|
House Bill 1477 |
House Author: Bell, Keith et al. |
|
Effective: Vetoed |
Senate Sponsor: Nichols |
House Bill 1477 amends the Government Code to extend the applicability of provisions governing the use of performance and payment bonds for an applicable public work contract to a public work contract of qualifying value for work performed on public property leased by a nongovernmental entity from a governmental entity. The bill's provisions do not apply to a contract entered into by a nongovernmental entity that leases property from a river authority that owns electric generation capacity in excess of 1,000 megawatts.
Governor's Reason for Veto: "Whenever a government entity leases public property to a non‑governmental entity, and the latter decides to enter into a contract for work performed on the property, House Bill 1477 would make the government entity responsible for the prime contractor obtaining a bond to protect subcontractors. If no bond is obtained and the prime contractor does not pay subcontractors, the government entity would be responsible for payment because the bill waives the government entity's sovereign immunity in this situation. Because the government entity may not know who the prime contractor is—or even that there is a contract between the non-governmental entity and a prime contractor—House Bill 1477 could leave the government entity, and taxpayers, on the hook for damages not caused by the government entity."