00                            HOUSE BILL NO. 151                                                                          
01 "An Act requiring an indemnification and hold harmless provision in professional                                        
02 services contracts of state agencies, quasi-public agencies, municipalities, and political                              
03 subdivisions."                                                                                                          
04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
05    * Section 1. AS 36.90 is amended by adding a new section to read:                                                  
06                    Article 4. Required Contract Provision.                                                            
07            Sec. 36.90.300. Indemnification and hold harmless provision required. (a)                                  
08       A public agency shall include in a professional services contract entered into by the                             
09       public agency a provision that indemnifies the public agency and holds the public                                 
10       agency harmless for the negligent acts, errors, or omissions of the consultant who                                
11       contracts with the public agency to provide the professional services. The provision                              
12       must include an apportionment of joint liability on a comparative fault basis.                                    
13            (b)  A provision that reads substantially as follows satisfies the requirement of                            
14       (a) of this section:                                                                                              

01            The consultant shall indemnify and hold harmless the contracting                                             
02            agency from and against any claim of, or liability for, negligent acts,                                      
03            errors, and omissions of the consultant under this agreement. The                                            
04            consultant is not required to indemnify the contracting agency for a                                         
05            claim of, or liability for, the independent negligent acts, errors, and                                      
06            omissions of the contracting agency. If there is a claim of, or liability                                    
07            for, a joint negligent act, error, or omission of the consultant and the                                     
08            contracting agency, the indemnification and hold harmless obligation of                                      
09            this provision shall be apportioned on a comparative fault basis. In this                                    
10            provision, "consultant" and "contracting agency" include the                                                 
11            employees, agents, and contractors who are directly responsible,                                             
12            respectively, to each. In this provision, "independent negligent acts,                                       
13            errors, and omissions" means negligence other than in the contracting                                        
14            agency's selection, administration, monitoring, or controlling of the                                        
15            consultant, or in approving or accepting the consultant's work.                                              
16            (c)  In this section,                                                                                        
17                 (1)  "professional services" has the meaning given in AS 36.30.990;                                     
18                 (2)  "public agency" means a department, institution, board,                                            
19       commission, division, authority, public corporation, committee, school district,                                  
20       political subdivision, or other administrative unit of a municipality, of a political                             
21       subdivision, or of the executive or legislative branch of state government, including                             
22       the University of Alaska, the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation, the Alaska                                
23       Housing Finance Corporation, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export                                         
24       Authority, the Alaska Energy Authority, the Alaska Railroad Corporation, and a                                    
25       regional educational attendance area.