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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3454 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3333
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Ann-Margaret Ferrante
_________________
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 :DATE ADDED:Ann-Margaret Ferrante5th Essex1/17/2025Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/30/2025Brian W. Murray10th Worcester1/30/2025James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol1/30/2025Frank A. Moran17th Essex1/30/2025Susannah M. Whipps2nd Franklin1/30/2025Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex1/30/2025Patrick Joseph Kearney4th Plymouth1/30/2025Mindy Domb3rd Hampshire1/30/2025Erika Uyterhoeven27th Middlesex1/30/2025Colleen M. Garry36th Middlesex1/30/2025Michael D. BradySecond Plymouth and Norfolk2/26/2025Christopher M. Markey9th Bristol2/26/2025Danillo A. Sena37th Middlesex2/26/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/26/2025Tara T. Hong18th Middlesex2/26/2025 1 of 3
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3454 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3333
By Representative Ferrante of Gloucester, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3333) of
Ann-Margaret Ferrante and others relative to the definition of fraud in public construction bid
laws. State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 3030 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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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 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 21 to 23, the
3words “The undersigned certifies under penalties of perjury that this bid is in all respects bona
4fide, fair and made without collusion or fraud with any other person” and inserting in place
5thereof the following 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”
9shall mean any natural person, joint venture, partnership, corporation or any other business or
10legal entity. 2 of 3
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 And further, by striking the definition of “responsible" and inserting in place thereof the
18following new definition:-
19 ““Responsible” means demonstrably possessing the skill, ability and integrity necessary
20to faithfully perform the work called for by a particular contract, based upon a determination of
21competent workmanship and financial soundness in accordance with the provisions of section
22forty-four D of this chapter and shall certify that his bid contains now misrepresentations,
23omissions, or false statements.”
24 SECTION 3. Section 2 of chapter 149A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
25amended by inserting after the definition of “Designer” the following definition:-
26 “Fraud”, a statement, act or omission relating to a material fact that (i) has the natural
27tendency to be relied upon by or to influence the average person, (ii) is knowingly false or
28misleading or is in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity and (iii) is intended to mislead,
29regardless of whether the statement, act or omission is actually relied upon.
30 SECTION 4. Section 19 of said chapter 149A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is
31hereby amended by striking out the clause six in its entirety, and replacing it with the following:- 3 of 3
32 “(6) The RFP shall require that every response shall be accompanied by a bid deposit in
33the form of a bid bond, or cash, or a certified check on, or a treasurer’s or cashier’s check issued
34by a responsible bank or trust company, payable to the awarding authority. The amount of such
35bid deposit shall be 5 per cent of the value of the bid. Any person submitting a bid under this
36sections hall, on such a bid, certify as follows:
37 The undersigned certifies under penalty of perjury that this bid is in all respects bona fide,
38fair, made without collusion with any other person and contains no intentional material
39misrepresentations, omissions or false statements. As used in this paragraph the word “person”
40shall mean any natural person, joint venture, partnership, corporation or other business or legal
41entity.”
42 SECTION 5. Subsection (f) of section 8 of chapter 149A, as so appearing, is hereby
43amended by striking the fourth sentence and replacing it with the following new language:-
44 “The decision of the prequalification committee shall be final and not subject to appeal
45except on the grounds that a submission contains intentional, material misrepresentations,
46omissions, or false statements, or of collusion.”