Subcontractors in Texas are entitled to certain information upon written request and public owners (governmental entities) and prime contractors are required to furnish the information.
Subcontractors can request the following information / documentation from prime contractors:
(1) the name and last known address of the governmental entity with whom the prime contractor has its contract;
(2) a copy of the payment and performance bond for the project; and
(3) the name of the surety issuing the payment bond and the toll-free telephone number maintained by the Texas Department for obtaining information concerning licensed insurance companies.
See Tex. Gov’t Code § 2253.024
If the prime contractor did not initially disclose the name of the surety, the best practice is to request this information as soon as possible as this information is necessary to send the “Third Month Notice” discussed in Part 3 of this blog series. If you do not obtain this information early enough but wait until payments are missed, you may not have the necessary information in time to mail the required “Third Month Notice” to the surety.
In addition to a written request, subcontractors must submit an affidavit when requesting information from a governmental entity. The affidavit must state that the person / subcontractor:
(1) has supplied public work or labor for which payment has not been made;
(2) has contracted for specially fabricated materials for which payment has not been made; or
(3) is being sued on a payment bond.
Subcontractors can request the following information / documentation from governmental entities:
(1) a certified copy of the bond;
(2) the public work contract for which the bond was given; and
(3) the toll-free telephone number maintained by the Texas Department for obtaining information concerning licensed insurance companies.
See Tex. Gov’t Code § 2253.026
Information requested must be provided within 10 days after the receipt of the written request for the information. A prime contractor or governmental entity from whom information is requested may require payment of the actual cost for providing the requested information.
Texas law governing public projects can be found in Texas Government Code Chapter 2253 (formerly known as the McGregor Act) and Texas Property Code Chapter 53.
Please visit our blog again in a few days for Part 6: Public Works Construction Projects & Subcontractors: Prime Contracts Over $25,000.00 & Rights to Information from Subcontractors & Payment Bond Claimants.
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