Some construction and builders groups are crying foul over two new provisions in the recently reformed Wicks Law.
The Wicks Law mandate is a series of laws first enacted in 1912 that require New York state and its local governments to issue requests for multiple construction contracts for most public works projects that exceed $50,000.
Under changes made in this year”™s budget, the new threshold for triggering the law is $3 million in New York City, $1.5 million in downstate suburbs ”“ defined as Westchester, Suffolk, and Nassau counties ”“ and $500,000 in upstate New York. It’s the first time the law has been adjusted for inflation since the 1960s.
Two other provisions are also contentious: one exempts projects entirely from Wicks regardless of the cost if a project labor agreement (PLA) is implemented; the second requires all contractors and subcontractors working on projects with costs above the new threshold to have state-registered apprenticeship training programs that have been in place for three years.
The Empire State Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors believes those two provisions are “discriminatory” and will end up driving project costs even higher.
“Linking Wicks Law reform to discriminatory provisions like PLAs and apprenticeship requirements is not positive reform; it is a gross and overtly political distortion of reform crafted to ensure that Merit shop contractors and their employees, who comprise 70 percent of the construction industry in New York State, will be shut out of public construction projects entirely,” Rebecca Meinking, president of the association, said in a statement.
The group contends that entering into PLAs are more costly than Wicks Law itself because it limits public construction jobs to trade unions.
“If the purpose of Wicks reform is to reduce public construction costs, the governor and the Legislature completely missed the boat on this one,” Meinking said.
Other groups, such as the General Building Contractors of New York State, also said the PLA provision would end up being more costly. That group issued a statement to its members saying the provisions would have a “significant negative impact” on the construction market.
Ross Pepe, president of the Construction Industry Council, said the group has asked its legal team to review the impact of the changes, specifically how they would affect subcontracting requirements, before taking an official stance.
However, he did say that the reforms are a “significant change” in Wicks Law.
He said PLAs are already “widely in use” in Westchester and the Hudson Valley as it currently stands.
From a fiscal standpoint, neither the increased price threshold nor other provisions will likely mean a significant decrease in construction costs for government projects, said Bill Mooney, president of the Westchester County Association.
“My initial reaction to it is: What”™s the difference?” he said. “This doesn”™t go far enough.”
