BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1773
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Date of Hearing: April 9, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ACCOUNTABILITY AND ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
Jim Frazier, Chair
AB 1773 (Allen) - As Amended: March 13, 2014
SUBJECT : Public contracts: courts
SUMMARY : Revises reporting requirements related to contracting
activities by judicial branch entities (JBEs). Specifically,
this bill :
1)Clarifies that two annual reports that the Judicial Council is
required to compile with information related to judicial
branch contracting must be done semiannually.
2)Requires these semiannual reports to include the following
additional information:
a) A list of all new contracts and the complete history of
contracts amended during the reporting period, including
the date and duration of the amendments; and,
b) Information on whether each contract was competitively
bid, the justification for contracts that were not
competitively bid, and whether the contract was with a
disabled veteran business enterprise, or, in the case of an
information technology contract, with a small business.
3)Specifies that each of the semiannual reports must be
available electronically in a format that enables the data to
be readily searched, sorted, extracted, organized, or
filtered.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines JBEs to mean any superior court, court of appeal, the
California Supreme Court, the Habeas Corpus Resource Center,
the Judicial Council, and the Administrative Office of the
Courts.
2)Requires JBEs to comply with provisions of the Public Contract
Code that apply to state agencies and departments related to
the procurement of goods and services.
AB 1773
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3)Directs the Judicial Council to report twice a year, beginning
in 2012, to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the
California State Auditor (CSA) on contracting activities by
JBEs. These reports must contain specific information,
including details about contracts and amendments to contracts
entered into by JBEs with vendors or contractors, payments
received, and the nature of the goods or services provided.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Current law requires the Judicial Council to submit
reports twice a year to the Legislature and the CSA containing
specified information on contracts for the judicial branch.
These reports provide a list of vendors and contractors and
further identify the amount of payment(s) to the contractors and
vendors, the types of goods and services provided, and the JBEs
with which the contractors and vendors contracted to provide
those goods and services. The reports also include a list of
all contract amendments and identify the vendors and
contractors, the types of goods and services provided under the
contract, and the nature, duration, and cost of the amendments.
According to the author, this bill is intended to create
transparency in judicial branch contracting activities and
ensure that contracting information is fully available and
easily accessible to the public. The author states that a March
2013 report from the California State Auditor (CSA) on judicial
branch procurement found that the statutorily mandated
semiannual reports to the Legislature were of limited usefulness
and identified various improvements that could be made to JBEs'
procurement practices. Specifically, the CSA recommended that
the Legislature require the Judicial Council to revise the
semiannual reports to include information on new contracts and
the complete history of amended contracts; information on
whether or not a contract was competitively bid; information on
the state's small business preference for information technology
procurements; and, require the reports to be available in a
user-friendly electronic format. This bill implements all of
these recommendations.
its most recent report to the Legislature dated February 1,
2014, the Judicial Council notes, "Because substantial
additional judicial branch staff time will be utilized to upload
data that is now contained in physical files and is not
AB 1773
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currently in electronic format, and additional software licenses
will be necessary to implement the recommended changes, the
associated implementation costs will be considerable and will
necessitate additional funding. If the Legislature concludes
that the benefits of such additional reporting requirements
outweigh the costs, and if sufficient funds are appropriated to
offset the additional costs incurred so that the public's access
to justice is not further impaired, the CSA's recommendations
can be implemented."
While this bill aims to increase judicial branch contract
reporting requirements, the workload associated with
implementing it could be significant.
PRIOR LEGISLATION : SB 78, Chapter 10, Statutes of 2011, requires
JBEs to comply with the Public Contract Code governing the
procurement of goods and services by state agencies and
departments.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California Court Reporters Association
Service Employees International Union, California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Cassie Royce / A. & A.R. / (916)
319-3600