BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 946| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 relating to property tax, and instead insert new language which deals with public contracts, solicitations, and joint powers authorities. CONTINUED AB 946 Page 2 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 AB 946 Page 3 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 AB 946 Page 4 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 AB 946 Page 5 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 **** END ****