An ABC Member's Guide to the 2024 New York State Legislative Session

Through our advocacy efforts and the support of our members, the Chapter was able to block the following pieces of legislation that would have had a significantly negative impact on our industry: 

Prevailing Wage on Custom Prefabrication S5475-B (Jackson) / A373-B (Bronson)

• This legislation would've mandated a prevailing wage be paid for work performed in a custom prefab shop. Prevailing wages would have to be paid for an entire year after the initial project was completed.
• This bill passed the Assembly but failed to pass the Senate and, therefore, did not become a law.
• ABC members submitted over 1,000 letters opposing this legislation. Thank you for your efforts! 

Temperature Extreme Mitigation Program (TEMP) Act S.1604-F (Ramos) / A.8935-C (Bronson)

• This bill would have mandated onerous and redundant requirements on nonunion contractors. It excluded union contractors from this legislation, which is frankly insulting to every single member of ABC. 
• This bill did not make it to a vote in either house 
• We support commonsense and practical measures to protect employees from heat-related injuries and illnesses. This bill would not accomplish that.

Apprenticeship Mandate on All Public Projects S.7228 (Rhoads) / A.7608 (Durso)

• This bill would've mandated any company performing public works in New York State to be in a registered NYSDOL-approved apprenticeship program in the type and scope of work in which they bid. 
• This bill failed to get a vote in either house. 

Heat Act "NY Home Energy Affordable Transition Act" S.2016-A (Kruger) / A.4592-A (Fahy)

• This bill would remove customers' right to have natural gas and force full electrification of businesses and homes. 
• Would ban 100 ft gas hookups.
• This bill failed to pass both houses.

New York State Build Public Renewables Act S.4134 (Parker) / A.279 (Carrol)

• This bill would create the New York State Build Public Renewables Act, which requires the New York Power Authority (NYPA) to provide only renewable energy and power to customers, be the sole provider of energy to all state-owned and municipal properties and require the payment of prevailing wages and the use of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on all construction resulting from the legislation.
• This bill failed to make it out of committee in both houses. 

Empire Worker Protection Act (EMPIRE) S.541B / A.9012 (Simon)

• This bill would allow labor unions to enforce labor laws on job sites. This means that a union rep could walk onto a nonunion job site and site them for any of the various labor laws on the books in New York State. 
• This bill failed to get a vote in either house. 

After the budget, a few bad bills passed both houses and will be sent to the Governor for signature to become law. We will be advocating for a veto for each of the bills. The laws below will impact ABC members. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact Tanner. 

Prevailing Wage Mandate on Brownfield Cleanup Projects S.5868-B (Harkham) / A.7491-B (Bronson)

• This legislation will mandate the payment of prevailing wages on Brownfield Cleanup projects. 
• Here is a link to the legislation: S5868B (nysenate.gov)

Mental Stress Workers Comp Law S.6635 (Ramos) / A.5745 (Reyes)

• Allows employees to create a worker's compensation claim for mental injury premised upon extraordinary work-related stress. 
• Here is a link to the legislation: a5745 (nysenate.gov)

Public Project Ceritifed Payroll Bill S.8608 (Ramos) / A.9265 (Bronson)

• This bill would require all contractors working on a “covered project” to submit their payroll records monthly to the Commissioner of Labor. It also requires the Department of Labor to create an online searchable database to post these payroll records monthly
• Here is a link to the legislation: S8608 (nysenate.gov)

IDA Organization Bill S.4040-B (Mayer) / A.7532-B (Solages)

• This bill requires a labor union member and a school board member to be on IDA boards in New York State. 
• Here is a link to the legislation: S4040B (nysenate.gov)