BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2075
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Mary Hayashi, Chair
AB 2075 (Higher Education) - As Amended: March 24, 2010
SUBJECT : Public contracts: California State University:
bidding procedures.
SUMMARY : Requires the prequalification form for contractors
bidding on California State University (CSU) public works
projects to be available 10 business days prior to a bid
opening.
EXISTING LAW prohibits CSU from furnishing proposal forms to
people who have not submitted a questionnaire and financial
statement for prequalification at least five calendar days prior
to the public bid opening date and have been prequalified at
least one day prior to the date.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author's office, "Under
the current CSU public works program, many campuses are finding
it a challenge to qualify new contactors. But given the state's
fiscal environment, CSU believes any effort that can be made to
streamline and offer opportunities to support public works
projects is essential.
"This bill will increase the time period for contractors to
become prequalified to bid on CSU public work projects from five
calendar days to 10 business days. This bill will provide a
longer period of time for prequalification and allow CSU's
Capital Planning, Design and Construction Division to better
assure contractors a likely chance that their prequalification
application will be processed before the bid date."
Background . CSU's Capital Planning, Design and Construction
Divsion oversees the construction phase of capital projects and
provides prequalification of bidders, recommends policy and
procedures for construction administration of projects, and
provides consulting services for all campuses administering
projects. In a typical year, CSU lets out contracts worth $600
AB 2075
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million to $1 billion. There are approximately 1,555
contractors who have filed their annual prequalification
application.
The Public Contract Code Section 10764 currently prohibits CSU
from furnishing bidders with bid proposal forms for at least
five calendar days prior to the bid opening date. CSU claims
that this statute does not allow for adequate staff time to
process the prequalification applications because weekend days
are counted, even though they are not CSU working days. In
addition, recent furloughs can leave only two days to process
prequalification applications. CSU notes that lengthening the
amount of time bidders have to complete their bid proposal forms
will benefit bidders and lead to more complete and competitive
proposals.
Support . According to the sponsor, CSU, "Existing law allows
contractors to submit for prequalification five calendar days
before the bid opening date, and prohibits them from submitting
a bid unless they are prequalified at least one day prior to the
bid opening. That leaves four calendar days to process a
prequalification application. For example, an application
submitted on Friday for a Wednesday bid leaves staff with only
two business days to process that application. This tight time
frame puts in jeopardy the contractor's ability to be
prequalified to bid the project. If the application process is
not completed or the prequalification approval is denied, the
contractors' preparatory work is wasted."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California State University (sponsor)
American Fence Association, California Chapter
Associated General Contractors (AGC) of California
California Fence Contractors' Association
Engineering Contractors' Association
Flash/Barricade Association
Marin Builders' Association
Opposition
None on file.
AB 2075
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Analysis Prepared by : Joanna Gin / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301