What's happening
This bill raises the threshold requiring competitive bidding for local street or highway projects from $250,000 to $500,000.
Why it matters
Increases flexibility for local governments. By raising the bidding threshold, municipalities can manage more street or highway projects internally or with simplified contracting, potentially speeding up project timelines and reducing administrative burdens.
May impact local contractor opportunities. With fewer projects required to go through competitive bidding, smaller or local contractors might see fewer opportunities to compete for municipal work, potentially affecting local economies and transparency.
Could alter project costs and oversight. Allowing more projects to bypass the formal bidding process could lead to cost savings from reduced paperwork, but it might also increase risks of favoritism or less cost-effective deals if not properly monitored.
Reflects changing construction costs. The higher threshold acknowledges inflation and the increasing costs of public works, aligning regulatory requirements with current market realities and potentially allowing more efficient allocation of resources.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Raise Local Highway Bid Limits
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to transportation
- Referred to transportation
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Raise Local Project Limits
In Assembly Committee · Transportation · Sponsor Philip Palmesano
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1592
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 15, 2019
Introduced by Sens. O'MARA, GALLIVAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the highway law and the transportation law, in relation to consolidated local highway assistance payments
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 4 of section 10-c of the highway law, as amended by section 2 of subpart B of part C of chapter 97 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
(e) Funds allocated for local street or highway projects under this subdivision shall be used to undertake work on a project either with the municipality's own forces or by contract, provided however, that whenever the estimate for the construction contract work exceeds one hundred thousand dollars but does not exceed [two] five hundred [fifty] thousand dollars such work must be performed either with the municipality's own forces or by contract let by competitive bid in accordance with the provisions of section one hundred three of the general municipal law and provided further, however, that whenever the estimate for the construction contract work exceeds [two] five hundred [fifty] thousand dollars such work must be performed by contract let by competitive bid in accordance with the provisions of section one hundred three of the general municipal law.
§ 2. Subdivision 6 of section 234 of the transportation law, as amended by chapter 369 of the laws of 1979, is amended to read as follows:
6. for local street or highway projects, to undertake the work of the project either with its own forces or by contract, however, whenever the estimate for the construction contract work exceeds [fifty] five hundred thousand dollars such work must be performed by contract let by the competitive bid process.
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05818-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the highway law and the transportation law, in relation to consolidated local highway assistance payments
Purpose
This bill would increase the amount of the current cost threshold from $250,000 to $500,000 over which local highway and bridge construction work under the CHIPS program must be contracted through a competitive bid.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends paragraph (e) of subsection 4 of section 10-c of the highway law to raise the CHIPS bid threshold from $250,000 to $500,000.
Section 2 amends Subdivision 6 of section 234 of the transportation law as amended by chapter 369 of the laws of 1979. For local street of high- way projects, to undertake. the work of the project either with its own forces or by contract.
Justification
Regular incremental raises in the competitive bidding threshold for highway projects are necessary to compensate for increases in inflation impacting material, transportation, labor, equipment and other highway construction costs.
Under current law, the local assistance funds allocated for local street or highway projects under this subdivision in the Highway Law (CHIPS) are used to undertake work on projects either with the municipality's own resources and work forces or by competitively-bid contracts. When the estimate for the contract work exceeds $250,000 the work must be performed by contract let by competitive bid in accordance with the provisions for competitive bidding in the General Municipal Law.
The last increase in the competitive bidding threshold was in 2011 to bring the threshold up from $100,000 to the current $250,000 level. It's time to enact a new increase in the bidding threshold to give muni- cipalities flexibility and the option to bid out or perform in-house projects that cost less than $500,000. This will allow more opportu- nities for local governments to act to minimize the cost of its trans- portation projects on behalf of local taxpayers. Projects which have construction contract work in excess of $500,000 would continue to be subject to a mandatory competitive bidding process.
Legislative history
2018 - S6928
Fiscal implication
None to the state.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.