News & Insights

Hodgson Russ Partner Thomas Berkman recently joined The Capitol Pressroom to discuss what’s next for New York’s freshwater wetland protections following a recent court ruling.

New York’s General Municipal Law § 103(16) currently permits various New York State agencies, municipalities, political subdivisions, and districts to engage in “piggybacking” as an alternative and more efficient method of procurement compared to the traditional public bidding process. When the State Legislature initially passed the amendment to the General Municipal Law to permit piggybacking, the change was not a permanent one. The Legislature included a sunset provision to repeal the piggybacking clauses after being in effect for five years. Since then, municipalities, school districts, and other government agencies have acknowledged the positive impact that piggybacking has had on project efficiency and cost control, and the State Legislature to this point has worked to keep the law in effect. The initial repeal date has been amended several times, and the current extension is set to expire on June 30, 2026. Legislative Bills S.10075-A/A.11162-A aim to extend the piggybacking provision of the General Municipal Law for an additional year, to June 30, 2027. Among other things, the bill summary recites that “Piggybacking has been proven to reduce the administrative costs and burdens for localities and the costs related to goods and services; resulting in savings to the governmental entities that utilize cooperative purchasing.” The Bill recently passed both chambers of the Legislature and currently awaits Governor Hochul’s pen

New York's 2026-27 Budget Bill (the “Budget Bill”) amends the Tax Law and various other statutes through a series of Parts (here, A through JJ). The Budget Bill touches a range of personal and business tax provisions, extends several expiring credits and temporary rate increases, introduces new compliance and enforcement mechanisms, and adds a significant new levy on certain New York City real property – the “Pied-à-terre Tax.”

New York’s General Municipal Law § 103(1) generally requires that all contracts for public works over $35,000, and all purchase contracts worth more than $20,000, are subject to the competitive bidding process, and such contracts must either be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder or on the basis of best value. In 2012, the statute was amended to authorize the state, municipalities, political subdivisions, and districts to engage in a new method of procurement—often referred to as “piggybacking”—without engaging in traditional public bidding. “Piggybacking” is a process by which one governmental entity is permitted to purchase or procure the same goods and services at the same contractual pricing, terms, and conditions as another government entity, the latter of which has already competitively bid the contract. Proper use of piggybacking can potentially result in significant savings and efficiencies, and by extension, benefit the public taxpayers by streamlining the process, reducing administrative costs, and providing access to a broader vendor pool than having each government entity conduct its own individualized and localized public bidding for the same type of procurement.