BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 719
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 14, 2013

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                    SB 719 (Correa) - As Amended:  April 17, 2013 

          Policy Committee:                             Veterans  
          AffairsVote: 9-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill modifies reporting requirements for state departments  
          regarding the California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise  
          (DVBE) procurement program by requiring each department that  
          adopts and uses the Financial Information System for California  
          (FI$Cal) system to report its "statewide participation goals" to  
          the Department of General Services (DGS) in terms of the overall  
          dollar amount expended each year by the awarding department.

          (Current practice is for departments to report DVBE  
          participation in the manner most feasible.) 

           FISCAL EFFECT
           
          1)One-time GF and special fund costs to DGS in the range of  
            $150,000 for the equivalent of 1.5 personnel years to revise  
            policies in the State Contracting Manual and the California  
            Procurement and Contracting Academy, and to provide training  
            to state departments. 

          2)Significant cumulative costs, potentially in excess of $3  
            million, to state departments to transition to the reporting  
            process prescribed by this bill. Assuming an average cost of  
            $20,000 per 180 reporting state departments, as FI$CaL is  
            phased in through 2016, costs would be about $3.6 million. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . The author's intent is to standardize DVBE  
            reporting to gain a more accurate picture of state DVBE  
            participation.








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            In August 2012, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee held a  
            hearing on the DVBE Program. Testimony from DGS indicated the  
            State's recent positive DVBE record reflects a mix of  
            nonstandardized data from various agencies. The mix includes  
            reporting from some agencies based on dollar amounts expressed  
            up-front in DVBE contracts, while reporting from other  
            agencies was based on dollar amounts actually paid to the  
            DVBEs under those contracts. Since the purpose of the program  
            is to provide economic assistance to disabled veterans, the  
            most accurate measure would be the amount of actual awards  
            paid out, as proposed by SB 719.   

           2)DVBE  . Current law requires state departments to attempt to  
            award at least 3% of their annual contract dollars to  
            certified DVBEs. Departments decide whether to include the  
            DVBE participation requirements in a particular solicitation,  
            so some contracts have a goal of more than 3%, while some may  
            have a smaller - or no  - DVBE participation goal. DGS is the  
            administering agency for the DVBE program. 

            According to DGS, the DVBE statewide participation rate was  
            almost 5% the past two fiscal years. DGS reported in its  
            2010-11 Statewide Consolidated Annual Report that at the close  
            of the fiscal year, there were 1,211 certified DVBEs. In  
            2010-11, state agencies reported about $5.6 billion in  
            contracts for procurement of goods, services, construction,  
            and information technology goods and services. 

            DGS notes this bill will not improve state DVBE participation  
            rate. 

           3)FI$Cal  is an information technology project administered by  
            the Department of Finance, the State Controller's Office, the  
            State Treasurer's Office, and DGS. FI$Cal will replace the  
            state's multiple aging and disparate financial systems with a  
            centralized, fully integrated, modern financial information  
            system for the entire state, and will include budgeting,  
            accounting, procurement, and cash management functions. The  
            phase-in is scheduled to begin this summer and conclude in  
            2016. 

           4)Related Legislation  . 

             a)   SB 276 (Roth), 2013, would raise the upper limit of  








                                                                  SB 719
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               contracts that may be awarded to small businesses and DVBEs  
               from $250,000 to $500,000. This bill was held on the Sen.  
               Appropriations Suspense File. 

             b)   SB 297 (Roth), 2013, would increase the DVBE program's  
               annual statewide participation goals for state agencies  
               from 3% up to 5%. This bill is pending in the Assembly  
               Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy Committee, and  
               has been double-referred to the Accountability and  
               Administrative Review Committee.  

             c)   SB 733 (Block), 2013, would establish new criteria for  
               DVBEs, regarding business utilization plans. This bill is  
               pending in the Assembly Jobs, Economic Development and the  
               Economy Committee, and has been double-referred to the  
               Veterans Affairs Committee. 


           
           
           


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081