BILL NUMBER: AB 610	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Caballero

                        FEBRUARY 25, 2009

   An act to add Section 65040.15 to the Government Code, relating to
local government.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 610, as introduced, Caballero. Local infrastructure.
   Existing law provides that the Office of Planning and Research
within the Governor's office serves as the state's comprehensive
planning agency in the formulation, evaluation, and updating of,
among other things, long-range goals and policies for land use,
population growth and distribution, urban expansion, development,
open space, resource preservation and utilization, air and water
quality, and other factors that shape statewide development patterns
and significantly influence the quality of the state's environment.
   This bill would require the Office of Planning and Research to
advise and educate local agencies and other interested stakeholders
about the role that public-private partnerships can play in planning,
studying, designing, financing, constructing, operating,
maintaining, or managing local infrastructure projects.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Office
of Planning and Research assist local agencies interested in
public-private partnerships by providing information and practical
assistance that will help educate local agencies about the
appropriate application of public-private partnerships to some types
of local infrastructure projects, and help ensure that public-private
partnership agreements protect the public interest.
   (b) It is not the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation
that biases local agencies' decisions about the use of a
public-private partnership to build infrastructure, as compared with
the use of traditional procurement methods, or to promote the
outsourcing of public sector jobs.
  SEC. 2.  Section 65040.15 is added to the Government Code, to read:

   65040.15.  (a) For the purposes of this section, the following
terms have the following meanings, unless the context clearly
requires otherwise:
   (1) "Adjusted private party bid" means the estimated bid by a
private entity for an infrastructure project adjusted for risks
retained by the public sector under alternative financing and
procurement and for ancillary costs.
   (2) "Alternative financing and procurement (AFP)" means a range of
infrastructure project delivery methods that use private expertise
and financing to build, repair, or rebuild vital infrastructure, on
time and on budget, while ensuring appropriate public control and
ownership.
   (3) "Estimated private sector bid" means an estimate of the
expected bid by a private entity, including financing costs, for a
particular project using alternative financing and procurement
delivery methods.
   (4) "Public-private partnership" means a contractual agreement
between a public agency and a private sector entity that utilizes
private sector capital to study, plan, design, construct, develop,
finance, maintain, rebuild, improve, repair, or operate, or any
combination thereof, infrastructure facilities, if the facilities
remain a public good.
   (5) "Public sector comparator" means the estimated total costs,
including adjustments for risks retained and ancillary costs, to the
public sector of delivering an infrastructure project using
traditional procurement processes.
   (6) "Value for money" means the difference between the public
sector comparator and the estimated private sector bid. A positive
value for money occurs for a project using alternative financing and
procurement when the adjusted private sector bid is less than the
public sector comparator.
   (b) The Office of Planning and Research shall advise and educate
local agencies and other interested stakeholders about the role that
public-private partnerships can play in planning, studying,
designing, financing, constructing, operating, maintaining, or
managing local infrastructure projects.
   (c) Assistance provided by the Office of Planning and Research
pursuant to subdivision (b) shall include, but is not limited to, all
of the following:
   (1) Developing information that would help a local governmental
agency determine whether a local infrastructure project would benefit
from a public-private partnership that provides an alternative
financing and procurement approach. This information may include, but
is not limited to, all of the following:
   (A) A description of the kinds of private party participation that
could be subject to an agreement, including, but not limited to,
study, planning, finance, design, construction, operations,
maintenance, or management.
   (B) A public sector comparator to be used in conjunction with an
estimated private sector bid to help the local agency determine
whether an alternative financing and procurement approach would
result in a positive value for money, or whether the agency would
receive greater value by pursuing a traditional public sector
procurement approach.
   (C) Guidelines to assist local agencies in following processes
that incorporate the following principles in all alternative
financing and procurement agreements:
   (i) The public interest is paramount.
   (ii) Value for money must be demonstrable.
   (iii) Appropriate public control and ownership must be preserved.
   (iv) Accountability must be maintained.
   (v) All processes must be transparent while protecting the
confidentiality of trade secrets.
   (D) Information regarding the state's goal of reducing greenhouse
gases by 25 percent by the year 2020, and the role, if any, that
well-designed and innovative infrastructure can play in helping to
achieve that goal.
   (E) Case studies of the use of public-private partnerships in
completed public infrastructure projects, including case studies of
projects in which public sector employees retained their jobs or
otherwise benefited from the project.
   (2) Providing the information described in paragraph (1) to local
agencies and other interested stakeholders through educational
seminars, factsheets, and other materials.
   (3) Serving as a clearinghouse of information regarding the use of
public-private partnerships in infrastructure projects in this state
and elsewhere. Specific clearinghouse functions may include, but are
not limited to, the following:
   (A) Establishing an Internet Web site to post information
regarding local agency public-private partnership projects.
   (B) Establishing a service to link local agencies with technical
and legal resources to assist in developing and evaluating requests
for proposals for public-private partnership projects and to assist
in structuring agreements to protect a local agency's interests in a
public-private partnership.
  SEC. 3.  Except as it adds Section 65040.15 to the Government Code,
nothing in this act shall be construed to affect the application of
any other law.