BILL ANALYSIS
AB 729
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Date of Hearing: April 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Mike Eng, Chair
AB 729 (Evans) - As Introduced: February 26, 2009
SUBJECT : Transit: design-build
SUMMARY : Eliminates the sunset date on provisions authorizing
the use of design-build contracting by transit operators,
thereby extending the authority indefinitely.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes a transit operator to enter in design-build
contracts for both the design and constriction of a project.
2)Defines "design-build" as a procurement process in which both
the design and construction of a project are procured from a
single entity.
3)Prescribes the process to be used by transit operators when
developing and procuring a design-build project.
4)Sunsets the design-build authority for transit operators on
January 1, 2011.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Original legislation enabling the use of design-build
for transit operators, AB 958 (Scott), Chapter 541, Statutes of
2000 required transit operators to report to the Legislative
Analyst's Office (LAO) on their experience using this type of
procurement method. In February 2005, LAO prepared a
comprehensive report on design-build authorities granted to date
and found that it can be a useful option for some public
construction projects. LAO reported that government agencies
that used design-build generally expressed favorable opinions of
the process. Almost all reported that compared to the
traditional design-bid-build process, design-build took less
time to construction and resulted in fewer claims and less
litigation.
The California Transit Association (CTA) is sponsoring AB 729,
arguing that design-build authority can help expedite projects
AB 729
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that are under time-constraints and may otherwise lose funding
in programs such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
or Proposition 1B.
Author's amendments : The author would like to take amendments
to the bill in committee to extend the sunset date on provisions
allowing design-build for transit, rather than eliminate the
sunset all together. Extending the sunset will provide greater
accountability and allow the Legislature more time and more
projects with which to evaluate the effectiveness of
design-build as a procurement method.
Previous legislation : In addition to AB 958, AB 372 (Nation),
Chapter 262, Statutes of 2006 which extended the original
authority January 1, 2011, and made other modifications to the
authority, including requiring a transit operator to establish a
labor compliance program only for a design-build contract and
only if the transit operator does not already have a labor
compliance program, as specified.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Transit Association (CTA)
Foothill Transit
Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
San Diego Association of Governments
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093