ACEC New York has confirmed legislative priorities for the upcoming 2016 legislative session. The focus of ACEC New York advocacy in 2016 will be in support of passage of legislation protecting engineering firms from uninsurable indemnification requirements. The bill seeks to make indemnification language in contracts with public entities and municipalities standard throughout the state. It would prevent design professionals from being forced to indemnify clients for damages that fall outside their professional standard of care. Engineering firms should only be responsible for the work they perform. Indemnification-related contract language should be consistent with the standard of care as set by the State Education Department and available professional liability insurance coverage. If contracts are non-uniform, and deviate from the statutory standard of care, indemnification requirements would not be covered by the engineering firm’s professional liability insurance. Other ACEC New York legislative priorities for 2016 include: Protect Firms that Respond to Disasters ACEC New York supports thoughtful and comprehensive legislation that would protect firms from frivolous lawsuits in the wake of disasters. Without this legislation, disaster response by forms may be curtailed – pass the Emergency Responder Act of 2016. Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS) ACEC New York supports the limitation of the inherent shortfalls of low-bid professional engineering service contracts and foster the development of innovative and cost-effective designs. Extend QBS requirements to public authorities and public benefit corporations. Increase Use of New York Private Design Firms Expertise, efficiencies and capacity brought by private engineering design firms provide greater savings for the taxpayer. A 2011 NYU Polytechnic Report documents a 20%+ savings when private engineering firms are utilized. ACEC New York also supports a number of funding priorities, including the support of sensible and sustainable infrastructure funding. Under this priority, ACEC New York recommends using surpluses to finance and fund long-term infrastructure projects; exemption of capital funding from the local property tax cap; provision of mandate relief for municipalities; investment in capital projects, in addition to maintenance of existing infrastructure, ensuring that funding is evenly distributed in New York State; and support of the MOVE-NY Fair Tolling Plan to provide a sustainable funding source for transit, roads and bridges. ACEC New York is a proactive coalition of 280 firms representing every discipline of engineering related to the built environment—civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, environmental, geotechnical—and affiliated companies. Our shared goals are to further the business interests of our membership, enhance the quality and safety of the environment we live and work in, and help ensure the vitality of our communities. For more information, visit www.acecny.org. Jay Simson, CAE, is the president of ACEC New York, Albany, N.Y. Tags: