BILL NUMBER: AB 1565 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 808
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 30, 2012
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2012
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 28, 2012
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 29, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 6, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 21, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 25, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Fuentes
(Coauthor: Senator Alquist)
JANUARY 30, 2012
An act to add and repeal Section 20111.6 of the Public Contract
Code, relating to public contracts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1565, Fuentes. Public contracts: school districts: bidding
requirements.
Under existing law, the governing board of a school district may
require each prospective bidder for specified contracts to submit a
standardized questionnaire and financial statement, including
information relating to financial ability and experience in
performing public works, which is required to be verified under oath.
Existing law further requires a school district requiring the above
information to adopt and apply a uniform system of rating bidders on
the basis of the completed questionnaires and financial statements,
as specified.
This bill, for contracts awarded on and after January 1, 2014, and
until January 1, 2019, would require the governing board of the
district, except for school districts with an average daily
attendance of less than 2,500, for certain public projects, to use
procedures, which require a standardized questionnaire and financial
statement to be verified under oath, for bidding applicable to public
entities, as prescribed. This bill would require the questionnaire
and uniform system of rating bidders to cover, at a minimum, the
issues covered by the standardized questionnaire and model guidelines
for rating bidders developed by the Department of Industrial
Relations, as specified. This bill would provide that the
questionnaire and uniform system of rating bidders would not preclude
the governing board of the district from prequalifying or
disqualifying a subcontractor. This bill would provide that bidders
would include the general contractor and, if utilized, all
electrical, mechanical, and plumbing subcontractors. This bill would
authorize the board of the district to establish a process for
prequalifying prospective bidders on a quarterly or annual basis, as
provided. The bill would also require the Director of Industrial
Relations, on or before January 1, 2018, to submit a report to the
Legislature evaluating whether labor violations have decreased, as
specified, and to recommend improvements to the system for
prequalifying contractors and subcontractors on school district
projects. By expanding the scope of an existing crime and by imposing
new duties on local officials, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 20111.6 is added to the Public Contract Code,
to read:
20111.6. (a) This section shall apply only to public projects, as
defined in subdivision (c) of Section 22002, for which the governing
board of the district uses funds received pursuant to the Leroy F.
Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 (Chapter 12.5 (commencing with
Section 17070.10) of Part 10 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the
Education Code) or any funds from any future state school bond for a
public project that involves a projected expenditure of one million
dollars ($1,000,000) or more.
(b) If the governing board of the district enters into a contract
meeting the criteria of subdivision (a), then the governing board of
the district shall require that prospective bidders for a
construction contract complete and submit to the board of the
district a standardized prequalification questionnaire and financial
statement. The questionnaire and financial statement shall be
verified under oath by the bidder in the manner in which civil
pleadings in civil actions are verified. The questionnaires and
financial statements shall not be public records and shall not be
open to public inspection.
(c) The board of the district shall adopt and apply a uniform
system of rating bidders on the basis of the completed questionnaires
and financial statements.
(d) The questionnaire and financial statement described in
subdivision (b), and the uniform system of rating bidders described
in subdivision (c), shall cover, at a minimum, the issues covered by
the standardized questionnaire and model guidelines for rating
bidders developed by the Department of Industrial Relations pursuant
to subdivision (a) of Section 20101.
(e) Each prospective bidder shall be furnished by the school
district letting the contract with a standardized proposal form that,
when completed and executed, shall be submitted as his or her bid.
Bids not presented on the forms so furnished shall be disregarded.
(f) A proposal form required pursuant to subdivision (e) shall not
be accepted from any person or other entity that is required to
submit a completed questionnaire and financial statement for
prequalification pursuant to subdivision (b) or from any person or
other entity that uses a subcontractor that is required to submit a
completed questionnaire and financial statement for prequalification
pursuant to subdivision (b), but has not done so at least 10 business
days prior to the date fixed for the public opening of sealed bids
or has not been prequalified for at least five business days prior to
that date.
(g) The board of the district may establish a process for
prequalifying prospective bidders pursuant to this section on a
quarterly or annual basis and a prequalification pursuant to this
process shall be valid for one calendar year following the date of
initial prequalification.
(h) This section shall not preclude the governing board of the
district from prequalifying or disqualifying a subcontractor.
(i) For purposes of this section, bidders shall include the
general contractor and, if utilized, all electrical, mechanical, and
plumbing subcontractors.
(j) If a public project covered by this section includes
electrical, mechanical, or plumbing components that will be performed
by electrical, mechanical, or plumbing contractors, a list of
prequalified general contractors and electrical, mechanical, and
plumbing subcontractors shall be made available by the school
district to all bidders at least five business days prior to the
dates fixed for the public opening of sealed bids.
(k) For purposes of this section, electrical, mechanical, and
plumbing subcontractors are contractors licensed pursuant to Section
7058 of the Business and Professions Code, specifically contractors
holding C-4, C-7, C-10, C-16, C-20, C-34, C-36, C-38, C-42, C-43, and
C-46 licenses, pursuant to regulations of the Contractors' State
License Board.
(l) This section shall not apply to a school district with an
average daily attendance of less than 2,500.
(m) This section shall apply only to contracts awarded on or after
January 1, 2014.
(n) (1) On or before January 1, 2018, the Director of Industrial
Relations shall (A) submit a report to the Legislature evaluating
whether, during the years this section has applied to contracts,
violations of the Labor Code on school district projects have
decreased as compared to the same number of years immediately
preceding the enactment of this section, and (B) recommend
improvements to the system for prequalifying contractors and
subcontractors on school district projects.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(o) This section shall become inoperative on January 1, 2019, and,
as of July 1, 2019, is repealed.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.