Submitted By Heather Bell, President and CEO of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce

This is an urgent call to action asking you to contact your Member of Congress—as well as Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves and Ranking Member Rick Larsen—to request that Scaffold Law preemption (H.R. 3548, introduced by Congressman Nick Langworthy) be incorporated into the draft Surface Transportation Bill.

For years, reforming the Scaffold Law has been a major priority for the Business Council of Westchester. H.R. 3548 would supersede New York’s outdated and costly Scaffold Law on any project receiving federal funding. This preemption would replace the state’s unique “absolute liability” standard with a comparable negligence standard, which is used everywhere else in the country. New York is the only state that continues to rely on the current model.

The proposed legislation would help protect taxpayers and construction companies from excessive liability costs and prevent wasteful spending.

Right now, New Yorkers pay hundreds of millions of dollars more each year due to the inflated liability expenses tied to the Scaffold Law. These added costs make it harder to build critical housing and infrastructure and drain resources needed to maintain schools, bridges, parks, and roads. Large federally funded efforts—such as the $7.5 billion Gateway Tunnel project and the $6 billion Penn Station redevelopment—are significantly more expensive because of this law.

Additionally, the Scaffold Law has contributed to a rise in staged construction accident fraud across the state. Fraudulent claims have driven up insurance premiums for contractors and developers, which eventually increase housing and construction costs for residents.

Studies estimate that the law adds 5–10% to total construction costs, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars wasted annually.

Congressman Langworthy’s bill would curb these unnecessary expenses by establishing a federal liability standard for any construction project receiving federal funds. This measure represents an important step toward improving worksite safety, easing the liability burden on contractors, and stretching limited infrastructure dollars further.

Your support is crucial. Please consider reaching out to your Member of Congress, as well as the Chair and Ranking Member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, urging them to support H.R. 3548 and ensure it is included in the Surface Transportation Bill.

Click HERE to reach Congressman Ryan. Click HERE for sample letter.