Authorizes, for certain public works undertaken pursuant to project labor agreements, use of the alternative delivery method known as design-build contracts.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6667
SPONSOR: Benedetto TITLE OF BILL: An act to authorize, for certain public works under-
taken pursuant to project labor agreements, use of the alternative
delivery method known as design-build contracts; and providing for the
repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This bill would, for any public work undertaken pursuant to a project
labor agreement in accordance with section 222 of the labor law, author-
ize the New York city department of design and construction, the New
York city department of environmental protection, the New York city
department of parks and recreation, the New York city department of
transportation, the New York city health and hospitals corporation, the
New York city housing authority and the New York city school
construction authority to use the alternative delivery method known as
design-build procurement for the purposes of completing public works.
Such an authorized entity would issue a request for proposals that would
result in a list of responding entities that have demonstrated general
capability to perform the contract. The authorized entity would then
select the proposal providing the best value, based upon a clearly stat-
ed evaluations . An entity awarding a design-build contract to a
contractor offering the best value would further be authorized (but not
required) to use a cost-plus not to exceed guaranteed maximum price
contract or lump sum contract. Contracts would be subject to applicable
federal, state and local requirements for disadvantaged business enter-
prises and minority and women-owned business enterprises. The bill would
expire five years after its effective date, though public works for
which requests for qualifications have been issued could continue under
the act beyond the expiration date.
REASONS FOR SUPPORT:
Design-build is a method of project delivery in which one entity works
under a single contract to provide design and construction services.
This method minimizes project risk for the owner, increases the account-
ability of contractors and streamlines the delivery schedule by
compressing two procurements into one procurement and eliminating one
procurement cycle, and further streamlines the delivery schedule by
overlapping the design and construction phases of a project.
Design-build contracting saves time and money by eliminating time in
procuring design services separately from construction services, and by
making a single entity responsible for a project, reducing the possibil-
ity of contract claims related to design errors or omissions. Addi-
tionally, design-build contracting introduces the possibility of inno-
vation during project performance by incentivizing the project provider
to think of creative ways to reduce project schedule and delivery meth-
ods.
Today, government entities, including the State of New York, are
increasingly embracing design-build contracting as a preferred method of
project delivery. Certain State agencies and authorities have been
authorized to utilize the design-build method of project delivery and
have used design-build for the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project,
and for more than 30 other projects including the Kosciuszico Bridge and
Long Island Rail Road Rehabilitation of Atlantic Avenue Viaduct. Addi-
tionally, the Federal Highway Administration, which funds a significant
portion of the City's bridge and road infrastructure capital programs,
has indicated that design-build is its preferred method of procurement.
This bill would provide seven public entities in the City of New York
with the opportunity to use design-build to provide taxpayers with
public works projects of superior quality and on a faster timetable.
Included in the authorization is a requirement that the City enter into
project labor agreements in accordance with section 222 of the Labor Law
and provides critical public employee protections including non-dis-
placement safeguards. The authorization would be for public works that
have an estimated total cost of no less than ten million dollars.
The City has identified $7.3B in projects for which design-build
contracting would be ideal with a projected cost savings of nearly
$450M. A key example includes the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Triple
Cantilever, a major project with an estimated cost of $1.9B. Under the
design-build project delivery method, the City would realize an expe-
dited time frame for the completion of projects, while also saving
taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
Accordingly, the Mayor urges the earliest possible favorable consider-
ation of this proposal by the Legislature.
