BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 946
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 946 (Bonnie Lowenthal and Butler)
As Amended August 31, 2011
2/3 vote. Urgency
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|ASSEMBLY: | |(April 11, |SENATE: |40-0 |(September 6, |
| | |2011) | | |2011) |
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(vote not relevant)
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|COMMITTEE VOTE: |9-0 |(September 8, 2011) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
| | | | | |
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(L.GOV.)
Original Committee Reference: REV. & TAX.
SUMMARY : 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.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill, and
instead:
1)Authorize the County of Los Angeles or the 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, but not limited to the:
a) Studying, planning, design, developing, and financing of
the system, the delivery and installation of equipment;
b) Architectural and engineering design of the improvements to
real property;
c) Construction of the improvements to real property; and,
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d) Maintenance, rebuilding, repair, or operation, or any
combination thereof, of the regional interoperable
communications system.
2)Require 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.
3)Find and declare that a special law is necessary because of the
unique requirements for a regional interoperable communications
system in the County of Los Angeles.
4)State that an urgency statute is necessary in order to allow the
County of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable
Communication System Authority to contract for a regional
interoperable communications system as soon as possible.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the governmental agency soliciting proposals and
entering into agreements with private entities for the studying,
planning, design, developing, financing, construction,
maintenance, rebuilding, improvement, repair, or operation, or
any combination thereof, by private entities for fee-producing
infrastructure projects to ensure that the contractor is selected
pursuant to a competitive negotiation process.
2)Requires the competitive negotiation process to utilize, as the
primary selection criteria, the demonstrated competence and
qualifications for the studying, planning, design, developing,
financing, construction, maintenance, rebuilding, improvement,
repair, or operation, or any combination thereof, of the
facility.
3)Requires the selection criteria to also ensure that the facility
be operated at fair and reasonable prices to the user of the
infrastructure facility services.
4)Specifies that powers which may be exercised by a joint powers
agency (JPA) can be no greater than the powers shared by each of
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the agency's constituent members.
5)Provides that for a JPA it shall not be necessary that any power
common to the contracting parties be exercisable by each such
contracting party with respect to the geographical area in which
such power is to be jointly exercised.
6)Provides for a state strategic plan for establishing a statewide
integrated, interoperable public safety communications network.
7)Governs, through the State Contract Act, contract practices
between state departments and private contractors.
8)Establishes, under the Local Agency Public Construction Act, the
procedures local agencies are required to use when soliciting and
evaluating bids or proposals for the construction of a public
work or improvement.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill consolidated into Revenue and
Taxation Code
Section 279 reference to the effective dates for eligibility of the
disabled veterans' exemption for specified situations.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : In 2009, the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable
Communications System Authority (LA-RICS) was established as a
joint powers authority specifically to create the Los Angeles
Regional Tactical Communications Subsystem - a network that would
unite the region's 34,000 first responders through voice and data
communications.
The need for emergency communications interoperability is
especially great in the Los Angeles region with over 50 law
enforcement agencies and 31 fire departments serving a 4,084 square
mile region and 10 million County residents. After several years
of work and a contract that was about to be awarded to the
technology company Raytheon, the LA-RICS Authority was advised by
counsel of several issues that would require canceling its existing
procurement process and beginning a new one. County counsel
recently 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. It was found that not all of the
entities comprising the LA-RICS JPA have the statutory authority to
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enter into a contract using a solicitation process, yet the project
had been procured through one, all-encompassing solicitation meant
to lead to a single contract. This bill would authorize the JPA to
proceed with the solicitation process on this project without
running afoul of state contracting laws and the limitations set
forth in the Joint Exercise of Powers Act.
Under existing infrastructure financing laws, governmental
agencies, including counties, cities, school districts, public
districts, and joint powers authorities, are authorized to solicit
proposals and enter into contracts for the design, financing,
construction, maintenance, operation, or any combination thereof,
for fee-producing infrastructure projects. This bill would allow
the use of a similar solicitation process for the LA-RICS project.
According to the sponsor, the County of Los Angeles, the need for
urgency legislation is due in large measure to hundreds of millions
of dollars in federal grant funding that has already been allocated
for the LA-RICS Authority project. To date, over $270.0 million in
federal grants have been budgeted for the project that are subject
to time limits. Last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded
the Authority 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 which alone is
estimated to generate 2,181 jobs, including jobs produced
indirectly from the project. In addition, the project would create
a large, new market for public safety broadband software
applications, which could result in substantial innovation and
additional jobs that have not been quantified.
Support arguments: 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.
Opposition arguments: Opposition could argue that traditional
procurement processes that all members of the JPA share should be
used instead of creating a separate procurement process just for
LA-RICS.
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Kolitsos / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958
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