Senate finance adopts reciprocal amendment to protect contractor payments

Sponsor explained SB235 seeks to ensure contractors are paid for completed work even when liquidated-damages claims exist for other contract portions, while preserving an exception for flood- or coastal-protection public works. The bill also requires a prevailing-party determination for attorney-fee recovery in contested cases.

Relda Newell of the Louisiana Associated General Contractors (AGC) said the amendments make attorney-fee recovery reciprocal so the prevailing party—whether contractor or public owner—can recover fees. "We just made it reciprocal to where the prevailing party, whether that's the public owner or the contractor," she said. Daryl Cahoon of Capital Partners for AGC added the change corrects a circuit decision and makes the remedy fair to both sides.

The committee adopted the amendments with no recorded opposition and the sponsor moved the bill with amendments for further consideration.