BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   AB 946|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 946
          Author:   Bonnie Lowenthal (D), et al.
          Amended:  8/24/11 in Senate
          Vote:     27 - Urgency

           
          PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT

           SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION COMM  :  11-0, 08/25/11
          AYES:  Wright, Anderson, Berryhill, Corbett, De León, 
            Evans, Hernandez, Padilla, Strickland, Wyland, Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Calderon, Cannella


           SUBJECT  :    Public contracts:  Los Angeles County:  
          regional
                        interoperable communications system

           SOURCE  :     County of Los Angeles


           DIGEST  :    This bill authorizes the Los Angeles Regional 
          Interoperable Communications System Authority (LA-RICS), a 
          joint powers agency, to procure a regional interoperable 
          communications system by utilizing a solicitation process 
          to award a contract for the design and build out of a 
          regional interoperable communications system and related 
          infrastructure.

           Senate Floor Amendments  of 8/24/11 delete the prior version 
          of the bill, and instead insert new language which deals 
          with public contracts, solicitations, and joint powers 
          authorities.
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           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law:

          1.Authorizes governmental agencies to utilize a 
            solicitation process for proposals and contracts for the 
            design, financing, construction, maintenance, or 
            operation of fee-producing infrastructure projects.

          2.Specifies that powers which may be exercised by a joint 
            powers agency can be no greater than the powers shared by 
            each of the agency's constituent members.

          This bill:

          1.Authorizes the County of Los Angeles, or the Los Angeles 
            Regional Interoperable Communications System Authority 
            (LA-RICS) to solicit proposals and enter into agreements 
            with private entities for the delivery of a regional 
            interoperable communications system and all related 
            infrastructure to be used by public safety agencies and 
            emergency responders located in the County of Los 
            Angeles, including:

             A.   Studying, planning, design, developing and 
               financing of the system;
             B.   Delivery and installation of equipment;
             C.   Architectural and engineering design of the 
               improvements to real property; and 
             D.   Maintenance, rebuilding, repair or operation of the 
               regional interoperable communications system.

          1.Requires the solicitation process to ensure that the 
            contractor is selected in compliance with the 
            "procurement by competitive proposals" process specified 
            in applicable federal regulations governing federal 
            grants and cooperative agreements to state and local 
            governments. 

          2.Contains legislative findings and declarations that a 
            special law is necessary because of unique requirements 
            for a regional interoperable communications system in the 
            County of Los Angeles. 

           Background

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          To date, over $270.0 million in Federal grants have been 
          budgeted for the project.  Last year, the U.S. Department 
          of Commerce awarded the LA-RICS a Broadband Technology 
          Opportunities Program grant of $154.6 million to cover the 
          infrastructure costs in deploying a broadband public safety 
          network for the project.

          In July, the project was put on hold indefinitely 3 years 
          after the LA-RICS launched the massive project.  The plan 
          to construct the system had reached its final stage as 
          negotiators spent the last several months in private 
          contract talks with the technology company Raytheon.  In 
          early June, however, county attorneys raised concerns that 
          the nearly completed contract violated state rules on how 
          contracts for publicly funded projects must be structured 
          and awarded.  In light of this, negotiations with Raytheon 
          were suspended.

          The County and LA-RICS discovered that, to comply with 
          state contracting rules, the project should be divided into 
          three separate contracts - one to design and implement the 
          technological component of the system, a second to design 
          the signal towers and other structures that need to be 
          built, and a third to build the towers and other 
          structures.  

          Apparently, this issue did not surface during the 3 years 
          of planning.  Not all of the entities comprising the JPA 
          have the statutory authority to enter into a contract using 
          a solicitation process, yet the project was procured 
          through one, all-encompassing solicitation meant to lead to 
          a single contract.  This bill would authorize the JPA to 
          proceed in this fashion on this project without running 
          afoul of state contracting laws and the limitations set 
          forth in the Joint Exercise of Powers law.

           LA-RICS  

          The LA-RICS Authority, established in 2009, is a joint 
          powers agency comprised of the County of Los Angeles, the 
          81 cities in the County, the Los Angeles Unified School 
          District, and UCLA.  The Authority would serve over 34,000 
          first responders in the Los Angeles region through voice 

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          and data communication systems.  There are over 50 law 
          enforcement agencies and 31 fire departments that serve the 
          County. 

           Prior Legislation
           
          SB 828 (Senate Governmental Organization Committee), of 
          2009, would have vested responsibility in the California 
          Emergency Management Agency for daily operations of 
          California's interoperability efforts.  It specified the 
          State Chief Information Officer's responsibility to develop 
          policies, standards, and public safety communications 
          technology solutions.  The bill died in the Assembly.  

          AB 1848 (Bermudez), Chapter 728, Statutes of 2006, provides 
          for a state strategic plan for establishing a statewide 
          integrated, interoperable public safety communications 
          network.

           FISCAL EFFECT :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/29/11)

          County of Los Angeles (source) 
          City of Long Beach
          Los Angeles County Sheriff
          Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System 
          Authority

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the County of Los 
          Angeles, this urgency legislation is needed because over 
          $270 million in federal grant funding allocated for the 
          LA-RICS Authority project must be utilized within a 
          specified time.  In addition, the FCC has reserved 
          specific, desirable radio frequencies, and if LA-RICS does 
          not put these into use in a timely manner, the FCC may 
          release them for use by other entities. 

          In addition, the bill would allow LA-RICS to conduct a 
          turn-key procurement with a single contractor responsible 
          for all aspects of the project and implementation, which, 
          according to LA County, will help decrease the overall 
          project risk and time required for implementation, and 

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          reduce overall costs.  LA County states that the Public 
          Contract Code requires LA-RICS to conduct three separate 
          procurements for radio equipment, radio site engineering 
          and radio site development, instead of simply managing a 
          single project/contractor.


          PQ:nl  8/29/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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