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History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to labor
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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S2137
Title of bill
An act to amend the labor law and the general municipal law, in relation to the definition of lowest responsible bidder and unfair labor practices for purposes of public works projects
Purpose
To disqualify a bidder as the lowest responsible bidder on a public work contract where it has violated certain federal or state labor laws.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: disqualifies a bidder from being awarded a public work contract as the "lowest possible bidder" where it has violated any of the following laws within the preceding two years: (a) a violation of the prevailing wage laws under sections 220 and 231 of the Labor Law, or (b) violation of the health and safety provisions of the Federal Occupational and Safety Health Act, or section 27-a of the state's labor law. Section 1 also authorizes a person, corporation or a labor union to challenge the proposed selection of the lowest responsible bidder by filing an application with the public entity awarding the contract. The commissioner or chief executive officer of the public entity must conduct a hearing and issue a written determination on the validity of the application. If the proposed bidder is disqualified, the contract must be awarded to the next lowest responsible bidder. Sections 2 and 3: amend the general municipal law and the state finance law respectively to prohibit the public owner from awarding a contract to the lowest bidder who has violated any of the laws specified in section 1.
Justification
In assessing the responsibility of a low bidder on a public works contract, the state and municipalities have had to rely on arbitrary definitions of accountability, reliability and good faith. Often, contracts are awarded to bidders who are lowest responsible in financial terms yet are negligent in terms of paying wages and the safety and health of workers. This bill would provide guidance to municipalities and the state to insure that public funds are awarded to low bidders who comply with established standards of responsibility.
Legislative history
2010: Died in Labor Committee 2009: Died in Labor Committee 1008: Reported from Labor Committee, Died in Codes
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first day of September next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law, with provisions.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.