Late-breaking State Issues

This year saw an uptick in bonding legislation, and NASBP was fortunate to work with many allies to defeat unfavorable legislation throughout the country. As we near the halfway mark of the year, many state legislatures have adjourned, while several states are still finalizing key legislation, summarized below: 

Massachusetts HB 2808 

The Massachusetts legislature is considering legislation that would allow the construction manager at-risk (CMAR) to have the option to obtain subcontractor default insurance (SDI) in lieu of performance and payment bonds for some or all trade contracts exceeding a specific dollar threshold. Trade contractors not covered through SDI must submit payment and performance bonds to the CMAR at no additional cost to the CMAR or the awarding agency. NASBP has hired a contract lobbyist to work this issue with NASBP Massachusetts members. NASBP Members have conducted several meetings with members of the State Administration and Regulatory Oversight Committee, where the bill was referred.  

New Jersey SB 2489 

The New Jersey Senate has passed legislation to authorize public-private partnership (P3) agreements for transportation projects. The bill language has been amended by the work of local sureties to clarify that the bonds are provided by the entity overseeing the design and construction portion of the contract and shall be in accordance with the state Little Miller Act.   

New York SB 5713  

The New York state Senate has passed legislation increasing the current bond threshold for multi-prime projects from $100,000 to $200,000. The language was originally introduced as an increase to $500,000, but the efforts of state contractor and labor groups persuaded the bill sponsors to amend the language to $200,000.  

Ohio HB 64 

The Ohio Senate recently accepted amendments to the state budget bill, which would clarify the P3 law enacted last year. Because the industry was concerned that the language of the P3 bill was too ambiguous, it worked this session to remedy this. As a result of those efforts, the amendments now clarify the language in the bill to ensure that the performance and payment bonds specifically cover the design and construction portion of the P3 agreement.   
 
For more information, contact NASBP Manager of State Relations, Shannon Crawford at scrawford@nasbp.org.