STATEMENT TO

 

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 436

 

with Senate Floor Amendments

(Proposed By Senator SINAGRA)

 

ADOPTED: MARCH 21, 1996

 

      These Senate amendments modify the bill's provisions regarding the damages and other payments that can be recovered by a contractor who looses a bid on a public works contract (the "plaintiff") because the winning bidder (the "defendant") violated the prevailing wage law or failed to make other required payments.

      The amendments provide that the defendant is not required to make any payments to the plaintiff if it is found that the violation or failure to pay was caused by minor record keeping mistakes or minor computational errors.

      The amendments also provide that payments are not required unless it is found that the plaintiff was a responsible bidder for the contract.

      Finally, the amendments eliminate the bill's previous provisions that the damages awarded to a plaintiff be the plaintiff's costs of preparing and submitting a bid plus 10% of the value of the portion of a contract which is awarded to the defendant. The bill instead provides that the damages include the costs of preparing and submitting the bid and, if sought by the plaintiff, the value of the profits that the plaintiff would have made if the plaintiff had been awarded the contract.