BILL NUMBER: AB 1471	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Eng

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to add Article 6.95 (commencing with Section 20209.45) to
Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, and to
amend Section 215.5 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to
design-build procurement.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1471, as introduced, Eng. Design-build procurement: Los Angeles
County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
   Existing law makes the Department of Transportation responsible
for improving and maintaining the state highway system, including the
development and implementation of a system of priorities for ranking
the need for installation of noise attenuation barriers along
freeways in the state. Under existing law, until January 1, 2010, the
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, in
consultation with the department, is authorized to use a design-build
procurement process for the construction of a specified
high-occupancy vehicle lane in the County of Los Angeles.
   This bill would authorize the Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority to use a design-build procurement process
for the construction of soundwalls, as defined, along any freeway or
expressway that is located within the jurisdiction of the authority,
as specified. The bill would make a conforming change to a related
provision.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  Article 6.95 (commencing with Section 20209.45) is
added to Chapter 1 of Part 3 of Division 2 of the Public Contract
Code, to read:

      Article 6.95.   Design-Build Contracts for Soundwalls


   20209.45.  (a) The authority may utilize the design-build
procurement method for the construction of soundwalls along any
freeway or expressway that is located within the jurisdiction of the
authority, so long as that construction comports with existing
department design standards.
   (b) For purposes of this article:
   (1) "Authority" means the Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority.
   (2) "Department" means the Department of Transportation.
   (3) "Design-build" means a procurement process in which both the
design and construction of a project are procured from a design-build
entity.
   (4) "Design-build entity" means a partnership, corporation, or
other legal entity that is able to provide appropriately licensed
contracting, architectural, and engineering services as needed
pursuant to a design-build contract.
   (5) "Soundwall" means a wall constructed of concrete panels,
masonry blocks, wood boards or panels, or other materials, that
serves as a noise attenuation barrier, as that term is used in
Section 215.5 of the Streets and Highways Code.
  SEC. 2.  Section 215.5 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended
to read:
   215.5.  (a) The department shall develop and implement a system of
priorities for ranking the need for installation of noise
attenuation barriers along freeways in the California freeway and
expressway system. In establishing a priority system, the department
shall give the highest consideration to residential areas which were
developed prior to the opening of the freeway. If alterations have
been made to the freeway since its original opening which result in a
significant and measurable increase in ambient noise levels, the
opening date for that segment of the freeway, for the purposes of
determining priorities under this section, is the completion date of
that alteration project. Other criteria for determining priorities
shall include the existing and future intensity of sound generated by
the freeway, the increase in traffic flow since the original
construction of the freeway, the cost of building the soundwall in
relation to the expected noise reduction, the number of persons
living in close proximity to the freeway, and whether a majority of
the occupants in close proximity to the freeway resided there prior
to the time the freeway routing was adopted by the commission. The
city or county in which the residential area is located shall be
responsible for providing documentation to the department on the
percentage of original occupants still residing along the freeway.
   The actual cost of construction shall be used in determining the
relative priority ranking of projects funded and constructed pursuant
to subdivision (d).
   (b) When all freeways have been ranked in priority order, the
department shall, consistent with available funding, include in its
proposed state transportation improvement program, a program of
construction of noise attenuation barriers beginning with the highest
priority.
   In preparing the annual priority list, the department shall not
add any new project to the list ahead of a project that has been
funded by a city or county, or by any other public agency using
public funds, and is awaiting state reimbursement pursuant to
subdivision (d).
   (c) The commission shall include in the estimate adopted pursuant
to Section 14525 of the Government Code an annual and five-year
estimate of funds estimated to be available for noise attenuation
barriers along freeways. If any city or county constructs a noise
attenuation barrier along a freeway pursuant to subdivision (d), the
commission shall allocate funds for the project in the fiscal year
the project would have been eligible for funding based on the
department's priority list and the commission's fund estimate at the
time of approval of the project pursuant to subdivision (d).
   (d) If any city, county, or public agency constructs a noise
attenuation barrier along a freeway using public funds prior to the
time that the barrier reaches a high enough priority for state
funding, then, when the funding priority is reached, the department
shall reimburse the city, county, or public agency without interest
for the cost of construction, but the reimbursement may not exceed
the cost of the department to construct the barriers. Reimbursement
shall be made only if the city, county, or public agency constructs
the noise attenuation barrier to the standards approved by  the
 department, follows bidding and contracting procedures approved
by the department  or as specified in Section 20209.45 of 
 the   Public Contract Code  , and the project is
approved by the commission.