BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 492
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Date of Hearing: April 25, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 492 (Galgiani) - As Introduced: February 15, 2011
SUBJECT : California High-Speed Rail Authority: California job
creation
SUMMARY : Authorizes the California High-Speed Rail Authority
(Authority) to consider, to the extent permitted by federal law
and all other applicable provisions of state law, the creation
of jobs in California when awarding major contracts or
purchasing high-speed trains and related equipment and supplies.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Authority and charges it with responsibility
to plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain a
state-of-the-art high-speed rail system for California.
2)Requires contracts for the purchase of supplies for state or
local government use to include provisions granting
preferences for supplies grown, manufactured, or produced in
California. Authorizes the use of the preference when
in-state products and supplies do not exceed more than 5% of
the price of the lowest bid for goods and supplies
manufactured out-of-state.
3)Establishes procedures for competitive bidding of certain
contracts by public entities and requires them to give
California companies preference on construction contracts
compared to non-resident contractors. The preference is equal
to any preference that the non-resident contractor receives on
public works contracts in its state of residency.
4)Requires state and local governmental entities, for the
construction or repair of public works or for the purchasing
of materials and supplies for public use, to utilize, with
certain exceptions, materials produced in the United States.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee's analysis of AB 733 (Galgiani) of 2009, an identical
bill, that bill would "probably have no direct fiscal effect, as
AB 492
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that bill neither requires nor allows the Authority to award
contracts to other than the lowest bidder, or in the case of
negotiated contracts, to the most qualified firm."
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill "seeks to maximize
the number of California-based jobs that will be created by
contracts for the construction of the Ýhigh-speed rail] project
and the purchase of materials related to it as a means to
improve and strengthen the California economy and job base?AB
492 does not require the Authority to impose a California
preference but simply authorizes the Authority to consider, to
the extent allowed by federal and state laws, the creation of
California jobs when it awards a contract for the high-speed
rail project."
This bill is a reintroduction of AB 733 (Galgiani) of 2009. The
Governor vetoed AB 733, indicating that the bill "could result
in unnecessary additional costs and delays and may jeopardize
the success of the project in securing the billions of dollars
that are needed to construct this project."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson/ TRANS. / (916) 319-2093