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SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1525 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2034
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Michael O. Moore
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act relative to the definition of fraud in public construction bid laws.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Michael O. MooreSecond WorcesterRodney M. Elliott16th Middlesex1/30/2023James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex1/30/2023Adam Scanlon14th Bristol1/30/2023Steven Ultrino33rd Middlesex1/30/2023Michael D. BradySecond Plymouth and Norfolk1/30/2023Christopher Hendricks11th Bristol1/30/2023Angelo J. Puppolo, Jr.12th Hampden1/30/2023Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex1/30/2023Carlos González10th Hampden1/30/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex1/31/2023David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf17th Worcester1/31/2023Frank A. Moran17th Essex2/1/2023David F. DeCoste5th Plymouth2/1/2023Erika Uyterhoeven27th Middlesex2/1/2023Sal N. DiDomenicoMiddlesex and Suffolk2/8/2023Christopher M. Markey9th Bristol2/8/2023Rebecca L. RauschNorfolk, Worcester and Middlesex2/8/2023 2 of 2
James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol2/8/2023Kay Khan11th Middlesex2/8/2023Pavel M. PayanoFirst Essex2/13/2023Walter F. TimiltyNorfolk, Plymouth and Bristol2/13/2023Thomas M. Stanley9th Middlesex2/13/2023Hannah Kane11th Worcester2/13/2023Michelle M. DuBois10th Plymouth2/15/2023James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/22/2023Brian W. Murray10th Worcester2/22/2023Adam GomezHampden2/22/2023Colleen M. Garry36th Middlesex2/27/2023Marcus S. Vaughn9th Norfolk3/2/2023Paul R. FeeneyBristol and Norfolk3/8/2023Bruce J. Ayers1st Norfolk3/9/2023 1 of 3
SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1525 FILED ON: 1/19/2023
SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2034
By Mr. Moore, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2034) of Michael O. Moore, Rodney
M. Elliott, James C. Arena-DeRosa, Adam Scanlon and other members of the General Court for
legislation to define fraud in public construction bid laws. State Administration and Regulatory
Oversight.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE SENATE, NO. 2086 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
_______________
An Act relative to the definition of fraud in public construction bid laws.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Subsection (a) of section 39M of chapter 30 of the General Laws, as
2appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the words “The
3undersigned certifies under penalties of perjury that this bid is in all respects bona fide, fair and
4made without collusion or fraud with any other person” and inserting in place thereof the
5following words:-
6 The undersigned certifies under penalties of perjury that this bid is in all respects bona
7fide, fair and made without collusion with any person and contains no intentional
8misrepresentations, omissions or false statements. As used in this paragraph the word “person” 2 of 3
9shall mean any natural person, joint venture, partnership, corporation or any other business or
10legal entity.
11 SECTION 2. Section 44A of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
12amended by inserting after the definition of “Eligible” the following definition:-
13 “Fraud”, a statement, act or omission relating to a material fact that (i) has the natural
14tendency to be relied upon by or to influence the average person, (ii) is knowingly false or
15misleading or is in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity and (iii) is intended to mislead,
16regardless of whether the statement, act or omission is actually relied upon
17 SECTION 3. Said section 44A of said chapter 149, as so appearing, is hereby further
18amended by striking out the definition of “responsible" and inserting in place thereof the
19following definition:-
20 “Responsible” means demonstrably possessing the skill, ability and integrity necessary to
21faithfully perform the work called for by a particular contract, based upon a determination of
22competent workmanship and financial soundness in accordance with the provisions of section
23forty-four D of this chapter and shall certify that his bid contains now misrepresentations,
24omissions, or false statements.
25 SECTION 4. Section 2 of chapter 149A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
26amended by inserting after the definition of “Designer” the following definition:-
27 “Fraud”, a statement, act or omission relating to a material fact that (i) has the natural
28tendency to be relied upon by or to influence the average person, (ii) is knowingly false or 3 of 3
29misleading or is in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity and (iii) is intended to mislead,
30regardless of whether the statement, act or omission is actually relied upon.
31 SECTION 5. Subsection (f) of section 8 of said chapter 149A, as so appearing, is hereby
32amended by striking the fourth sentence and replacing it with the following sentence:-
33 The decision of the prequalification committee shall be final and not subject to appeal
34except on the grounds that a submission contains intentional, material misrepresentations,
35omissions, or false statements, or of collusion.
36 SECTION 6. Section 19 of said chapter 149A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
37striking out paragraph (6) and inserting in place thereof the following:-
38 (6) The RFP shall require that every response shall be accompanied by a bid deposit in
39the form of a bid bond, or cash, or a certified check on, or a treasurer’s or cashier’s check issued
40by a responsible bank or trust company, payable to the awarding authority. The amount of such
41bid deposit shall be 5 per cent of the value of the bid. Any person submitting a bid under this
42section shall, on such a bid, certify as follows:
43 The undersigned certifies under penalty of perjury that this bid is in all respects bona fide,
44fair, made without collusion with any other person and contains no intentional material
45misrepresentations, omissions or false statements. As used in this paragraph the word “person”
46shall mean any natural person, joint venture, partnership, corporation or other business or legal
47entity.