BILL ANALYSIS
AB 116
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Date of Hearing: April 29, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 116 (Beall) - As Amended: April 21, 2009
Policy Committee: Local
GovernmentVote:7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill revises the procurement requirements for the purchase
of supplies, equipment, and materials by the Santa Clara Valley
Transportation Authority (SCVTA), the Alameda-Contra Costa
Transit District (AC Transit), the San Mateo County Transit
District (SAMTRAN), and the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and
Transportation District (GG District). Specifically, the bill:
1)Increases, from $25,000 ($20,000 in the case of the GG
district) to $100,000, the expenditure threshold that requires
these authorities and districts to contract for purchasing
supplies, equipment, or materials.
2)Authorizes these local entities to let a contract to either
the lowest bidder or the responsible bidder who submitted a
proposal that provides "best value," defined as the overall
combination of quality, price, and other elements of a
proposal that, when considered together, provide the greatest
overall benefit in response to the bid solicitation documents.
3)Requires SCVTA, AC Transit, and SAMTRAN, and to the extent
possible, GG District, to obtain a minimum of three
quotations, either written or oral, that permit price
comparison for contracts with a value of $2,500 to $100,000.
4)Increases, from $50,000 to $100,000, the contract amount the
general manager of SAMTRAN can approve on behalf of the
SAMTRAN board and requires notification to the SAMTRAN board.
5)Specifies that bids for contracts be posted in both a
newspaper of general circulation and on the district's
AB 116
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procurement website.
FISCAL EFFECT
No state effect. Potential savings to local transit districts to
the extent that more flexible contracting rules allows them to
acquire products at a lower overall cost.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill is intended to make contracting more
efficient for SCVTA, AC Transit,, SAMTRAN, and GG District,
and to bring the standards in line with federal guidelines.
The author notes that the current $25,000 contracting
threshold is low given inflation that has taken place over
time. As a consequence, these agencies are forced to use a
resource-intensive, costly, and time-consuming formal
competitive bidding for relatively small procurements of
materials, supplies, and equipment.
2)Prior legislation . This bill is identical to the July 7, 2008
version of AB 117 from last session. That bill was vetoed by
the governor, who cited the late budget and lack of time for
review. This provisions of this bill are similar to SB 1687
(Murray), Chapter 814/2006, which affected the Bay Area Rapid
Transit District and the Los Angeles Metropolitan
Transportation Authority, and SB 956 (Kehoe), Chapter
557/2005, which affected the San Diego Metropolitan Transit
System.
Analysis Prepared by : Brad Williams / APPR. / (916) 319-2081