CSA Legislative History
2018
In the recently closed 2018 legislative session, CSA worked with the General Law Committee to introduce HB 5370, “AN ACT CONCERNING CHANGE ORDERS IN CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS.” The bill sought to set a floor for the amount that contractors or subcontractors could charge for overhead and profit on change order work to 15% (minimum). The original bill would have applied to both public and private projects (excluding small residential work).
At the eleventh hour, a small but dedicated group of House Republicans — purportedly at the behest of several unnamed “large contractors”— opposed the bill and threatened to bog down the House in extended debate. Although there were plenty of votes to pass it, this stalling tactic effectively killed the bill for the session.
We will deal with this situation accordingly when we renew the bill in the next session.
2017
CSA is pleased to report that HB No. 7073 was signed by Governor Malloy and is now Public Act 17-182, “An Act Concerning Remedies In Lawsuits Against Property Owners By Subcontractors And The Release Of Retainage Withheld In Private Construction Contracts.” This new law will greatly assist subcontractors in getting paid more quickly on private jobs, and will help all contractors get retainage paid within 30 days of final acceptance of a project.
2016
CSA achieved legislative success in 2016 with the passage of House Bill No. 5328, An Act Concerning Public Work Contract Retainage And Enforcement Of The Right To Payment On A Bond. It is now Public Act No. 16-104 and went into effect on July 1, 2016. The new law reduces retainage in public work to 5% and provides attorney's fees for statutory bond payment issues.
2013
CSA addressed Senate Bill 978, the legislation that would have increased the threshold dollar amount for DCS competitive bidding from $500K to $1.5M. The proposal that would increase the threshold to $1M was acceptable to CSA. However, the DCS proposal to raise the level to $1.5M level was not acceptable to CSA.
This bill would also have clarified that subcontractors and general contractors be properly prequalified at the time of bid, which CSA agreed was a good idea. The bill would also have raised the threshold for prequalification on municipal projects to $1M. During the legislative effort CSA emphasized that subcontractors would prefer to leave the prequalification requirements for towns and cities unchanged.
2012
Steve Kaplan, CSA Legal Counsel from Michelson, Kane, Royster & Barger, PC and CSA President Bill Flynn from Electrical Contractors, Inc. testified in favor of SB 70, An Act Concerning Fairness In Certain Commercial Construction Contracts. The bill would have requiree timely payment pursuant to certain commercial construction contracts.
In his testimony Bill Flynn said, "the Connecticut Subcontractors Association strongly supports Raised Bill No. 70. It addresses a critical problem in our construction industry, paying contractors and subcontractors for labor and materials provided to a project."
During his testimony Steve Kaplan said, "the proposed legislation would amend Conn. Gen. Stat. §42-158j for most private construction projects (excluding smaller residential) to provide much-need parameters for billing and payment of excessive change order work, and also to clarify escrow account provisions to ensure payment for subcontractor’s work."
2011
The Connecticut Subcontractors Association strongly opposed Senate Bill 850, An Act Concerning Department of Administrative Services & DOT Prequalification and Evaluation of Contractors. Specifically objectionable are the following two sections of the bill:
This legislation would have modified the contractor prequalification statutes for the Department of Administrative Services and Department of Transportation. CSA is opposed to this legislation.
Steve Kaplan, CSA Legal Counsel from Michelson, Kane, Royster & Barger, PC testified against the bill. Steve said, “Although well-intentioned, the effect of these amendments would be to impose unfair and draconian punishment on many responsible and qualified contractors or substantial subcontractors.”
2010
Bill 131 is now Public Act No. 10-148. The law reduces retainage amount in commercial construction and large residential contracts from 7.5% to 5%. The law help subcontractors pay their laborers and material suppliers in a more timely manner. The new law went into effect on October 1, 2010.
2009
CSA achieved a legislative victory with the passage of Public Act No. 09-146, pertaining to change orders. The law became effective on July 1, 2009. Now, payment requisitions and change orders on both public projects for which a payment bond in required, and on private commercial projects requires that a "statement" be applied to all requisitions submitted by both general contractors and subcontractors. The statement must show the status of all pending construction change orders, other pending change directives and approved changes to the original contract or subcontract.
2008
In 2008 the General Assembly's General Law Committee approved a measure that would allow subcontractors to pass through claims to the public owner, thereby allowing subcontractors a means of bringing legitimate claims before the owner without having to obligate their general contractor for this liability.
The "pass-through claims" proposal was sent the Transportation Committee where no action was taken on the measure. This was the second consecutive year that this measure has won approval from the General Law Committee, but died in another committee. Those opposed to the bill argued that the state will have to pay out millions in claims. The industry argues that id these are legitimate claims, then the awarding authority should be held liable.
2007
In 2001 CSA established its 2007 legislative priorities at a meeting attended by Connecticut Representative Thomas Colapietro (D) Bristol
Priorities included:
2006
In 2006, CSA Partnered with the Connecticut Bar Association to support a proposal to allow for pass-through claims for subcontractors on public construction. CSA joined forces with the Construction Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association to attempt to eliminate the barring of pass through claims by subcontractors. While the bill did not win passage, CSA continues to work for passage. Connecticut is the only state in country that does not allow pass-through claims for subcontractors.
2005
In 2005 CSA supported a proposal to require subcontractors pre-qualification on major state and public construction contracts. In an effort to secure the same type of stringent bidder requirements that now exists for general contractors, CSA supported the establishment of similar requirements for over 21 subcontract trades when their portion of the project exceed $500,000/ The law passed went into effect in 2007.
2004
With help of Senator Thomas Colapietro (D-Bristol), the Small Business Protection Bill was passed in 2001. This legislation requires stricter payment guidelines to help subcontractors collect the money they are owed from construction managers, general contractors, or owners. It also requires owners to pay for labor and materials within thirty days of receiving a written request for payment, general contractors to pay their subcontractors for labor and materials within thirty days of receiving payment, and subcontractors to insist on these provisions in their contracts with other subcontractors and suppliers.
The Connecticut General Assembly also passed a CSA proposal mandating payment and performance bonds for construction managers when working on municipal construction projects.
Prior to the passage of this measure, Connecticut municipalities were not required to mandate a bond for construction managers. Construction managers were. therefore, not bonded, which offered no protection to the subcontractors on the project should the construction manager default. With the passage of this legislation the municipality became the financially responsible party should they fail to require the construction manager on a project secure a payment and performance bond from a surety.
In addition CSA supported a bidder pre-qualification initiative to establish a statutory requirements for bidders budding on major state and other public construction projects.
CSA also worked with the general contractors in support of a legislative initiative to establish quantifiable bidder qualifications for general bidder bidding on state and public construction projects.
2003
A CSA proposal to establish retainage escrow accounts on private construction contracts passed the Connecticut General Assembly in 2003. This was a major legislative achievement, as the new legislation requires that, if requested, private owners and general contractors must establish a non-interest bearing escrow account. Failure to do so would allow a subcontractor to secure court cost and attorney's fess if successful in litigation.
In 2003 CSA also joined forces with the Associated General Contractors (AGC) to support issues of mutual concern. CSA and AGC began to work together as equal partners in a collaborative effort to make meaningful changes to correct long-standing issues of inequity for subcontractors and general contractors in the public and private markets.
2002
CSA Secured passage of legislation to ameliorate the effects of risk transfer to subcontractors in 2002. With this first legislative victory, CSA effectively spread the risk among all parties associated with a given claim.
2001
In 2001, the Connecticut Subcontractors Association (CSA) was incorporated and the association took immediate action to establish itself as the voice of the Connecticut subcontractor. CSA hosted a meeting at which the Business Practices Interchanged was established. This provided subcontractors with a voice to share their issues and concerns with regard to the industry practices of contractors for whom they are working or have worked in the past.
CSA also establishes an on-going relationship with the State Department of Public Works that resulted in an annual "State of the State" program hosted by the Commissioner of Public Works.
In addition CSA establishes itself as the voice of the "lone subcontractor" by standing up to public, private and quasi organizations to insure compliance with state retainage practices.
2018
In the recently closed 2018 legislative session, CSA worked with the General Law Committee to introduce HB 5370, “AN ACT CONCERNING CHANGE ORDERS IN CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS.” The bill sought to set a floor for the amount that contractors or subcontractors could charge for overhead and profit on change order work to 15% (minimum). The original bill would have applied to both public and private projects (excluding small residential work).
At the eleventh hour, a small but dedicated group of House Republicans — purportedly at the behest of several unnamed “large contractors”— opposed the bill and threatened to bog down the House in extended debate. Although there were plenty of votes to pass it, this stalling tactic effectively killed the bill for the session.
We will deal with this situation accordingly when we renew the bill in the next session.
2017
CSA is pleased to report that HB No. 7073 was signed by Governor Malloy and is now Public Act 17-182, “An Act Concerning Remedies In Lawsuits Against Property Owners By Subcontractors And The Release Of Retainage Withheld In Private Construction Contracts.” This new law will greatly assist subcontractors in getting paid more quickly on private jobs, and will help all contractors get retainage paid within 30 days of final acceptance of a project.
2016
CSA achieved legislative success in 2016 with the passage of House Bill No. 5328, An Act Concerning Public Work Contract Retainage And Enforcement Of The Right To Payment On A Bond. It is now Public Act No. 16-104 and went into effect on July 1, 2016. The new law reduces retainage in public work to 5% and provides attorney's fees for statutory bond payment issues.
2013
CSA addressed Senate Bill 978, the legislation that would have increased the threshold dollar amount for DCS competitive bidding from $500K to $1.5M. The proposal that would increase the threshold to $1M was acceptable to CSA. However, the DCS proposal to raise the level to $1.5M level was not acceptable to CSA.
This bill would also have clarified that subcontractors and general contractors be properly prequalified at the time of bid, which CSA agreed was a good idea. The bill would also have raised the threshold for prequalification on municipal projects to $1M. During the legislative effort CSA emphasized that subcontractors would prefer to leave the prequalification requirements for towns and cities unchanged.
2012
Steve Kaplan, CSA Legal Counsel from Michelson, Kane, Royster & Barger, PC and CSA President Bill Flynn from Electrical Contractors, Inc. testified in favor of SB 70, An Act Concerning Fairness In Certain Commercial Construction Contracts. The bill would have requiree timely payment pursuant to certain commercial construction contracts.
In his testimony Bill Flynn said, "the Connecticut Subcontractors Association strongly supports Raised Bill No. 70. It addresses a critical problem in our construction industry, paying contractors and subcontractors for labor and materials provided to a project."
During his testimony Steve Kaplan said, "the proposed legislation would amend Conn. Gen. Stat. §42-158j for most private construction projects (excluding smaller residential) to provide much-need parameters for billing and payment of excessive change order work, and also to clarify escrow account provisions to ensure payment for subcontractor’s work."
2011
The Connecticut Subcontractors Association strongly opposed Senate Bill 850, An Act Concerning Department of Administrative Services & DOT Prequalification and Evaluation of Contractors. Specifically objectionable are the following two sections of the bill:
This legislation would have modified the contractor prequalification statutes for the Department of Administrative Services and Department of Transportation. CSA is opposed to this legislation.
Steve Kaplan, CSA Legal Counsel from Michelson, Kane, Royster & Barger, PC testified against the bill. Steve said, “Although well-intentioned, the effect of these amendments would be to impose unfair and draconian punishment on many responsible and qualified contractors or substantial subcontractors.”
2010
Bill 131 is now Public Act No. 10-148. The law reduces retainage amount in commercial construction and large residential contracts from 7.5% to 5%. The law help subcontractors pay their laborers and material suppliers in a more timely manner. The new law went into effect on October 1, 2010.
2009
CSA achieved a legislative victory with the passage of Public Act No. 09-146, pertaining to change orders. The law became effective on July 1, 2009. Now, payment requisitions and change orders on both public projects for which a payment bond in required, and on private commercial projects requires that a "statement" be applied to all requisitions submitted by both general contractors and subcontractors. The statement must show the status of all pending construction change orders, other pending change directives and approved changes to the original contract or subcontract.
2008
In 2008 the General Assembly's General Law Committee approved a measure that would allow subcontractors to pass through claims to the public owner, thereby allowing subcontractors a means of bringing legitimate claims before the owner without having to obligate their general contractor for this liability.
The "pass-through claims" proposal was sent the Transportation Committee where no action was taken on the measure. This was the second consecutive year that this measure has won approval from the General Law Committee, but died in another committee. Those opposed to the bill argued that the state will have to pay out millions in claims. The industry argues that id these are legitimate claims, then the awarding authority should be held liable.
2007
In 2001 CSA established its 2007 legislative priorities at a meeting attended by Connecticut Representative Thomas Colapietro (D) Bristol
Priorities included:
- Reduction of public and private retainage requirements to maximum of 2.5%
- Payment of full retention with substantial completion of work
- Increasing time frame for subcontractor to file valid lien from 90 to 120 days
- Elimination of state provision allowing substitution of securities for retainage
- Notification from public awarding authorities when payments make up the general contractor's periodic payment
2006
In 2006, CSA Partnered with the Connecticut Bar Association to support a proposal to allow for pass-through claims for subcontractors on public construction. CSA joined forces with the Construction Law Section of the Connecticut Bar Association to attempt to eliminate the barring of pass through claims by subcontractors. While the bill did not win passage, CSA continues to work for passage. Connecticut is the only state in country that does not allow pass-through claims for subcontractors.
2005
In 2005 CSA supported a proposal to require subcontractors pre-qualification on major state and public construction contracts. In an effort to secure the same type of stringent bidder requirements that now exists for general contractors, CSA supported the establishment of similar requirements for over 21 subcontract trades when their portion of the project exceed $500,000/ The law passed went into effect in 2007.
2004
With help of Senator Thomas Colapietro (D-Bristol), the Small Business Protection Bill was passed in 2001. This legislation requires stricter payment guidelines to help subcontractors collect the money they are owed from construction managers, general contractors, or owners. It also requires owners to pay for labor and materials within thirty days of receiving a written request for payment, general contractors to pay their subcontractors for labor and materials within thirty days of receiving payment, and subcontractors to insist on these provisions in their contracts with other subcontractors and suppliers.
The Connecticut General Assembly also passed a CSA proposal mandating payment and performance bonds for construction managers when working on municipal construction projects.
Prior to the passage of this measure, Connecticut municipalities were not required to mandate a bond for construction managers. Construction managers were. therefore, not bonded, which offered no protection to the subcontractors on the project should the construction manager default. With the passage of this legislation the municipality became the financially responsible party should they fail to require the construction manager on a project secure a payment and performance bond from a surety.
In addition CSA supported a bidder pre-qualification initiative to establish a statutory requirements for bidders budding on major state and other public construction projects.
CSA also worked with the general contractors in support of a legislative initiative to establish quantifiable bidder qualifications for general bidder bidding on state and public construction projects.
2003
A CSA proposal to establish retainage escrow accounts on private construction contracts passed the Connecticut General Assembly in 2003. This was a major legislative achievement, as the new legislation requires that, if requested, private owners and general contractors must establish a non-interest bearing escrow account. Failure to do so would allow a subcontractor to secure court cost and attorney's fess if successful in litigation.
In 2003 CSA also joined forces with the Associated General Contractors (AGC) to support issues of mutual concern. CSA and AGC began to work together as equal partners in a collaborative effort to make meaningful changes to correct long-standing issues of inequity for subcontractors and general contractors in the public and private markets.
2002
CSA Secured passage of legislation to ameliorate the effects of risk transfer to subcontractors in 2002. With this first legislative victory, CSA effectively spread the risk among all parties associated with a given claim.
2001
In 2001, the Connecticut Subcontractors Association (CSA) was incorporated and the association took immediate action to establish itself as the voice of the Connecticut subcontractor. CSA hosted a meeting at which the Business Practices Interchanged was established. This provided subcontractors with a voice to share their issues and concerns with regard to the industry practices of contractors for whom they are working or have worked in the past.
CSA also establishes an on-going relationship with the State Department of Public Works that resulted in an annual "State of the State" program hosted by the Commissioner of Public Works.
In addition CSA establishes itself as the voice of the "lone subcontractor" by standing up to public, private and quasi organizations to insure compliance with state retainage practices.
