Relates to prevailing wage requirements applicable to leasehold improvements in state leases

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Christopher Ryan says this is needed

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.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.