Amended in Assembly June 16, 2015

Amended in Senate April 14, 2015

Senate BillNo. 562


Introduced by Senator Lara

February 26, 2015


An act to add Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 5975) to Division 6 of Title 1 of the Government Code, relating to infrastructure financing.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 562, as amended, Lara. Infrastructure financing: City of Long Beach Civic Center.

The Local Agency Public Construction Act prescribes procedures for contracting by local public agencies, including specific provisions for cities.

Existing law permits a governmental agency to solicit proposals and enter into agreements with private entities for the design, construction, or reconstruction by, and may lease to, private entities, for specified types of fee-producing infrastructure projects. Existing law permits these agreements to provide for the lease of, or ownership of, infrastructure facilities owned by a governmental entity, but constructed by a private entity, to that private entity for a period of up to 35 years.

This bill, notwithstanding the act and any other law, would authorize the City of Long Beach to contract and procure a project for the revitalization and redevelopment of the Long Beach Civic Center, as defined, in accordance with prescribed procedures for proposalbegin delete evaluation,end deletebegin insert evaluationend insert and contract award. The bill would authorize the lease of all or a portion of the project to, or ownership by, a private entity or entities, for a term of up to 50 years. The bill would make a statement that a special law is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique and special circumstances surrounding the existing Long Beach Civic Center, and the need to immediately, quickly, and efficiently develop the project, and to resolve property issues potentially delaying the project.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(a) The City of Long Beach has experienced an increasing
4demand to fund infrastructure repairs, replacements, and new
5improvements.

6(b) The existing civic center is nearing the end of its useful life
7and contains significant seismic deficiencies that the City of Long
8Beach seeks to address as soon as feasibly possible to ensure the
9public’s health and safety.

10(c) Thebegin delete City Council of theend delete City of Long Beachbegin insert city councilend insert
11 seeks to address public health and safety in the earliest possible
12timeframe and understands that the development of a new Long
13Beach Civic Center using the public-private partnership
14procurement process presents the most expedient route to protecting
15the safety of its employees in and visitors to the civic center.

16(d) The public-private partnership procurement process has
17demonstrated precedence for the expedient, efficient, and
18economical delivery of projects, through the delivery of the
19begin insert Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse in the City ofend insert Long
20begin delete Beach Courthouse,end deletebegin insert Beach,end insert which was completed under budget and
21ahead of schedule.

22(e) The ability to utilize private sector investment capital is
23essential to the timely development of a cost-effective and
24 long-lasting Long Beach Civic Center.

25(f) A public-private partnership procurement method provides
26the City of Long Beach with an alternative and optional procedure
27for developing a new civic center that can provide a cost-effective
28benefit to the City of Long Beach by shifting the liability and risk
P3    1for cost containment, project completion, and life-cycle
2maintenance to a private entity.

3

SEC. 2.  

Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 5975) is added
4to Division 6 of Title 1 of the Government Code, to read:

5 

6Chapter  15. Long Beach Civic Center
7

 

8

5975.  

As used in this chapter:

9(a) “Best interests of the city” means a procurement process
10that is determined by the city to provide the best value and an
11expedited delivery schedule while maintaining a high level of
12quality workmanship and materials.

13(b) “Best value” means a value determined by objective criteria
14that shall include a combination of price, financing costs, features,
15functions, performance, life-cycle maintenance costs and abatement
16offsets, and development experience.

17(c) “Business entity” means a partnership, corporation, or other
18legal entity that is able to provide appropriately licensed
19contracting, architectural, engineering, financial, operations,
20management, facilities maintenance, and other services for
21development of a new Long Beach Civic Center.

22(d) “City” means the City of Long Beach and its departments,
23begin delete including, without limitation,end deletebegin insert includingend insert thebegin insert City of Long Beachend insert
24 Harbor Department.

25(e) “Long Beach Civic Center” means the area bounded by
26Broadway, Pacific Avenue, Ocean Boulevard, and Magnolia
27Avenue, containing approximately 14.98 acres, and the parcel on
28the south side of 3rd Street between Pacific Avenue and Cedar
29Avenue, containing approximately 0.89 acres.

30(f) “Private entity” means an individual, business entity, or
31combination of individuals and business entities.

32(g) “Private portion of the project” means those parcels of land
33within the Long Beach Civic Center to be conveyed to a private
34entity and developed as residential, retail, hospitality, institutional,
35or industrial facilities.

36(h) “Project” means the revitalization and redevelopment of the
37Long Beach Civic Center with a new city hall, port headquarters,
38public library, and public park, and residential, retail, hospitality,
39institutional, and industrial facilities.

P4    1(i) “Public portion of the project” means those parcels of land
2within the Long Beach Civic Center to be developed as a city hall,
3port headquarters, public park, public library, or other government
4facilities.

5(j) “Public-private partnership” means a cooperative arrangement
6between the public and private sectors, built on the expertise of
7each partner, that best meets the city’s needs through the
8appropriate allocation of resources, risks, and rewards for the
9purposes of, and, including, but not limited to, studying, planning,
10designing, constructing, developing, financing, operating,
11maintaining, or any combination thereof, the project.

12

5976.  

(a)  The city may contract and procure the project
13pursuant to this chapter.

14(b) The city shall evaluate the project proposals it solicits and
15receives and choose the private entity or entities whose proposal
16is, or proposals are, judged as providing the best value in meeting
17the best interests of the city. The city may enter into a
18public-private partnership through a concession agreement,
19design-build agreement, design-build-finance agreement, project
20agreement, lease-leaseback, or other appropriate agreements
21combining one or more major elements of thebegin delete forgoingend deletebegin insert foregoingend insert
22 agreements, with one or more private entities for delivery of the
23project. The city shall retain the right to terminate the project prior
24to project award should the city determine that the project is not
25in the best interests of the city or should the negotiations with the
26private entity or entities otherwise fail.

27(c) The contract award for the project shall be made to the
28private entity or entities whose proposal or proposals are
29determined by the city, in writing, to be the most advantageous by
30providing the best value in meeting the best interests of the city.

31(d) The negotiation process shall specifically prohibit practices
32that may result in unlawful activity, including, but not limited to,
33rebates, kickbacks, or other unlawful consideration, and shall
34specifically prohibit city employees from participating in the
35selection process when those employees have a relationship with
36a person or business entity seeking a contract under this chapter
37that would subject those employees to the prohibition of Section
3887100.

39(e) All documents related to the project shall be subject to
40disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5
P5    1(commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7), except those
2exempted from disclosure under that act.

3

5977.  

(a) The project is subject to compliance with the
4California Environmental Quality Act (Division 13 (commencing
5with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code). Neither the
6act of selecting a private entity, nor the execution of an agreement
7with the private entity, shall require prior compliance with the act.
8However, appropriate compliance with the act shall thereafter
9occur before project construction commences.

10(b) The public portion of the project, at all times, shall be owned
11by the city, unless the city, in its discretion, elects to provide for
12ownership of the project by the private entity through a separate
13lease agreement. Notwithstanding Section 5956.6 or any other
14provision of this code, the agreement shall provide for the lease
15of all or a portion of the project to, or ownership by, the private
16entity or entities, for a term up to 50 years. In consideration
17therefor, the agreement shall provide for complete reversion of the
18public portion of the project to the city at the expiration of the
19lease or transfer term.

20(c) The private portion of the project shall not be financed or
21developed by the public-private partnership or otherwise using
22public or tax-exempt financing.

23(d) The plans and specifications for the project shall comply
24with all applicable governmental design standards for that particular
25infrastructure project. The private entity studying, planning,
26designing, constructing, developing, financing, operating,
27maintaining, or any combination thereof, the project shall utilize
28private sector firms for studying, planning, designing, constructing,
29developing, financing, operating, maintaining, or any combination
30thereof, the project. However, a facility subject to this chapter and
31leased to a private entity, during the term of the lease, shall be
32deemed to be public property for purposes of identification,
33maintenance, enforcement of laws, and for purposes of Division
343.6 (commencing with Section 810). All public works constructed
35pursuant to this chapter shall comply with Chapter 1 (commencing
36with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code.

begin insert

37(e) This chapter shall not be construed to authorize the city to
38use tidelands trust revenues that are subject to Section 6306 of the
39Public Resources Code or any other applicable granting statute
P6    1for general municipal purposes or any other purpose unconnected
2with the public trust.

end insert
3

5978.  

The provisions of this chapter are severable. If any
4provision of this chapter or its application is held invalid, that
5invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can
6be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

7

5979.  

The Legislature finds and declares that a special law is
8necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable within
9the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
10Constitution because of the unique and special circumstances
11surrounding the existing Long Beach Civic Center, and the need
12to immediately,begin delete quicklyend deletebegin insert quickly,end insert and efficiently develop the project,
13and to resolve property issues potentially delaying the project.



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