BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 745
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          Date of Hearing:   January 15, 2014

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
                           K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian, Chair
                    AB 745 (Levine) - As Amended:  January 6, 2014
          
          SUBJECT  :   Regional park and open-space districts: general  
          manager: powers.

           SUMMARY  :   Increases, from $10,000 to $25,000, the amount for  
          which the Marin County Open Space District (MCOSD) may enter  
          into contracts without a formal bid process for supplies,  
          materials, labor, or other valuable consideration for any  
          purpose.  Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Authorizes the general manager of the MCOSD, with the approval  
            of the MCOSD board, to bind the MCOSD, in accordance with  
            board policy, and without advertising, for the payment for  
            supplies, materials, labor, or other valuable consideration  
            for any purpose, including the new construction of any  
            building, structure, or improvement in amounts not exceeding  
            $25,000.

          2)Requires all expenditures authorized pursuant to 1), above, to  
            be reported to the MCOSD board of directors at its next  
            regular meeting.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Allows the general manager of a park and/or open space  
            district, with the approval of the district's board, to bind  
            the district, in accordance with board policy, and without  
            advertising, for the payment for supplies, materials, labor,  
            or other valuable consideration for any purpose other than new  
            construction of a building, structure, or improvement in  
            amounts not exceeding $10,000, and for the payment for  
            supplies, materials, or labor for new construction of a  
            building, structure, or improvement in amounts not exceeding  
            $25,000.

          2)Authorizes the general managers of the East Bay Regional Park  
            District, the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, and  
            the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space  
            District, with the approval of those districts' boards, to  
            bind those districts, in accordance with board policy, and  








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            without advertising, for the payment for supplies, materials,  
            labor, or other valuable consideration for any purpose,  
            including the new construction of any building, structure, or  
            improvement in amounts not exceeding $25,000.

          3)Requires all expenditures authorized pursuant to 1) and 2),  
            above, to be reported to the respective board of directors at  
            its next regular meeting.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   None

           COMMENTS  :   

          1)This bill increases the dollar amount for which the MCOSD may  
            contract, without a public bid, for supplies, materials,  
            labor, or other valuable consideration for any purpose, be it  
            for new construction or for non-construction/maintenance work.  
             This bill is sponsored by the Marin County Board of  
            Supervisors.

          2)The MCOSD is the local government agency responsible for  
            preserving public open space in Marin County.  Its mission is  
            to enhance the quality of life in Marin through the  
            acquisition, protection, and responsible stewardship of ridge  
            and bay lands and environmentally sensitive lands targeted for  
            preservation in the Marin Countywide Plan.  MCOSD lands  
            represent examples of northern California environments  
            including oak-bay woodlands, savanna, grasslands and salt  
            marsh.  These habitats are managed to protect and enhance  
            their natural, undeveloped character while accommodating  
            educational activities and trail-oriented uses such as hiking,  
            horseback riding and mountain bicycling.  The five members of  
            the Marin County Board of Supervisors serve as the MCOSD Board  
            of Directors.

            According to the MCOSD website, "Since its inception in 1972,  
            the MCOSD has acquired and preserved nearly 16,000 acres of  
            marshland, forests, creeks, and rolling hills that define the  
            character and quality of life in Marin, promote health and  
            wellness, and protect important natural habitats and ecosystem  
            functions.  These lands include over 200 miles of unpaved  
            roads and trails that consist of former logging and ranch  
            roads, fire roads that are shared use trails, narrow  
            recreation trails, and wildlife trails.  Over time, many of  
            these trails have been improved and opened for use by hikers,  








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            dog walkers, equestrians, bird watchers, mountain bikers, and  
            those who want to be immersed in nature in their recreation  
            pursuits.

            "In addition to the recreation opportunities of the preserves,  
            the preserves provide critical benefits to the ecosystem  
            including carbon sequestration, the natural cleaning of our  
            water and air, and the protection of wildlife.  The roads and  
            trails provide access for other agencies' community and  
            emergency services (e.g., Marin County Fire, Marin Municipal  
            Water District).

            "The demand for recreational use of the roads and trails grows  
            every year, as do conflicts among user groups and impacts from  
            use to the natural environment.  Trails not sanctioned by the  
            MCOSD have developed as a result of repetitive informal  
            cross-country use, and the unauthorized construction of trails  
            by private parties on the MCOSD lands.  Roads and trails,  
            especially unplanned informal trails, can have a number of  
            undesirable effects on the natural environment.  They can  
            contribute sediment to streams, fragment habitat, provide  
            opportunities for the influx or spread of invasive weeds, and  
            create visual scars through once lushly vegetated areas.  The  
            MCOSD has struggled to keep up with the maintenance,  
            mitigation, enforcement, and improvement of the formal and  
            informal roads and trails system."

          3)Park and/or open space districts generally must comply with  
            state law requiring them to publicly bid new construction and  
            maintenance work that will exceed specified costs.  This is  
            consistent with state law for all local agencies, based on  
            policy that seeks to balance open and transparent use of  
            public funds with efficient and cost-effective government  
            operations.  For park and/or open space districts, the  
            thresholds under which a district may contract without public  
            bidding are $25,000 for new construction, and $10,000 for  
            non-construction work.

            The Legislature has allowed exceptions to these thresholds for  
            three districts: the East Bay Regional Park District, the  
            Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, and the Sonoma  
            County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District.  The  
            general managers for these entities may contract without  
            public bidding for supplies, material, labor and other items  
            for work that isn't new construction costing up to $25,000.   








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            All such expenditures must be reported to the respective  
            boards at their next regular meeting.  These exceptions are  
            rooted in a recognition that public bidding may not be  
            cost-effective in all cases, particularly when the costs of  
            time delays and resources expended on contract preparation and  
            bidding are disproportionate to a contract's scope and total  
            cost.  This bill would extend this increased contracting  
            authority to the MCOSD.

          4)According to the Marin County Board of Supervisors, sponsor of  
            this bill, "The current $10,000 limit set forth in the  
            California Public Resources Code is over thirty years old and  
            does not reflect cost increases that have occurred  
            since?Enactment of this legislation would reduce the time  
            required for project implementation, and save the Open Space  
            District and the County of Marin thousands of dollars annually  
            in the cost of staff time related to the preparation and  
            processing of contracts for the Board of Directors  
            consideration."

          5)There is legislative precedent for this bill, including the  
            following prior bills:

            AB 953 (Simitian), Chapter 23, Statutes of 2002, increased the  
            non-bid spending cap for non-construction items to $25,000 for  
            the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District and the Sonoma  
            County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District.

            AB 584 (Aroner), Chapter 135, Statutes of 1999, raised the  
            non-bid spending cap for non-construction items to $25,000 for  
            the East Bay Regional Park District. 

           6)Support arguments  :  Supporters note that this bill will allow  
            the MCOSD to carry out its mission in a more cost-effective  
            and efficient manner.

             Opposition arguments  :  Opponents could argue that competitive  
            bidding is the most effective method for ensuring prudent  
            expenditures of public funds and that existing thresholds for  
            non-bid contracts should remain in place.

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           








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          Marin County Board of Supervisors [SPONSOR]

           Opposition 
           
          None on file
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958