Modest reforms to the Wicks Law that are being discussed in Albany represent "a step in the right direction," but provisions of the proposed law may negate savings, and additional reforms are clearly needed, especially Upstate, according to Business Council President Kenneth Adams.
New York's one-of-a-kind Wicks Law requires local governments and school districts to use more than one contractor on any public construction project with estimated costs of $50,000 or more. The union-friendly law Wicks Law forces the state and every municipality and school district to hire four contractors for public-construction projects, rather than hire a general contractor, as is generally done on large private projects.
Governor Eliot Spitzer and legislative leaders have reportedly agreed on a reform package that would increase the thresholds at which the Wicks Law takes effect, with different thresholds for different parts of the state.
"We commend the Governor and the Legislature for taking on Wicks reform, and their proposal to increase thresholds is a step in the right direction," Adams said. "This unique, out-of-date law drives up the cost of public construction across the state, and that drives up taxes for all of us.
Nonetheless, Adams warned, the reported reform package is unlikely to be enough to generate substantial savings for the state's taxpayers.
"We had hoped that the new Wicks threshold for projects in Upstate counties -- $500,000 – would be higher so that there would be greater savings Upstate, where costs are already too high," he said.
He also warned that two provisions added to the reform package late in negotiations – one allowing local governments to pre-qualify contractors, and another allow the substitution of PLAs for Wicks requirements – "may negate savings that would otherwise be created by the reform."
Adams pledged that The Business Council would work with the Governor and the Legislature "toward continued reforms of the Wicks Law in the future so that even greater savings can be achieved in public works projects and for taxpayers all across the state."