BILL NUMBER: S10472
SPONSOR: RYAN C
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public buildings law and the labor law, in relation
to prevailing wage requirements applicable to leasehold improvements in
state leases
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would clarify that leasehold improvements in leases entered
into by the Office of General Services are subject to prevailing wage
requirements for public work.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Subparagraph 12 of Section 3 of the Public Buildings
Law to clarify that leases entered into by the Commissioner of General
Services are subject to 224-g of the labor law.
Section 2 makes the same amendment to subdivision 12 of section 3 of the
public buildings law under the alternate version of the statute that
becomes effective upon reversion.
Section 3 adds a new section 224-g to the Labor Law that requires
prevailing wage for leasehold or capital improvements in leases entered
into by the Commissioner of. General Services.
Section 4 sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, leasehold and capital improvements made to state offices in
privately owned buildings do not require prevailing wage. This is
despite the clear intent of our state constitution that "provides that
laborers, workers and mechanics engaged in 'any public work' cannot 'be
paid less than the rate of wages prevailing in the same trade or occupa-
tion in the locality within the state where such public work is to be
situated, erected or used."
Ellicott Group v. State of New York Executive Department of General
Services (2011) established that in requiring prevailing wage for these
projects prior to 2011, OGS had "usurped the role of the Legislature in
making its policy decision that prevailing wages should be paid even for
work that was not public work. It is for the Legislature, not OGS, to
define the parameters of when prevailing wages should be paid." While it
is the Legislature's responsibility to define public work, OGS leasehold
improvements are state-funded construction work that should meet that
definition.
This legislation rectifies that case law that threw out prevailing wage
based on the separation of powers and procedure by clearly defining
these leasehold improvements as public work. The intent of our State is
that all public work should be prevailing wage, regardless of where that
public office is located.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

Statutes affected:
S10472: 3 public buildings law, 3(12) public buildings law