CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY SIXTH COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO. F/S O-24-39 ENACTMENT NO. ________________________
SPONSORED BY: Tammy Fiebelkorn and Dan Champine
ORDINANCE
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F/S Adopting A New Article In Chapter 5 Of The Revised Ordinances Of Albuquerque 1994, To Establish The Use Of Apprentices For Public Construction Project Contracts, Titled “The Apprenticeship Empowerment Ordinance” (Fiebelkorn, Champine)
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BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:
SECTION 1. A new Article 11 in Chapter 5 of the Revised Ordinances of Albuquerque is hereby adopted as follows:
§ 5-11-1 SHORT TITLE.
This ordinance may be cited as “The Apprenticeship Empowerment Ordinance.”
§ 5-11-2 DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this ordinance the following terms have the following definitions:
APPRENTICE. Means an individual enrolled in an apprenticeship program that is registered pursuant to the Apprenticeship Assistance Act, NMSA 1978, Chapter 21, Article 19A, or registered with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship.
APPRENTICE UTILIZATION REQUIRMENT. Means that a minimum of 10% of total labor hours within each trade with apprentices for which there is an official apprenticeship training program must be performed by apprentices of that trade on an applicable public construction project.
CONTRACTOR. An individual or entity engaged in the business of constructing, altering, repairing, or improving any public construction project. The contractor is responsible for the overall coordination and completion of the project and is required to comply with the apprenticeship utilization requirement and responsible contractor qualifications as set forth in this ordinance. The contractor may employ subcontractors to perform portions of the work but retains overall responsibility for compliance with the ordinance provisions.
GOOD FAITH EFFORT. Actions undertaken by a contractor or subcontractor to comply with the apprenticeship utilization requirements, which may include, but are not limited to:
(1) Outreach Efforts: Documented communication with multiple sponsoring bodies or official apprenticeship training programs to recruit apprentices.
(2) Community Engagement: Participation in job fairs, apprenticeship awareness events, or collaboration with community organizations to promote apprenticeship opportunities.
(3) Advertising Opportunities: Posting apprenticeship vacancies through local media outlets, online job boards, or social media platforms to attract potential apprentices.
(4) Internal Training Programs: Implementation of in-house training initiatives aimed at developing new apprentices from the existing workforce or the local community.
LABOR HOURS. Means the total hours of workers receiving an hourly wage who are directly employed on the site of the public construction project. “Labor hours” includes hours performed by workers employed by the contractor and all subcontractors working on the public construction project. “Labor hours” does not include hours worked by superintendents and 8 owners.
SPONSORING BODY. Any employer, association, committee, or organization that operates a Registered Apprenticeship Program. This entity assumes full responsibility for administration and operation of an Official Apprenticeship Training Program. Sponsors can be compromised of a single business or multiple businesses. Alternatively, the sponsor can be a workforce intermediary, such as an industry association or a labor-management organization. The sponsoring body may also be a non-union entity. Community colleges and community-based organizations can also serve as sponsors of apprenticeship programs.
OFFICIAL APPRENTICESHIP TRAINING PROGRAM. Means an apprenticeship training program registered pursuant to the Apprenticeship Assistance Act, NMSA 1978, Chapter 21, Article 19A, or registered with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship.
PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION PROJECT. Means any City of Albuquerque project subject to the provisions of ROA 1994, Section 5-5-11 in which a single project construction cost is estimated to cost $2,000,000 or more, the project is publicly bid through a Request for Bids, and where the City is the project owner.
§ 5-11-3 APPRENTICESHIP REQUIREMENT.
(A) Unless such a requirement conflicts with State or Federal law, all contractors performing work on any public construction project shall commit to the apprenticeship utilization requirement. During the course of construction, the number of hours may vary, but 10% of the total hours on the actual construction job site must be performed by registered apprentices in each trade in which there is an official apprenticeship training program. This shall apply only to occupations with apprentices involved in the proposed construction for which there is an official apprenticeship training program. Work cannot be divided among contractors or subcontractors at any tier to evade the apprenticeship utilization requirements. Where two or more contractors or subcontractors perform work within a trade, each contractor or subcontractor shall comply with the apprenticeship utilization requirements of this ordinance.
(B) All contractors and subcontractors subject to this ordinance must provide verified payroll reports on at least a monthly basis to the Department of Municipal Development / Contract Services in CIP, certifying the names of all workers performing labor hours, their trade, hours worked, and designation as journey level worker or apprentice, as submitted to the Department of Workforce Solutions.
(C) The contractor may submit documentation affirming that there are not available apprentices in a particular trade to meet the 10% requirement of § 5-11-3(A). Contractors seeking apprentices shall contact all sponsoring bodies of that particular trade to ask if apprentices are available. Sponsoring bodies shall respond to such inquiries within two (2) business days. If no response is received within two (2) business days, the contractor shall presume that apprentices are not available. Such documentation regarding apprentice unavailability must be signed by all sponsoring bodies of that particular trade, unless the sponsoring body has failed to respond to a contractor inquiry, in which case the contractor shall indicate this on their documentation. Upon receipt of such documentation, the requirements in §5-11-3(A) shall be waived for that particular trade.
§ 5-11-4 BIDDING PREFERENCE APPLICABILITY.
When a contractor who has completed a contract with the City meets a minimum 20% apprentice utilization, the City shall award that contractor a 10% bidding preference for the following project bid upon by the contractor. To receive the 10% bidding preference, the contractor must submit documentation proving satisfaction of the 20% apprentice utilization provision during the contract close out in the Department of Municipal Development / Contract Services in CIP. During the course of construction, the number of hours may vary from the hours submitted in the bid, but 20% of the total hours on the actual public construction project must be performed by registered apprentices. A contractor who is awarded this preference may only utilize it on the following project bid upon that is estimated at more than $2,000,000. In the event that a contractor bids on and wins multiple eligible projects on the same day, the City shall choose which project to apply the preference.
§ 5-11-5 RESPONSIBLE CONTRACTOR.
The City shall ensure that all contractors and subcontractors at any tier subject to this ordinance will comply with the following qualifications and conditions at all times during their performance of work on any public construction project:
(A) The contractor has not been debarred or suspended from performing construction work by any federal, state or local government agency or authority in the past five years;
(B) The contractor must properly classify all employees as employee rather than independent contractors and treat them accordingly for purposes of minimum wages and overtime, worker’s compensation insurance coverage, unemployment taxes, social security taxes and state and federal income tax withholding.
§ 5-11-6 PENALTY.
(A) TIER ONE: Failure to comply with the apprentice utilization requirement and/or responsible contractor conditions will result in a written notification from the City informing the contractor that they are subject to the requirements of this Ordinance.
(B) TIER TWO: Upon the third violation, the contractor shall provide a workforce development plan outlining steps that will be taken to obtain additional apprentices to ensure the contractor will come into compliance with the requirements of this Ordinance.
(C) TIER THREE: A fourth failure to comply with the apprentice utilization requirement and/or responsible contractor conditions is evidence bearing on a contractor’s qualification for award of future contract and may result in up to a six (6) month construction bidding suspension on a public construction project.
§ 5-11-7 MONITORING AND REPORTING.
(A) Establishment of Monitoring System: The Department of Municipal Development (DMD) shall develop and implement a system to monitor compliance with the apprenticeship utilization requirements set forth in this ordinance.
(B) Annual Reporting Requirements: All contractors and subcontractors subject to this ordinance shall submit annual reports to the DMD Project Manager, which shall include:
(1) Total Labor Hours: The total number of labor hours performed on the public construction project during the reporting period.
(2) Apprenticeship Labor Hours: The total number of labor hours performed by registered apprentices, categorized by trade.
(3) Good Faith Efforts Documentation: Evidence of actions taken to recruit and employ apprentices, as defined under § 5-11-2.
(C) Annual Public Report: The Department of Municipal Development shall compile the data collected into an annual report summarizing apprenticeship utilization on public construction projects. This report shall be made available to the public and presented to the City Council via executive communication.
(D) Data Privacy and Compliance: All collected data shall be handled in accordance with applicable privacy laws and regulations. Contractors and subcontractors must ensure that submitted reports do not include confidential or proprietary information.
SECTION 2. SEVERABILITY. If any section, paragraph, sentence, clause, word or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Ordinance. The Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance and each section, paragraph, sentence, clause, word or phrase thereof irrespective of any provision being declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid.
SECTION 3. COMPILATION. SECTION 1 of this Ordinance is to be complied as a new Article 11 in Chapter 5 of the Revised Ordinances of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1994, titled “The Apprenticeship Empowerment Ordinance.”
SECTION 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall take effect on July 1, 2025 after publication by title and general summary.