N.Y. STF Law § 135

§ 135. Separate specifications for contract work for the state. Except\nas otherwise provided in section two hundred twenty-two of the labor\nlaw, every officer, board, department, commission or commissions,\ncharged with the duty of preparing specifications or awarding or\nentering into contracts for the erection, construction or alteration of\nbuildings, for the state, when the entire cost of such work shall exceed\nthree million dollars in the counties of the Bronx, Kings, New York,\nQueens, and Richmond; one million five hundred thousand dollars in the\ncounties of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester; and five hundred thousand\ndollars in all other counties within the state, must have prepared\nseparate specifications for each of the following three subdivisions of\nthe work to be performed:\n 1. Plumbing and gas fitting.\n 2. Steam heating, hot water heating, ventilating and air conditioning\napparatus.\n 3. Electric wiring and standard illuminating fixtures.\n Such specifications must be so drawn as to permit separate and\nindependent bidding upon each of the above three subdivisions of work.\nAll contracts hereafter awarded by the state or a department, board,\ncommissioner or officer thereof, for the erection, construction or\nalteration of buildings, or any part thereof, shall award the three\nsubdivisions of the above specified work separately to responsible and\nreliable persons, firms or corporations engaged in these classes of\nwork. A contract for one or more buildings in any project shall be\nawarded to the lowest responsible bidder for all the buildings included\nin the specifications.\n Each bidder on a public work contract, where the preparation of\nseparate specifications is not required, shall submit with its bid a\nseparate sealed list that names each subcontractor that the bidder will\nuse to perform work on the contract, and the agreed-upon amount to be\npaid to each, for: (a) plumbing and gas fitting, (b) steam heating, hot\nwater heating, ventilating and air conditioning apparatus and (c)\nelectric wiring and standard illuminating fixtures. After the low bid is\nannounced, the sealed list of subcontractors submitted with such low bid\nshall be opened and the names of such subcontractors shall be announced,\nand thereafter any change of subcontractor or agreed-upon amount to be\npaid to each shall require the approval of the public owner, upon a\nshowing presented to the public owner of legitimate construction need\nfor such change, which shall be open to public inspection. Legitimate\nconstruction need shall include, but not be limited to, a change in\nproject specifications, a change in construction material costs, a\nchange to subcontractor status as determined pursuant to paragraph (e)\nof subdivision two of section two hundred twenty-two of the labor law,\nor the subcontractor has become otherwise unwilling, unable or\nunavailable to perform the subcontract. The sealed lists of\nsubcontractors submitted by all other bidders shall be returned to them\nunopened after the contract award.\n Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the authorities\nin charge of any state building, from performing any such branches of\nwork by or through their regular employees, or in the case of public\ninstitutions, by the incarcerated individuals thereof.\n