BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2036
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2036 (Bill Berryhill)
As Amended August 27, 2010
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 20, 2010) |SENATE: |32-0 |(August 30, |
| | | | | |2010) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(vote not relevant)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
|COMMITTEE VOTE: |9-0 |(August 30, 2010) |RECOMMENDATION: |concur |
| (Local | | | | |
|Government) | | | | |
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: JUD.
SUMMARY : Requires state departments and local agencies to provide,
at no charge, an electronic copy of the project's contract
documents to a contractor plan room service upon request from the
contractor plan room service.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill, and
instead, require:
1)State departments, upon request from a contractor plan room
service, to provide, at no charge, an electronic copy of a
project's contract documents to the contractor plan room service.
2)Local agencies when taking bids for the construction of a public
work or improvement to provide, at no charge, an electronic copy
of the project's contract documents to a contractor plan room
upon request from the contractor plan room service.
EXISTING LAW :
1)The State Contract Act (Act) governs contract practices between
state departments and private contractors.
AB 2036
Page 2
2)The Act defines "project" to include the erection, construction,
alteration, repair, or improvement of any state structure,
building, road, or other state improvement of any kind that will
exceed a total cost of $250,000.
3)The Act defines "department" to mean the Department of Water
Resources, the Department of General Services, the Department of
Boating and Waterways, the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, the Military Department, and the Department of
Transportation.
4)The Local Agency Public Construction Act sets forth the
procedures local agencies are required to use when soliciting and
evaluating bids or proposals for the construction of a public
work or improvement.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill limited the existing right of
public entities to withhold payment to contractors and
subcontractors when a stop notice is received to provide for
reasonable litigation costs associated with the stop notice such
that the right could be exercised only if the original contractor
fails to promptly accept a tender of defense of the public entity
in the litigation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, "?a number of public entities
in California are requiring contractors, subcontractors, and
material suppliers to pay for the plans and specification
documents" on the particular bid solicitation for the proposed
public works project. That fee is often between $100 and $500 per
project.
The author notes that, historically, public entities authorized
those seeking to examine project plans for the purpose of
determining whether or not to bid on the proposed project to simply
take the plans and specifications after paying a deposit, which was
returned if the plans were returned to the public entity in good
condition.
The author also states that many construction firms are often too
small to pay non-refundable charges for plans and other bid
documents, thus reducing the competition for these bids and
potentially driving up the overall contract price for public
entities. Furthermore, small, minority, and women-owned business
AB 2036
Page 3
are among those firms unable to compete because of these charges.
Many builders' exchanges and other contractor groups operate
"contractor plan room services," which allow their members to view
hard copy plans or download plans and specifications for projects
throughout the state. Many of these services have become online
plan services. The author notes these contractor plan rooms do not
have the resources to purchase plans and other bid documents from
public entities. Electronic plans and documents avoid the cost of
printing for the public entity, and the construction industry can
easily accept and utilize these documents.
Support arguments: Supporters might say this bill would make it
economically feasible for more businesses to submit bids for the
construction of a public work or improvement.
Opposition arguments: Opposition might say this bill would
increase costs and personnel time for public entities when bidding
out for the construction of a public work or improvement.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer R. Klein / L. GOV. / (916)
319-3958
FN: 0006869