any other claimant, unless the failure  to  provide
    36  timely notice has materially prejudiced the public owner.
    37    3.  In  any  action  in which a public owner alleges that it was mate-
    38  rially prejudiced as a result of a failure to provide timely notice, the
    39  burden of proof shall be on:
    40    (a) the public owner to prove that it  has  been  prejudiced,  if  the
    41  notice  was provided within one hundred eighty days of the time required
    42  under the contract; or
    43    (b) the contractor or any other claimant, to  prove  that  the  public
    44  owner  has not been prejudiced, if the notice was provided more than one
    45  hundred eighty days after the time required under the contract.
    46    § 3. The public service law is amended by adding a new section  28  to
    47  read as follows:
    48    §  28. Notice provisions in public works contracts. 1. For purposes of
    49  this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
    50    (a) "Public owner" shall mean the state, or any state  agency,  public
    51  department,  public  corporation, board, bureau, or subdivision thereof,
    52  any public benefit corporation, or a commission  appointed  pursuant  to
    53  law.
    54    (b)  "Contract"  shall  mean any contract made and awarded by a public
    55  owner for construction, reconstruction, demolition,  alteration,  repair
    56  or maintenance of any public work project.
        S. 6906                             3
 
     1    (c)  "Contractor"  shall  mean  any  person, firm, partnership, corpo-
     2  ration, association, company, sub-contractor, materialman secured  by  a
     3  contractor  or  a subcontractor, or other entity or combination thereof,
     4  which enters into a contract to provide services to a public owner.
     5    (d)  "Materially  prejudice"  shall  mean  to substantially impair the
     6  ability of the public owner to investigate or defend the claim, provided
     7  that the public owner's actual knowledge of the events in question shall
     8  preclude a claim of material prejudice  due  to  lack  of  any  required
     9  notice.
    10    2.  Notwithstanding  any  other law to the contrary, any contract made
    11  and awarded by a public owner for any public work project shall contain,
    12  or be presumed to contain, the following provision or a  provision  that
    13  is equally favorable to the contractor:
    14    The  failure  to give any notice required to be given by such contract
    15  within the time prescribed therein shall not invalidate any  claim  made
    16  by  the  contractor or any other claimant, unless the failure to provide
    17  timely notice has materially prejudiced the public owner.
    18    3. In any action in which a public owner alleges  that  it  was  mate-
    19  rially prejudiced as a result of a failure to provide timely notice, the
    20  burden of proof shall be on:
    21    (a)  the  public  owner  to  prove that it has been prejudiced, if the
    22  notice was provided within one hundred eighty days of the time  required
    23  under the contract; or
    24    (b)  the  contractor  or  any other claimant, to prove that the public
    25  owner has not been prejudiced, if the notice was provided more than  one
    26  hundred eighty days after the time required under the contract.
    27    §  4.  The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 179-ff
    28  to read as follows:
    29    § 179-ff. Notice provisions in public works contracts. 1. For purposes
    30  of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
    31    (a) "Public owner" shall mean the state, or any state  agency,  public
    32  department, public corporation, board, bureau, or subdivision thereof or
    33  any  political subdivision, municipal corporation, public benefit corpo-
    34  ration, public authority, school  district  or  a  commission  appointed
    35  pursuant to law.
    36    (b)  "Contract"  shall  mean any contract made and awarded by a public
    37  owner for construction, reconstruction, demolition,  alteration,  repair
    38  or maintenance of any public work project.
    39    (c)  "Contractor"  shall  mean  any  person, firm, partnership, corpo-
    40  ration, association, company, sub-contractor, materialman secured  by  a
    41  contractor  or  a subcontractor, or other entity or combination thereof,
    42  which enters into a contract to provide services to a public owner.
    43    (d) "Materially prejudice" shall  mean  to  substantially  impair  the
    44  ability of the public owner to investigate or defend the claim, provided
    45  that the public owner's actual knowledge of the events in question shall
    46  preclude  a  claim  of  material  prejudice  due to lack of any required
    47  notice.
    48    2. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary,  any  contract  made
    49  and awarded by a public owner for any public work project shall contain,
    50  or  be  presumed to contain, the following provision or a provision that
    51  is equally favorable to the contractor:
    52    The failure to give any notice required to be given by  such  contract
    53  within  the  time prescribed therein shall not invalidate any claim made
    54  by the contractor or any other claimant, unless the failure  to  provide
    55  timely notice has materially prejudiced the public owner.
        S. 6906                             4

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