N.Y. State Finance Law § 127: Construction and repair of buildings of institutions reporting to the departments having jurisdiction

§ 127. Construction and repair of buildings of institutions reporting

to the departments having jurisdiction. As used in this section, the

term "departments having jurisdiction" shall be deemed to mean the

departments referred to in section one hundred twenty-five of this act,

except that with respect to construction, acquisition, reconstruction,

rehabilitation or improvement work at any state institution or facility

under the professional jurisdiction, supervision and control of the

department of mental hygiene, it shall not be deemed to mean the

department of mental hygiene unless such work is let by the commissioner

of general services as agent for the health and mental hygiene

facilities improvement corporation pursuant to an agreement with the

trustees of said corporation, as authorized by the health and mental

hygiene facilities improvement act.

1. All plans and specifications for the construction, alteration,

repair and improvement of buildings for institutions reporting to the

departments shall be prepared by the office of general services. The

departments having jurisdiction shall adopt or reject any such plans or

specifications, and no such work shall be begun until the plans and

specifications therefor have been adopted, but before the adoption

thereof, the departments having jurisdiction shall submit the same to

the board of visitors of the institution, if any, in case such board of

visitors is authorized by law to review such plans and specifications,

and shall allow such board a period of not more than thirty days in

which to submit a statement of their opinions and suggestions in regard

thereto.

2. Contracts for such work of construction, alteration, repair or

improvement may be let by the department having jurisdiction, or at the

request of such department by the commissioner of general services, but

in any event such letting shall be in accordance with the procedure set

forth in section eight of the public buildings law, with the approval of

the comptroller for the whole or any part of the work to be performed,

and, in its discretion, such contracts may be sublet. Special orders for

such work may be issued upon authorization by the department having

jurisdiction pursuant to section twenty of the public buildings law.

Copies of all such contracts and special orders shall be filed with the

department having jurisdiction, with the comptroller and with the board

of visitors, if any. All such contracts and special orders for the

construction, alteration, repair or improvement of buildings or plants

of such institutions shall contain a clause that the contract shall only

be deemed executory to the extent of the moneys available, and no

liability shall be incurred by the state beyond the moneys available for

the purpose. Except as provided in section twenty of the public

buildings law, all contracts in an amount greater than five thousand

dollars shall have the performance thereof secured by sufficient bond or

bonds, together with a bond or bonds for the payment of labor and

material as authorized by section one hundred thirty-seven of this

chapter, to be approved by the comptroller and filed in his office and

with the department having jurisdiction or the commissioner of general

services, as the case may be. No work done by special orders in an

amount less than twenty thousand dollars need have a bond. No work shall

be done by special order unless the commissioner has presented to the

comptroller evidence that he has made a diligent effort to obtain

competition sufficient to protect the interests of the state prior to

selecting the contractor to perform the work. In all cases in which

contracts to be let are for the purpose of connecting any such

institution with the system or line or lines maintained or operated by

any public service corporation or repairing or improving any such

connection, such public service corporation shall not be required to

give a certified check upon submitting its proposal as hereinbefore

provided nor to give any bond, nor shall any advertising for proposals

be necessary where the public service corporation is to perform the

work.

3. The work of construction, alteration, repair or improvement of

buildings or plant of any such state institution may be done by the

employment of incarcerated individual or outside labor, either or both,

and by purchase of materials in the open market whenever, in the opinion

of the comptroller, the department having jurisdiction and the

commissioner of general services, or an authorized representative of his

department, such course shall be more advantageous to the state. No

compensation shall be allowed for the employment of incarcerated

individual labor except convict labor.

4. Where money is appropriated for any specific purpose other than for

maintenance, and the work, materials, furniture, apparatus or other

supplies are not to be performed or purchased pursuant to conrtact or

special order duly made therefor, such money shall be expended pursuant

to special fund estimates made to the department having jurisdiction by

the superintendent of the institution for which such appropriation is

made. The provisions of this chapter relating to the estimates of the

expense required for such institutions shall apply to such estimates;

and when such work is to be performed in accordance with plans and

specifications prepared by the office of general services, or is to be

paid for from appropriations for the construction, alteration, repair or

improvement of buildings or plants, such estimates shall also be subject

to the approval of the office of general services. Except as above

specified all such work shall be done by contract or special order. The

form of the contract or special order shall be prescribed by the

commissioner of general services.

5. All payments on contracts and special orders, other than contracts

and special orders made on the approval of the office of general

services and special fund estimates, shall be made by the comptroller

after audit, on the voucher of the commissioner of general services as

the work progresses or the purchase of material is made. All payments on

contracts, as the work progresses, shall be made by the comptroller

after audit upon the certificate of the office of general services

accompanied by the voucher of the contractor to whom the money is due.

All final payments on contracts and special orders shall be made by the

comptroller after audit upon the certificate of the office of general

services with the approval of the department having jurisdiction.

6. No item of an appropriation made for the performance of such work

shall be available, except for advertising, unless one or more

contracts, special orders or special fund estimates shall first have

been made for completion of such work within the appropriation therefor.

Each original bid with an abstract thereof, shall accompany the copy of

the contract or special order which is to be filed with the comptroller.