BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 429|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 429
Author: Dahle (R), et al.
Amended: 8/31/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE NATURAL RES. & WATER COMMITTEE: 5-0, 7/14/15
AYES: Stone, Hertzberg, Hueso, Jackson, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Pavley, Allen, Monning, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/11/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Public contracts: preferences: forest products
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill establishes a bid preference for state
contracts for lumber and other solid wood products that are
harvested in compliance with the Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice
Act, federal timber sales, or a federal certification program
identified by the director of the Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Provides California has various programs that provide bid
preferences to specific types of contractors or for projects
in certain areas. Generally, various Government Code sections
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establish the programs and the Department of General Services'
(DGS) State Contracting Manual specifies program parameters
and compliance requirements.
The two main bid preference programs are the Disabled Veteran
Business Enterprise Program and the Certified Small and
Microbusiness Program. DGS oversees these programs and
certifies these businesses so they are eligible for the
preferences when bidding for state contracts. Additional
smaller bid preferences are also overseen by DGS.
Another provision in Section 12400 of the Public Contract Code
that is similar to a purchasing preference requires the state
to engage in "environmentally preferable purchasing."
2)Prohibits, pursuant to the Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act
of 1973, a person from conducting timber operations on
timberland unless a timber harvesting plan has been prepared
by a registered professional forester and has been submitted
to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and approved
by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection or the State
Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.
This bill:
1)Contains numerous findings and declarations regarding the
economic and environmental importance of forested lands
including the importance of forested lands to sequester carbon
dioxide.
2)Establishes conditions for a purchasing preference for lumber
or other solid wood products that when those materials are
purchased by state agencies. These conditions include
harvesting that meets any of the following:
a) The lumber or wood products must be harvested in
compliance with the California Forest Practices Act, rules
governing federal timber sales, or a forest certification
program that is identified by the director of the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection after conducting
a public hearing. The director shall notify the DGS of any
such identification in writing.
b) The preference must be consistent with federal law.
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c) The preference would apply only to direct purchases of
lumber and wood products by state agencies.
3)States that the direct purchase of lumber or other solid wood
products pursuant to this preference are subject to this
purchasing preference "if price, fitness and quality are
equal, based upon verifiable, self-certification from
suppliers that are selling directly to state agencies."
4)States the lumber or other solid wood products that are
subject to this purchasing preference are only those purchased
directly by state agencies.
5)Provides the preference attaches only if consistent with
federal law as determined by the courts.
6)Provides the preference attaches only when consistent with the
state's obligations under any applicable international
agreement.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, onetime costs
of up to $100,000 to the General Fund for the DGS to promulgate
regulations that would establish how the bid preference in this
bill would interact with other existing bid preferences
SUPPORT: (Verified8/28/15)
Associated California Loggers
California Chamber of Commerce
California Farm Bureau
California Forestry Association
California Licensed Foresters Association
Forest Products Industry National Labor Management Committee
Forest Landowners of California
Green Diamond Resource Company
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Mendocino/Humboldt Redwood Companies
Shasta Forests Timberlands, LLC and Red River Forests, LLC
Sierra Pacific Industries
Western Wood Preservers Institute
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/28/15)
British Columbia
Coast Forest Products Association (20 companies from British
Columbia)
Forest Products Association of Canada
Interfor
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The author and supporters state this bill
would encourage state agencies to give preference to California
lumber products as long as the price, quality and fitness of
products are equal and those products are purchased directly by
a state agency as opposed to a purchase through bidding on a
major public works project. The author is concerned that lumber
production in the state has declined as demand for lumber has
increased. Further, the author argues that California's forests
are harvested sustainably and are subject to more rigorous
regulation than competitors from other states and nations.
The author believes that the provision that limits the bill to
situations when it is consistent with federal law should remove
the concern that the bill would be implemented if it conflicted
with federal trade agreements.
The author believes that allowing other suppliers whose forest
products are harvested pursuant to federal timber sales rules or
a third party certification program identified by the director
of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
will allow many other suppliers from other states and nations to
meet the requirements of this bill so that no international
treaty obligations would be violated.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:The opposition consists primarily of
Canadian government and Canadian forestry interests who make
several points based on earlier versions of the bill:
1)The bill discriminates against lumber and forest products
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imported into California from what the opposition contends are
sustainably managed forests in Canada and elsewhere.
2)The bill violates U.S. obligations within the context of World
Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. The WTO agreement
requires California to provide "treatment no less favorable
than the treatment" of California wood products purchased in
Canada.
3)While the bill claims to be open to California purchases from
all wood products harvested pursuant to the California Forest
Practices Act, as a practical matter such lumber only comes
from California because of the impossibility of verifying the
lumber from outside of California was harvested pursuant to
California law and regulations.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/11/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hadley, Atkins
Prepared by:William Craven / N.R. & W. / (916) 651-4116
8/31/15 15:43:15
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