84R8082 SCL-D
 
  By: Darby H.B. No. 2049
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to indemnification and duties of engineers and architects
  under certain governmental contracts.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 271.904, Local Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 271.904.  ENGINEERING OR ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES
  CONTRACTS: INDEMNIFICATION LIMITATIONS; DUTIES OF ENGINEER OR
  ARCHITECT. (a) A covenant or promise in, in connection with, or
  collateral to a contract for engineering or architectural services
  to which a governmental agency is a party is void and unenforceable
  if the covenant or promise provides that a licensed engineer or
  registered architect whose work product is the subject of the
  contract must indemnify, hold harmless, or defend the governmental
  agency against liability for damage, other than liability for
  damage to the extent that the damage is caused by or results from an
  act of negligence, intentional tort, intellectual property
  infringement, or failure to pay a subcontractor or supplier
  committed by the indemnitor or the indemnitor's agent, consultant
  under contract, or another entity over which the indemnitor
  exercises control.
         (b)  If a contract for engineering or architectural services
  to which a governmental agency is a party contains an
  indemnification covenant or promise authorized under Subsection
  (a), the covenant or promise may not provide for a duty to defend
  but may provide that the governmental agency may seek the
  reimbursement of reasonable attorney's fees after a final
  adjudication of liability due to an act described by Subsection
  (a).
         (c)  A contract for engineering or architectural services to
  which a governmental agency is a party must require a licensed
  engineer or registered architect to perform services:
               (1)  with the professional skill and care ordinarily
  provided by engineers or architects practicing in the same or
  similar locality and under the same or similar circumstances; and
               (2)  as expeditiously as is prudent considering the
  ordinary professional skill and care of an engineer or architect
  and the orderly progress of the project.
         (d)  In a contract for engineering or architectural services
  to which a governmental agency is a party, a provision establishing
  a different standard of care than a standard described by
  Subsection (c) is void and unenforceable.
         (e)  In this section, "governmental agency" has the meaning
  assigned by Section 271.003.
         SECTION 2.  Section 271.904, Local Government Code, as
  amended by this Act, applies only to a contract for which a request
  for proposals or a request for qualifications is first published or
  distributed on or after the effective date of this Act. A contract
  for which a request for proposals or a request for qualifications is
  first published or distributed before the effective date of this
  Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the request was
  published or distributed, and the former law is continued in effect
  for that purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.