00               SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 151(JUD)                                                             
01 "An Act requiring an indemnification, defense, and hold harmless provision in                                           
02 construction-related professional services contracts of state agencies, quasi-public                                    
03 agencies, municipalities, and political 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, defense, and hold harmless provision in                                   
08       certain construction-related contracts. (a) A public agency shall include in a                                  
09       construction-related professional services contract entered into by the public agency a                           
10       provision under which the consultant agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless                               
11       the public agency from claims or liability for the negligent acts, errors, or omissions of                        
12       the consultant. The provision must include an apportionment of the indemnification,                               
13       defense, and hold harmless obligation on a comparative fault basis.                                               
14            (b)  A provision that reads substantially as follows satisfies the requirement of                            

01       (a) of this section:                                                                                              
02            The consultant shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the                                                
03            contracting agency from and against any claim of, or liability for,                                          
04            negligent acts, errors, and omissions of the consultant under this                                           
05            agreement. The consultant is not required to indemnify, defend, or hold                                      
06            harmless the contracting agency for a claim of, or liability for, the                                        
07            independent negligent acts, errors, and omissions of the contracting                                         
08            agency. If there is a claim of, or liability for, a joint negligent act, error,                              
09            or omission of the consultant and the contracting agency, the                                                
10            indemnification, defense, and hold harmless obligation of this provision                                     
11            shall be apportioned on a comparative fault basis. In this provision,                                        
12            "consultant" and "contracting agency" include the employees, agents,                                         
13            and contractors who are directly responsible, respectively, to each. In                                      
14            this provision, "independent negligent acts, errors, and omissions"                                          
15            means negligence other than in the contracting agency's selection,                                           
16            administration, monitoring, or controlling of the consultant, or in                                          
17            approving or accepting the consultant's work.                                                                
18            (c)  In this section,                                                                                        
19                 (1)  "construction" means the process of building, altering, repairing,                                 
20       maintaining, improving, demolishing, planning, and designing a public highway, a                                  
21       structure, a building, a utility, infrastructure, or another public improvement to real                           
22       property, but does not mean the routine operation of a public improvement;                                        
23                 (2)  "consultant" means a person who contracts with a public agency to                                  
24       provide professional services;                                                                                    
25                 (3)  "professional services" has the meaning given in AS 36.30.990;                                     
26                 (4)  "public agency" means a department, institution, board,                                            
27       commission, division, authority, public corporation, committee, school district,                                  
28       political subdivision, or other administrative unit of a municipality, of a political                             
29       subdivision, or of the executive or legislative branch of state government, including                             
30       the University of Alaska, the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation, the Alaska                                
31       Housing Finance Corporation, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export                                         

01       Authority, the Alaska Energy Authority, the Alaska Railroad Corporation, and a                                    
02       regional educational attendance area.