H.B. No. 2049

	AN ACT
	relating to indemnification and duties of engineers and architects
	under certain governmental contracts.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 271.904, Local Government Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 271.904.  ENGINEERING OR ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES
	CONTRACTS: INDEMNIFICATION LIMITATIONS; DUTIES OF ENGINEER OR
	ARCHITECT. (a) A covenant or promise in, in connection with, or
	collateral to a contract for engineering or architectural services
	to which a governmental agency is a party is void and unenforceable
	if the covenant or promise provides that a licensed engineer or
	registered architect whose work product is the subject of the
	contract must indemnify or[,] hold harmless[, or defend] the
	governmental agency against liability for damage, other than
	liability for damage to the extent that the damage is caused by or
	results from an act of negligence, intentional tort, intellectual
	property infringement, or failure to pay a subcontractor or
	supplier committed by the indemnitor or the indemnitor's agent,
	consultant under contract, or another entity over which the
	indemnitor exercises control.
	(b)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), a covenant or
	promise in, in connection with, or collateral to a contract for
	engineering or architectural services to which a governmental
	agency is a party is void and unenforceable if the covenant or
	promise provides that a licensed engineer or registered architect
	whose work product is the subject of the contract must defend a
	party, including a third party, against a claim based wholly or
	partly on the negligence of, fault of, or breach of contract by the
	governmental agency, the agency's agent, the agency's employee, or
	other entity, excluding the engineer or architect or that person's
	agent, employee, or subconsultant, over which the governmental
	agency exercises control.  A covenant or promise may provide for the
	reimbursement of a governmental agency's reasonable attorney's fees
	in proportion to the engineer's or architect's liability.
	(c)  Notwithstanding Subsection (b), a governmental agency
	may require in a contract for engineering or architectural services
	to which the governmental agency is a party that the engineer or
	architect name the governmental agency as an additional insured
	under the engineer's or architect's general liability insurance
	policy and provide any defense provided by the policy.
	(d)  A contract for engineering or architectural services to
	which a governmental agency is a party must require a licensed
	engineer or registered architect to perform services:
	(1)  with the professional skill and care ordinarily
	provided by competent engineers or architects practicing in the
	same or similar locality and under the same or similar
	circumstances and professional license; and
	(2)  as expeditiously as is prudent considering the
	ordinary professional skill and care of a competent engineer or
	architect.
	(e)  In a contract for engineering or architectural services
	to which a governmental agency is a party, a provision establishing
	a different standard of care than a standard described by
	Subsection (d) is void and unenforceable. If a contract contains a
	void and unenforceable provision, the standard of care described by
	Subsection (d) applies.
	(f)  In this section, "governmental agency" has the meaning
	assigned by Section 271.003.
	SECTION 2.  Section 271.904, Local Government Code, as
	amended by this Act, applies only to a contract for which a request
	for proposals or a request for qualifications is first published or
	distributed on or after the effective date of this Act. A contract
	for which a request for proposals or a request for qualifications is
	first published or distributed before the effective date of this
	Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the request was
	published or distributed, and the former law is continued in effect
	for that purpose.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2049 was passed by the House on May 4,
	2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 131, Nays 7, 1 present, not
	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
	No. 2049 on May 26, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 143, Nays 1,
	3 present, not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 2049 was passed by the Senate, with
	amendments, on May 22, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 26, Nays
	5.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED: __________________
	Date
	__________________
	Governor