New York’s Scaffold Law is hindering construction projects statewide.

In recent years, the cost of construction in the United States has experienced a significant rise, impacting homeowners, businesses, and government-funded infrastructure projects alike. A variety of factors, including increases in prices for essential building materials such as lumber, concrete, and steel, have contributed to this upward trend in housing and infrastructure costs.

In New York State, the pressing need for infrastructural upgrades is becoming increasingly clear. Essential systems, including roads, bridges, commuter rails, subways, and tunnels, require immediate attention to maintain their functionality and support economic growth. A modernized transportation network is vital for attracting and retaining businesses, which ultimately provides jobs and fosters the state’s economy.

Despite a consensus across political lines that government has a fundamental responsibility to ensure the modernization of infrastructure, New York continues to grapple with the impacts of an outdated legislative measure known as the Scaffold Law. Established in 1885 and designed to protect construction workers, this law significantly inflates building costs throughout the state. The law imposes absolute liability on contractors and property owners when a worker is injured on a job site, regardless of any contributing factors on the worker’s part. As a result, it has been estimated that the Scaffold Law raises overall construction costs by between 5% to 10%, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars being added to the expense of construction projects annually.

Furthermore, this increased cost burden is exacerbated by the decline in insurance providers willing to underwrite policies in New York, leading to escalating premiums for those willing to cover construction sites. The legal implications of the Scaffold Law have also given rise to fraudulent practices and staged accidents, complicating the already challenging landscape of construction liability.

To address these issues, a proposed piece of legislation known as the Infrastructure Expansion Act has been introduced in Congress. This initiative aims to reform the Scaffold Law by instituting a standard of comparative negligence for federally funded projects rather than the current absolute liability framework. By adopting this more equitable approach, the proposed act seeks to ensure that construction costs are kept in check, thus maximizing the efficiency of federal investments in major infrastructure projects such as the Gateway rail tunnel and developments near Syracuse.

As New York stands to benefit from billions in federal funding, the need for reform becomes ever more pressing. Without intervention, taxpayers risk seeing these financial resources wasted due to the existing legal framework. The time has come for Congress to take action to alleviate this silent burden on New Yorkers, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used effectively to enhance rather than hinder critical infrastructure development in the state.