S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  5690

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 10, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sen. McDONALD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education

AN ACT in relation to authorizing the lease  of  lands  located  at  the
  state university of New York at Albany

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that the  state
university  of  New  York  at Albany, ("University") is in need of addi-
tional facilities to  fulfill  its  legislatively  mandated  mission  of
research,  education,  and  workforce training. Specifically, additional
instructional,  laboratory,  and  residential  and  support  spaces  are
required  to support the academic and research programs of the Universi-
ty, including those necessary to realize a  Biomedical  and  Information
Innovation  Research  initiative  and  those  necessary for a growth and
revitalization initiative for the University's Alumni Quad,  a  residen-
tial  complex  in  the  Education  District  of the City of Albany, both
initiatives (hereinafter described as "the project") to  be  funded,  in
part,  by  active  partnerships between government and private industry.
Furthermore, these activities will promote enhanced research, technology
deployment, improved undergraduate education,  neighborhood  revitaliza-
tion, and economic outreach across the capital region of New York state.
  The  legislature further finds that granting the trustees of the state
university of New York the authority and power to  lease  and  otherwise
contract  to  make available grounds and facilities of the campus of the
state university of New York at Albany will ensure  such  activity  will
promote enhanced research, technology deployment, improved undergraduate
education, neighborhood revitalization, and economic outreach across the
capital region of New York state.
  S 2. As used in this act "the UA Corporation" shall mean the Universi-
ty  at  Albany  Development  Corporation, which will be a not-for-profit
corporation established for the purpose of facilitating the educational,

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD13062-01-1
              

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research and economic development activities related to the  mission  of
the state university of New York by constructing, developing and operat-
ing facilities which support economic development, academic and research
activities  and  the mission of the state university of New York and its
University at Albany campus.
  S 3. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the state  univer-
sity  trustees  are  hereby authorized and empowered, without any public
bidding, to lease and otherwise contract to make  available  to  the  UA
Corporation  a  portion of the lands of the state university of New York
at Albany generally described as all that real  property  consisting  of
approximately 25 acres of land on the Uptown and Alumni Quad campuses of
the  University at Albany, for the purpose of constructing and operating
research, education, residential,  and  student  support  facilities  to
provide  additional  instructional, laboratory, residential, and student
support spaces required to support the academic programs and the mission
of the state university of New York. Such lease or contract shall be for
a period not exceeding 40 years without any fee  simple  conveyance  and
otherwise upon terms and conditions determined by such trustees, subject
to  the  approval  of  the  director  of the division of the budget, the
attorney general and the state comptroller. In the event that  the  real
property that is the subject of such lease or contract shall cease to be
used for the purpose described in this act, such lease or contract shall
immediately terminate and the real property and any improvements thereon
shall  revert to the state university of New York. Any lease or contract
entered into pursuant to this act shall provide that the  real  property
that is the subject of such lease or contract and any improvements ther-
eon  shall  revert to the state university of New York on the expiration
of such contract or lease.
  S 4. Any contract or lease entered into pursuant to this act shall  be
deemed to be a state contract for purposes of article 15-A of the execu-
tive  law, and any contractor, subcontractor, lessee or sublessee enter-
ing into such contract or lease for the construction, demolition, recon-
struction, excavation, rehabilitation, repair, renovation, alteration or
improvement authorized pursuant to this act  shall  be  deemed  a  state
agency for the purposes of article 15-A of the executive law and subject
to the provisions of such article.
  S  5.  Notwithstanding  any  general, special or local law or judicial
decision to the contrary, all work performed on a project authorized  by
this  act where all or any portion thereof involves a lease or agreement
for  construction,  demolition,  reconstruction,  excavation,  rehabili-
tation,  repair,  renovation,  alteration or improvement shall be deemed
public work and shall be subject to and performed in accordance with the
provisions of article 8 of the labor law to the same extent and  in  the
same  manner  as  a  contract  of the state, and compliance with all the
provisions of article 8 of the  labor  law  shall  be  required  of  any
lessee,  sublessee,  contractor  and/or  subcontractor performing on the
project, including the enforcement of prevailing  wage  requirements  by
the fiscal officer as defined in paragraph e of subdivision 5 of section
220 of the labor law to the same extent as a contract of the state.
  S 6. Nothing in this act shall be deemed to waive or impair any rights
or benefits of employees of the state university of New York that other-
wise  would  be  available  to  them pursuant to the terms of agreements
between the certified representatives of such employees and the state of
New York pursuant to article 14 of  the  civil  service  law;  all  work
performed on such property that ordinarily would be performed by employ-

S. 5690                             3

ees  subject to article 14 of the civil service law shall continue to be
performed by such employees.
  S  7. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special, or local
law or judicial decision to the contrary:
  (a) The UA Corporation may require a contractor  awarded  a  contract,
subcontract  lease,  grant,  bond,  covenant  or other agreement for any
single construction project exceeding ten million dollars in the  aggre-
gate,  for  which more than twenty-five percent of such aggregate amount
is to be paid from appropriations furnished by the state of New York  or
the  state  university of New York, to enter into a project labor agree-
ment during and for the  work  involved  with  such  project  when  such
requirement  is  part  of  UA  Corporation request for proposals for the
project and when UA Corporation determines that  the  record  supporting
the decision to enter into such an agreement establishes that the inter-
ests underlying the competitive bidding laws are best met by requiring a
project  labor  agreement  including:    obtaining  the best work at the
lowest possible price; preventing favoritism, fraud and corruption;  the
impact  of delay; the possibility of cost savings; and any local history
of labor unrest. For the purposes of this act, "project labor agreement"
shall mean work at the property authorized by this act to be  leased  to
the  UA  Corporation  as described in this act that involves the design,
construction, reconstruction,  demolition,  excavating,  rehabilitation,
repair, renovation, alteration or improvements.
  (b)  If the UA Corporation does not require a project labor agreement,
then any contractor, subcontractor,  lease,  grant,  bond,  covenant  or
other  agreements for a project shall be awarded pursuant to section 135
of the state finance law.
  S 8. Without limiting the determination of the terms and conditions of
such contracts or leases, such terms  and  conditions  may  provide  for
leasing,   subleasing,   construction,  reconstruction,  rehabilitation,
improvement, operation and management of and provision of  services  and
assistance  and  the  granting of licenses, easements and other arrange-
ments with regard to such grounds and facilities by the UA  Corporation,
and parties contracting with the UA Corporation, and, in connection with
such  activities,  the obtaining of funding or financing, whether public
or private, unsecured or secured (including, but not limited to, secured
by leasehold mortgages and assignments of rents and leases), by  the  UA
Corporation  and  parties  contracting  with  the UA Corporation for the
purposes of completing the project described in this act.
  S 9. Such lease shall  include  an  indemnity  provision  whereby  the
lessee  or sublessee promises to indemnify, hold harmless and defend the
lessor against all claims, suits, actions, and liability to all  persons
on  the leased premises, including tenant, tenant's agents, contractors,
subcontractors, employees, customers, guests,  licensees,  invitees  and
members of the public, for damage to any such person's property, whether
real  or  personal, or for personal injuries arising out of tenant's use
or occupation of the demised premises.
  S 10. The property authorized by this act  to  be  leased  to  the  UA
Corporation  is  generally  described  as those parcels of real property
with improvements thereon, consisting of a  total  of  approximately  25
acres, situated on the Uptown and Alumni campuses of the state universi-
ty  of  New  York  at  Albany.  The  descriptions in this section of the
parcels to be made available pursuant to this act are not  meant  to  be
legal  descriptions,  but  are  intended  only to generally identify the
parcels:

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  FIRST PARCEL: All or portions of that tract, piece or parcel  of  land
situate  on  the  Uptown  Campus  of the state university of New York at
Albany, portions of which lie in the  Town  of  Guilderland,  County  of
Albany, State of New York and portions of which lie in the City of Alba-
ny, County of Albany, State of New York, the total consisting of approx-
imately  14.5 acres, subject to any and all easements, restrictions, and
rights of way of record, and being  more  particularly  bounded  on  the
south  by Justice Drive, on the west by Chemistry Lane and Life Sciences
Lane, on the north by State Drive, and on the east by University Drive.
  SECOND PARCEL: All or portions of that tract, piece or parcel of  land
situate on the Alumni Quad Campus of the state university of New York at
Albany  in  the  City  of  Albany,  County of Albany, State of New York,
consisting of approximately 10.5 acres, subject to  any  and  all  ease-
ments, restrictions, and rights of way of record, and being more partic-
ularly  bounded  on  the south by Western Avenue, on the west by O'Leary
Boulevard, on the north by State Street, and  on  the  east  by  Ontario
Street.
  S 11. The state university of New York shall not lease lands described
in  this  act unless any such lease shall be executed within three years
of the effective date of this act.
  S 12. Insofar as the provisions of this act are inconsistent with  the
provisions of any law, general, special or local, the provisions of this
act shall be controlling.
  S 13. This act shall take effect immediately.