On December 15, 2020, Governor Cuomo signed S.7664/A.9117, the Empire State Subcontractors Association’s “Substantial Completion” bill, into law. This legislation will require public works contracts to define substantial completion and require public owners to provide the prime contractor with a complete punch list no later than 45 business days after substantial completion has been reached. The prime contractor, in turn, must provide subcontractors with their portions of the punch list within 7 days thereafter. These changes will ensure contractors on public works receive their retainage in a timely manner and will also prevent public owners from prolonging a project’s final completion.