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Record of Proceedings

Joint Legislation and Labor Committee Meeting on Lessor Prevailing Wage Act - May 5, 2026

Board of Legislators & CommitteesTuesday, May 5, 2026
BodyWestchester County, New York
SessionBoard of Legislators & Committees
DateTuesday, May 5, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record

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Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

This meeting is being recorded and summarized.

0:08

So yes, I agree.

0:10

We're on we're on everybody.

0:12

So uh good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to our Monday.

0:17

May the fourth be with you.

0:19

Nothing legislation meeting.

0:23

Okay, sorry.

0:24

I had to get a shame of those Star Wars fans out there.

0:32

I know there are anyway.

0:35

Uh this is uh a joint meeting between uh the committees on legislation and uh committee on labor.

0:42

So make sure I feel like and so I will take um I'll take uh attendance before legislation.

0:52

I'm here to see um committee vice chair.

0:57

I'm here.

0:58

Um legislative bar.

1:03

Here's no one here uh vice chair here.

1:12

Yeah, let's say ooh, chairman here, all right.

1:19

We are here and we have the entire committee here as well.

1:24

Okay, and I'm going to do attendance for committee on labor.

1:29

I am here, committee vice chair here, legislator Chubiola.

1:34

Thank you.

1:37

Uh Vice Chair Clements here, legislator Nolan, yeah, Chair Gashi here.

1:44

Thank you.

1:46

All right, so uh again, welcome everyone.

1:50

And and we are uh also joined by legislator Pierce.

1:54

Thank you for joining us.

1:56

And online, we'll be joined by legislator Williams Johnson.

2:00

Thank you for joining us.

2:03

And uh we're gonna ask our um members of our uh law department to please come to the table and uh as we get uh ready to talk about this uh very important uh piece of legislation.

2:23

Okay.

2:24

So um if you both want to just uh introduce yourselves to the record and then um before you do that, more than just uh uh if you got message.

2:37

Yeah, yeah.

2:37

Oh wow, okay.

2:40

Okay, but you know what?

2:42

Let's let's go on.

2:43

Okay.

2:43

So I just want to say that on the uh addendum on the agenda for today is uh an act requiring uh item number 2026-18 is an act requiring lease or county lease property to use contractors and subcontractors that pay prevailing wage for certain construction projects that are undertaken for the county.

3:07

Um again, we have uh members of the law department here, chief deputy county attorney.

3:15

Very good.

3:16

It's only taken 10 years.

3:18

Six years, yeah.

3:20

That's when you're gonna get a raise.

3:22

Station chief deputy county attorney.

3:25

Hi, Shonda McCloud.

3:27

I'm an associate county attorney.

3:29

Welcome.

3:30

And uh let's jump right in and talk about this um new proposal this uh proposed legislation.

3:36

All right, so we'll take it away.

3:38

We were asked uh to draft an act.

3:42

Um and what this act does, it's relatively short, um, but it sort of acts as a policy whereby any lease that the county agencies enter into where the term of the lease is I was gonna say 10 or more years, but I want to be a short 10 years or more.

4:05

Yes, 10 years or more.

4:08

Um, that any construction projects that are done on that leased property, um, even if it's not county property on that lease property that benefits the county, um, and where the project is more than 250,000.

4:26

There's gonna be a requirement that's affected through the lease and then through contracts with the lessor and its contractors that say the contractors and any subs need to be paying their workers prevailing wage, the equivalent of what New York labor law defines as the prevailing wage and supplements.

4:51

So that is what this law seeks to do.

5:00

So it does that first, and I can just give you an overview of the various sections of the act.

5:04

Yes.

5:06

Section one is the short title.

5:08

Um it can be no, and this is actually used later.

5:12

So it can be cited as the Westchester County Lesser Prevailing Wage Act.

5:19

Section two provides just the definitions.

5:22

It's a short series of definitions.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Labor Relations█████████████████████████████████████████████64%
Procedural█████████████████████████36%
Summary of Proceedings

Joint Legislation and Labor Committee Meeting on Lessor Prevailing Wage Act - May 5, 2026

On May 5, 2026, the Westchester County Board of Legislators’ Committees on Legislation and Labor held a joint meeting at 1:11 PM in the Michaelian Office Building. The main agenda item was ACT-2026-118, the Westchester County Lessor Prevailing Wage Act, which would require lessors of county-leased property to use contractors paying prevailing wage for certain construction projects. The committee also approved previous meeting minutes. The meeting adjourned at 2:04 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval (March 30, 2026): Approved by unanimous vote (9 ayes).
  • Minutes Approval (April 13, 2026): Approved by unanimous vote (9 ayes).

Discussion Items

  • ACT-2026-118 – Westchester County Lessor Prevailing Wage Act: The law department presented the act, which applies to leases of 10 years or more where construction projects exceed $250,000. The act requires lessors to contract only with contractors and subcontractors paying prevailing wages as defined by New York Labor Law §220.
    • Legislator Cunzio asked whether the act would apply to existing leases that have not yet started construction. Shawna MacLeod (Senior Assistant County Attorney) clarified that original lease parameters would apply.
    • Legislator Cunzio further asked whether a lease revision would trigger the act. Stacey Dolgin-Kmetz (Chief Deputy County Attorney) stated that a renewal would apply, but she was unsure about revisions.
    • Legislator Smith noted a separate upcoming lease vote (airport hangar lease) and questioned whether capital projects by the lessee (a private entity) would be covered. The law department explained that state law public-work tests (public money, public land, public benefit) may not apply to such leases, but additional state laws (e.g., Labor Law §224-f) might cover projects with substantial public financing.
    • The committee entered executive session from 1:27 PM to 1:59 PM to discuss legal advice.

Key Outcomes

  • Vote on ACT-2026-118: On a motion by Legislator Nolan, seconded by Legislator Barr, the committee voted unanimously (9 ayes) to sign the act and refer it to the full Board of Legislators.
  • Meeting Adjournment: Moved by Legislator Cunzio, seconded by Legislator Nolan, the committee adjourned at 2:04 PM by unanimous vote.

Meeting Transcript

This meeting is being recorded and summarized. So yes, I agree. We're on we're on everybody. So uh good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to our Monday. May the fourth be with you. Nothing legislation meeting. Okay, sorry. I had to get a shame of those Star Wars fans out there. I know there are anyway. Uh this is uh a joint meeting between uh the committees on legislation and uh committee on labor. So make sure I feel like and so I will take um I'll take uh attendance before legislation. I'm here to see um committee vice chair. I'm here. Um legislative bar. Here's no one here uh vice chair here. Yeah, let's say ooh, chairman here, all right. We are here and we have the entire committee here as well. Okay, and I'm going to do attendance for committee on labor. I am here, committee vice chair here, legislator Chubiola. Thank you. Uh Vice Chair Clements here, legislator Nolan, yeah, Chair Gashi here. Thank you. All right, so uh again, welcome everyone. And and we are uh also joined by legislator Pierce. Thank you for joining us. And online, we'll be joined by legislator Williams Johnson. Thank you for joining us. And uh we're gonna ask our um members of our uh law department to please come to the table and uh as we get uh ready to talk about this uh very important uh piece of legislation. Okay. So um if you both want to just uh introduce yourselves to the record and then um before you do that, more than just uh uh if you got message. Yeah, yeah. Oh wow, okay. Okay, but you know what? Let's let's go on. Okay. So I just want to say that on the uh addendum on the agenda for today is uh an act requiring uh item number 2026-18 is an act requiring lease or county lease property to use contractors and subcontractors that pay prevailing wage for certain construction projects that are undertaken for the county. Um again, we have uh members of the law department here, chief deputy county attorney. Very good. It's only taken 10 years. Six years, yeah. That's when you're gonna get a raise. Station chief deputy county attorney. Hi, Shonda McCloud. I'm an associate county attorney. Welcome. And uh let's jump right in and talk about this um new proposal this uh proposed legislation. All right, so we'll take it away. We were asked uh to draft an act. Um and what this act does, it's relatively short, um, but it sort of acts as a policy whereby any lease that the county agencies enter into where the term of the lease is I was gonna say 10 or more years, but I want to be a short 10 years or more. Yes, 10 years or more.

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