BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1108|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 1108
          Author:   Price (D)
          Amended:  6/1/10
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE  :  8-0, 4/13/10
          AYES:  Wright, Calderon, Denham, Florez, Oropeza, Padilla,  
            Price, Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Harman, Negrete McLeod, Wyland

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  9-1, 5/27/10
          AYES:  Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Denham, Leno, Price, Wolk,  
            Wyland, Yee
          NOES:  Walters
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Cox


           SUBJECT  :    Public contracts:  small business participation

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill authorizes the Department of General  
          Services, commencing on July 1, 2011, to direct all state  
          agencies, departments, boards and commissions to establish  
          and achieve a goal of 25 percent small business  
          participation in state procurements and contracts.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law governs the solicitation, review  
          and award of state contracts and establishes various  
          programs and preferences in public contract law designed to  
          serve a broad public purpose, such as preference for small  
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          businesses, disabled veteran business enterprises (DVBE)  
          and recycled products.  Existing law designates the  
          Department of General Services (DGS) to administer the  
          Small Business Procurement and Contract Act, including, but  
          not limited to, small business, microbusinesses and DVBE  
          certification processes.

          The Small Business Procurement and Contract Act requires  
          the Director of DGS and the heads of other state agencies  
          that enter into contracts for the provision of goods,  
          services, and information technology and for the  
          construction of state facilities to establish goals for the  
          participation of small businesses in these contracts, to  
          provide for small business preference in the award of these  
          contracts, to give special consideration and special  
          assistance to small businesses, and, whenever possible, to  
          make awards to small businesses, as specified.

          This bill:

          1. Commencing on July 1, 2011, provides that DGS may direct  
             all state agencies, departments, boards, and commissions  
             to establish the goal to achieve 25 percent small  
             business participation in state procurements and  
             contracts.

          2. Provides that, should DGS give this direction, the heads  
             of all state agencies, departments, boards and  
             commissions, must implement procurement and contract  
             processes in order to meet the goal of 25 percent small  
             business participation and shall report to the Director  
             of DGS statistics regarding the annual participation of  
             small businesses in the agency's procurements and  
             contracts.  

          3. Provides that DGS may establish policies and procedures  
             to monitor the progress of all state agencies,  
             departments, boards, and commissions toward meeting the  
             goal of  25 percent small business participation.

          4. Provides that DGS may require a state agency,  
             department, board, or commission that has not achieved  
             its fiscal year goal of 25 percent small business  
             participation to submit an implementation and corrective  







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             action plan, and to submit such plan annually  
             thereafter, as long as that entity fails to meet or  
             exceed the goal.  Also, permits DGS to establish  
             criteria for such a plan and to publish it in the State  
             Administrative Manual (SAM).

          5. Provides that DGS may undertake reasonable means to  
             assist agencies in improving small business  
             participation, including entering into memoranda of  
             understanding with agencies that have not met the goal.   


          6. Requires DGS to actively promote small business  
             certification. 

           Background  

           The Small Business Act  .  The Small Business Act,  
          administered through DGS, was implemented more than 30  
          years ago to establish a small business preference within  
          the state's procurement process that would increase the  
          number of contracts between the state and small businesses.  
           In 1989, a DVBE component was added to state procurement  
          practices (SB 1517 [Dills], Chapter 1207, Statutes of  
          1989).  Certification of small businesses, including  
          microbusinesses, and DVBEs is generally undertaken by DGS.
           
          The Small Business Act declares that it is the policy of  
          the State of California that the state aid the interests of  
          small businesses in order to preserve free competitive  
          enterprise and to ensure that a fair portion of the total  
          purchases and contracts of the state be placed with these  
          enterprises.
          Since 2001, there have been four Executive Orders (EO)  
          specifying goals for small business and DVBE participation  
          in state procurement contracts, including EO D-37-01  
          (2001), EO S-02-06 (2006), EO D-43-01(2001), and EO S-11-06  
          (2006).  The first two EOs set 25 percent small business  
          participation goals, and the third set a three percent DVBE  
          participation goal for all state procurement contracts.   
          The fourth EO set a 25 percent participation goal for state  
          construction contracts, particularly those awarded by the  
          California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) when  
          implementing Proposition 1B.







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           Bidding Preferences  .  Under current law, there are certain  
          circumstances where contractors bidding on a state contract  
          can have the overall cost of their bid discounted by five  
          percent in order to make them more competitive as a low  
          bidder.  Preferences can currently be given for small  
          business in general, disabled veteran-owned business  
          enterprises, for small businesses in economically target  
          areas, and for businesses, regardless of size, located in  
          economically distressed areas.  The maximum amount provided  
          for each              qualifying bidding preference is  
          $50,000 with a total bid maximum of $100,000.  This means  
          that contractors with bids of up to $100,000 higher than  
          the lowest bid can be awarded the contract if they qualify  
          for two bidding preferences.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

                         Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions      2010-11     2011-12     2012-13     Fund  

          Statutory small business      Unknown, multi-millions of  
          dollars             General/
          contract participation        in costs annually    
          Various/
                                                            Special

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/27/10)

          California Black Chamber of Commerce
          California Small Business Association
          Coalition of Small and Disabled Veteran Businesses 
          Kammerer & Company
          Kern Minority Contractors Association
          National Federation of Independent Business 
          Sacramento Black Chamber of Commerce
          San Francisco County Board of Supervisors
          San Joaquin Valley Black Contractors Association
          Small Manufacturers Association of California








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           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    Writing in support of this bill,  
          the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB),  
          notes that under the Governor's EO of 2006 state agencies  
          as a whole met the 25 percent goal in 2006-07 and 2008-09  
          but failed to do so in fiscal year 2007-08.  By placing  
          this requirement in statute and providing DGS support, the  
          NFIB claims this bill will contribute to the success of  
          California small business contractors.  Additionally, the  
          NFIB believes that "maintaining a strong small business  
          participation requirement promotes competition that helps  
          control costs and ensures state agencies receive a good  
          deal on state contracts."   


          TSM:mw  5/28/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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