BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2196
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
2196 (Low)
As Amended June 8, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(May 5, 2016) |SENATE: |37-0 |(June 30, 2016) |
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|COMMITTEE | |August 15, |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
|VOTE: |15-0 |2016 | | |
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Trans.
Original Committee Reference: TRANS.
SUMMARY: Makes non-substantive changes to the enabling statutes
for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and
additionally changes the bid thresholds for contracts related to
supplies, equipment, and materials, as specified.
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The Senate amendments add language to increase the bid
thresholds for VTA for the purchase of supplies, equipment and
materials consistent with federal guidelines. Specifically, the
Senate amendments:
1)Increase the bid threshold, from $100,000 to $150,000, above
which VTA must award contracts for supplies, equipment and
materials to the lowest responsible bidder or to the bidder
who submits a proposal that provides best value, as defined.
2)Increase, from $100,000 to $150,000, the maximum procurement
amount for supplies, equipment, or materials under which VTA
must obtain at least three quotations that permit prices and
terms to be compared.
3)Increase, from $2,000 to $3,500, the minimum procurement
amount for supplies, equipment or materials above which VTA
must obtain at least three quotations that permit prices and
terms to be compared.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Creates the Santa Clara Valley Transit District and the Santa
Clara Valley Transportation Authority with various and duties
relative to transportation projects, planning and services,
and the operation of public transit in the County of Santa
Clara.
2)Defines the Santa Clara Valley Transit District as meaning the
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority.
3)Designates that the governing board of the district shall
consists of 12 members, with two representatives of the county
who shall be members of the Board of Supervisors, five
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representatives of the city of San Jose who shall be city
council members, and five council members selected from among
the cities in the county other than the City of San Jose.
4)Requires VTA to let contracts for the purchase of supplies,
equipment, and materials to the lowest responsible bidder or
to the bidder who submits a proposal that provides best value,
as defined, if the amount of the contract exceeds $100,000.
5)Requires VTA to obtain at least three quotations that permit
prices and terms to be compared whenever the expected
procurement is expected to cost between $2,500 and does not
exceed $100,000 for supplies, equipment, or materials.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: The Santa Clara County Transit District was created
through state legislation in 1969 to provide public transit
service for the communities of Santa Clara County. In 1989, the
Santa Clara County Congestion Management Agency was created to
implement the county's congestion management program.
Additionally, in the 1980's the Santa Clara County Traffic
Authority was established to oversee the Measure A, a voter
approved, half cent sales tax measure. In the mid-1990s Santa
Clara County reorganized the various transportation agencies and
created the VTA to manage and operate the county's transit
system, serve as the congestion management agency, develop the
county's transportation plan, and implement local sales tax
measures approved by voters.
According to the author, this bill is a clean-up bill, making
various non-substantive changes to current VTA statues. A
comprehensive review and clean-up of the underlying statues
governing VTA has not been done since the reorganization of the
agency occurred. This bill is intended to update provisions
that are outdated, delete provisions that are obsolete or
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inoperable, and modify provisions that are inconsistent.
Additionally, the Senate amendments update the bid thresholds
for VTA contracts related to supplies, equipment, and materials
to be consistent with federal acquisition thresholds updated in
2015. Specifically, the Simplified Acquisition Threshold (SAT)
is set by the federal government for its Simplified Acquisition
Procedures (SAP), which are designed to help federal agencies
meet their small business procurement targets. SAPs employ
streamlined contracting procedures for contracts valued between
$2,500 and $150,000, such as allowing quotations (including oral
quotations) instead of requiring full-blown bids, requiring less
stringent reporting, and setting simpler rules for
subcontracting. Federal acquisition thresholds are adjusted
every five years and published in the Federal Register. The
latest adjustment in 2015 raised the micro-purchase threshold to
$3,500. The SAT ceiling remained the same at $150,000.
Analysis Prepared by:
Melissa White / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093 FN:
0004218