Establishes the "county of Westchester public works investment act" which allows the Westchester county department of public works and the Westchester county department of transportation to utilize design-build project delivery.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6428A
SPONSOR: Shimsky TITLE OF BILL:
An act in relation to enacting the "county of Westchester public works
investment act"; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon
the expiration thereof
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This act will give the county of Westchester the authorization to
utilize the Design-Build model for certain authorized projects.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1. Provides
the title of this bill
Section 2. Provides definitions for "authorized entity", "best value",
"cost plus"', "design-build contract", and "project labor agreement".
Section 3. Requires that any public work undertaken is regulated in
accordance with section 222 of labor laws.
Section 4. Provides which projects are applicable to design-build
contracts and establishes requirements for who can be designated an
authorized entity and what the requirements are for submitting and eval-
uating bids.
Section 5. Requires all professional services are regulated under educa-
tion law.
Section 6. Requires all construction with respect to each contract
entered into by an authorized entity pursuant to this act shall be
deemed a "public work"
Section 7. Provides each contract entered into by an authorized entity
pursuant to this act shall comply with objectives and goals relating to
the performance of design and construction services.
Section 8. Requires compliance with article 8 of the environmental
conservation law.
Section 9. Provides employment protections, including civil service
protections and collective bargaining rights, for any employee under
this act. No employee under this act will be displaced or suffer loss of
position or transfer existing duties and functions related to mainte-
nance and operations currently performed by existing employees of
authorized entities to a contractor. Employees of authorized entities
using design-build contracts serving in positions in newly created
titles shall be assigned to the appropriate bargaining unit. Without
limiting contractors' obligations under design-build contracts to issue
their own initial certifications of substantial completion and final
completion.
Section 10. Requires the submission of a proposal or responses or the
execution of a design-build contract pursuant to this act shall not be
construed to be a violation of section 6512 of the education law.
Section 11. Provides that nothing contained in this act shall limit the
right or obligation of any authorized entity to comply with the
provisions of any existing contract or to award contracts as otherwise
provided by law.
Section 12. Requires a report shall be submitted no later than June 30,
2026 and annually thereafter. Section 13. Sets an effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
In 2019, seven New York City agencies received authorization to utilize
Design-Build project delivery (as opposed to Design-Bid-Build) through
the Public Works Investment Act (PWIA). Design-Build consolidates
projects into one point of responsibility on the basis, of which, design
and construction team can deliver the best project at the best value.
Westchester County believes this novel strategy would allow it to save
money and deliver an enhanced level of quality on forthcoming projects.
Under the current Design Bid-Build model, the 'Design' and 'Build'
components of a project are barred from collaboration, slowing project
schedules, increasing cost, and resulting in lower quality in final
completed projects.
New York City is required to provide annual reports on design-build
projects, including short lists and proposers, cost savings, time
savings and MWBE utilization within the project. Westchester county
would be willing to provide this information as. We intend to work
closely with organized labor representatives in implementing this
program. In order to save costs for taxpayers and implement a more
logistically robust project delivery system, Westchester requests
authorization from New York State to utilize Design-Build.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire 3 years after
such date, provided that, public works with requests for qualifications
issued prior to such repeal shall be permitted to continue under this
act, notwithstanding such repeal.
