Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts Senate Bill S2180 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 124 FILED ON: 1/8/2025
3	3	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2180
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Michael O. Moore
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to the definition of fraud in public construction bid laws.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :Michael O. MooreSecond WorcesterBrian W. Murray10th Worcester1/28/2025James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol1/28/2025Susannah M. Whipps2nd Franklin1/28/2025Jason M. LewisFifth Middlesex1/28/2025Erika Uyterhoeven27th Middlesex1/30/2025Michael D. BradySecond Plymouth and Norfolk2/3/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/20/2025Sal N. DiDomenicoMiddlesex and Suffolk2/24/2025Bruce E. TarrFirst Essex and Middlesex3/3/2025 1 of 3
16	16	SENATE DOCKET, NO. 124 FILED ON: 1/8/2025
17	17	SENATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2180
18	18	By Mr. Moore, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2180) of Michael O. Moore, Brian
19	19	W. Murray, James K. Hawkins, Susannah M. Whipps and other members of the General Court
20	20	for legislation to define fraud in public construction bid laws. State Administration and
21	21	Regulatory Oversight.
22	22	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
23	23	SEE SENATE, NO. 2034 OF 2023-2024.]
24	24	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
25	25	_______________
26	26	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
27	27	(2025-2026)
28	28	_______________
29	29	An Act relative to the definition of fraud in public construction bid laws.
30	30	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
31	31	of the same, as follows:
32	32	1 SECTION 1. Subsection (a) of section 39M of chapter 30 of the General Laws, as
33	33	2appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the words “The
34	34	3undersigned certifies under penalties of perjury that this bid is in all respects bona fide, fair and
35	35	4made without collusion or fraud with any other person” and inserting in place thereof the
36	36	5following words:-
37	37	6 “The undersigned certifies under penalties of perjury that this bid is in all respects bona
38	38	7fide, fair and made without collusion with any person and contains no intentional
39	39	8misrepresentations, omissions or false statements. As used in this paragraph the word “person” 2 of 3
40	40	9shall mean any natural person, joint venture, partnership, corporation or any other business or
41	41	10legal entity.”
42	42	11 SECTION 2. Section 44A of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
43	43	12amended by inserting after the definition of “Eligible” the following definition:-
44	44	13 “Fraud”, a statement, act or omission relating to a material fact that (i) has the natural
45	45	14tendency to be relied upon by or to influence the average person, (ii) is knowingly false or
46	46	15misleading or is in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity and (iii) is intended to mislead,
47	47	16regardless of whether the statement, act or omission is actually relied upon
48	48	17 SECTION 3. Said section 44A of said chapter 149, as so appearing, is hereby further
49	49	18amended by striking out the definition of “responsible" and inserting in place thereof the
50	50	19following definition:-
51	51	20 “Responsible” means demonstrably possessing the skill, ability and integrity necessary to
52	52	21faithfully perform the work called for by a particular contract, based upon a determination of
53	53	22competent workmanship and financial soundness in accordance with the provisions of section
54	54	23forty-four D of this chapter and shall certify that his bid contains now misrepresentations,
55	55	24omissions, or false statements.
56	56	25 SECTION 4. Section 2 of chapter 149A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby
57	57	26amended by inserting after the definition of “Designer” the following definition:-
58	58	27 “Fraud”, a statement, act or omission relating to a material fact that (i) has the natural
59	59	28tendency to be relied upon by or to influence the average person, (ii) is knowingly false or 3 of 3
60	60	29misleading or is in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity and (iii) is intended to mislead,
61	61	30regardless of whether the statement, act or omission is actually relied upon.
62	62	31 SECTION 5. Subsection (f) of section 8 of said chapter 149A, as so appearing, is hereby
63	63	32amended by striking the fourth sentence and replacing it with the following sentence:-
64	64	33 “The decision of the prequalification committee shall be final and not subject to appeal
65	65	34except on the grounds that a submission contains intentional, material misrepresentations,
66	66	35omissions, or false statements, or of collusion.”
67	67	36 SECTION 6. Section 19 of said chapter 149A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
68	68	37striking out paragraph (6) and inserting in place thereof the following:-
69	69	38 (6) The RFP shall require that every response shall be accompanied by a bid deposit in
70	70	39the form of a bid bond, or cash, or a certified check on, or a treasurer’s or cashier’s check issued
71	71	40by a responsible bank or trust company, payable to the awarding authority. The amount of such
72	72	41bid deposit shall be 5 per cent of the value of the bid. Any person submitting a bid under this
73	73	42section shall, on such a bid, certify as follows:
74	74	43 The undersigned certifies under penalty of perjury that this bid is in all respects bona fide,
75	75	44fair, made without collusion with any other person and contains no intentional material
76	76	45misrepresentations, omissions or false statements. As used in this paragraph the word “person”
77	77	46shall mean any natural person, joint venture, partnership, corporation or other business or legal
78	78	47entity.