BILL NUMBER: AB 1565 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 21, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 25, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Fuentes
(Coauthor: Senator Alquist)
JANUARY 30, 2012
An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 20111.5 of, and to add
and repeal Section 20111.6 of, the Public Contract Code, relating to
public contracts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1565, as amended, Fuentes. Public contracts: school districts:
bidding requirements.
Under existing law, the governing board of a school district may
require each prospective bidder for specified contracts to submit a
standardized questionnaire and financial statement, including
information relating to financial ability and experience in
performing public works, which is required to be verified under oath.
Existing law further requires a school district requiring the above
information to adopt and apply a uniform system of rating bidders on
the basis of the completed questionnaires and financial statements,
as specified.
This bill, until January 1, 2019, would require the questionnaire
and uniform system of rating bidders described above to cover, at a
minimum, the issues covered by the standardized questionnaire and
model guidelines for rating bidders developed by the Department of
Industrial Relations, as specified. This bill would provide that the
questionnaire and uniform system of rating bidders described above
shall not preclude the governing board of the district from
prequalifying or disqualifying a subcontractor. This bill would
provide that these provisions shall would
not apply to school districts with an average daily attendance
of less than 2,500. This bill would provide that bidders would
include the prime contractor and, if utilized, all electrical,
mechanical, and plumbing subcontractors. This bill would require a
school district to provide a list of prequalified bidders
to all bidders at least 2 business days prior to the dates fixed for
the public opening of sealed bids for specified public projects.
This bill, for contracts awarded on and after January 1, 2014, and
until January 1, 2019, would also require the governing board of the
district, except for school districts with an average daily
attendance of less than 2,500, for certain public projects, if the
governing board of the district chooses not to follow the uniform
system of rating bidders described above, to use other procedures,
which require a standardized questionnaire and financial statement to
be verified under oath, for bidding applicable to public entities,
as prescribed. The bill would also require the Director of Industrial
Relations, on or before January 1, 2018, to submit a report to the
Legislature evaluating whether labor violations have decreased, as
specified, and to recommend improvements to the system for
prequalifying contractors and subcontractors on school district
projects. By expanding the scope of an existing crime and by imposing
new duties on local officials, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 20111.5 of the Public Contract Code is amended
to read:
20111.5. (a) The governing board of the district may require that
each prospective bidder for a contract, as described under Section
20111, complete and submit to the district a standardized
questionnaire and financial statement in a form specified by the
district, including a complete statement of the prospective bidder's
financial ability and experience in performing public works. The
questionnaire and financial statement shall be verified under oath by
the bidder in the manner in which civil pleadings in civil actions
are verified. The questionnaires and financial statements shall not
be public records and shall not be open to public inspection.
(b) Any school district requiring prospective bidders to complete
and submit questionnaires and financial statements, as described in
subdivision (a), shall adopt and apply a uniform system of rating
bidders on the basis of the completed questionnaires and financial
statements, in order to determine the size of the contracts upon
which each bidder shall be deemed qualified to bid.
(c) The questionnaire described in subdivision (a), and the
uniform system of rating bidders described in subdivision (b), shall
cover, at a minimum, the issues covered by the standardized
questionnaire and model guidelines for rating bidders developed by
the Department of Industrial Relations pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 20101.
(d) Each prospective bidder prime
contractor providing a bid on any contract described under
Section 20111 shall be furnished by the school district letting the
contract with a standardized proposal form that, when completed and
executed, shall be submitted as his or her bid. Bids not presented on
the forms so furnished shall be disregarded.
(e) A proposal form required pursuant to subdivision (d) shall not
be accepted from any person or other entity that is required to
submit a completed questionnaire and financial statement for
prequalification pursuant to subdivision (a) or from any person
or other entity that uses a subcontractor that is required
to submit a completed questionnaire and financial statement for
prequalification pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (i) , but has
not done so at least five days 10 business
days prior to the date fixed for the public opening of sealed
bids or has not been prequalified, pursuant to subdivision (b), for
at least one day five business days
prior to that date.
(f) If a public project covered by this section includes
electrical, mechanical, or plumbing components that will be performed
by electrical, mechanical, or plumbing subcontractors, a list of
prequalified prime contractors and electrical, mechanical, and
plumbing subcontractors shall be made available by the school
district to all bidders at least two business days prior to the dates
fixed for the public opening of sealed bids.
(f)
(g) Notwithstanding subdivision (e), any school
district may establish a process for prequalifying prospective
bidders pursuant to this section on a quarterly basis and may
authorize that prequalification to be considered valid for up to one
calendar year following the date of initial prequalification.
(g)
(h) This section shall not preclude the governing board
of the district from prequalifying or disqualifying a subcontractor.
The disqualification of a subcontractor by the governing
board of the district does not disqualify an otherwise prequalified
contractor.
(i) For purposes of this section, bidders shall include the prime
contractor and, if utilized, all electrical, mechanical, and plumbing
subcontractors.
(j) For purposes of this section, electrical, mechanical, and
plumbing subcontractors are contractors licensed pursuant to Section
7058 of the Business and Professions Code, specifically contractors
holding C-4, C-7, C-10, C-16, C-20, C-34, C-36, C-38, C-42, C-43, and
C-46 licenses, pursuant to regulations of the Contractors State
License Board.
(h)
(k) The amendments made by the act adding this
subdivision shall not apply to a school district with an average
daily attendance of less than 2,500.
(i)
(l) This section shall become inoperative on January 1,
2019, and, as of July 1, 2019, is repealed.
SEC. 2. Section 20111.5 is added to the Public Contract Code, to
read:
20111.5. (a) The governing board of the district may require that
each prospective bidder for a contract, as described under Section
20111, complete and submit to the district a standardized
questionnaire and financial statement in a form specified by the
district, including a complete statement of the prospective bidder's
financial ability and experience in performing public works. The
questionnaire and financial statement shall be verified under oath by
the bidder in the manner in which civil pleadings in civil actions
are verified. The questionnaires and financial statements shall not
be public records and shall not be open to public inspection.
(b) Any school district requiring prospective bidders to complete
and submit questionnaires and financial statements, as described in
subdivision (a), shall adopt and apply a uniform system of rating
bidders on the basis of the completed questionnaires and financial
statements, in order to determine the size of the contracts upon
which each bidder shall be deemed qualified to bid.
(c) Each prospective bidder on any contract described under
Section 20111 shall be furnished by the school district letting the
contract with a standardized proposal form that, when completed and
executed, shall be submitted as his or her bid. Bids not presented on
the forms so furnished shall be disregarded.
(d) A proposal form required pursuant to subdivision (c) shall not
be accepted from any person or other entity that is required to
submit a completed questionnaire and financial statement for
prequalification pursuant to subdivision (a), but has not done so at
least five days prior to the date fixed for the public opening of
sealed bids or has not been prequalified, pursuant to subdivision
(b), for at least one day prior to that date.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (d), any school district may
establish a process for prequalifying prospective bidders pursuant to
this section on a quarterly basis and may authorize that
prequalification to be considered valid for up to one calendar year
following the date of initial prequalification.
(f) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2019.
SEC. 3. Section 20111.6 is added to the Public Contract Code, to
read:
20111.6. (a) This section shall apply only to public projects, as
defined in subdivision (c) of Section 22002, for which the governing
board of the district uses funds received pursuant to the Leroy F.
Greene School Facilities Act of 1998 (Chapter 12.5 (commencing with
Section 17070.10) of Part 10 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the
Education Code) or any funds from any future state school bond
for a public project , when the expenditure exceeds
that involves a projected expenditure of
one million dollars ($1,000,000) or more .
(b) If the governing board of the district does not utilize the
procedures set forth in Section 20111.5 for a contract meeting the
criteria of subdivision (a), then the governing board of the district
shall use the procedures for qualification of bidders set forth in
Section 20101.
(c) For purposes of this section, bidders shall include
all subcontractors performing work in excess of 3 percent of the
total cost the prime contractor and, if
utilized, all electrical, mechanical, and plumbing subcontractors
.
(d) If a public project covered by this section includes
electrical, mechanical, or plumbing components that will be performed
by electrical, mechanical, or plumbing contractors, a list of
prequalified prime contractors and electrical, mechanical, and
plumbing subcontractors shall be made available by the school
district to all bidders at least two business days prior to the dates
fixed for the public opening of sealed bids.
(e) For purposes of this section, electrical, mechanical, and
plumbing subcontractors are contractors licensed pursuant to Section
7058 of the Business and Professions Code, specifically contractors
holding C-4, C-7, C-10, C-16, C-20, C-34, C-36, C-38, C-42, C-43, and
C-46 licenses, pursuant to regulations of the Contractors State
License Board.
(d)
(f) This section shall not apply to a school district
with an average daily attendance of less than 2,500.
(e)
(g) This section shall apply only to contracts awarded
on or after January 1, 2014.
(f)
(h) (1) On or before January 1, 2018, the Director of
Industrial Relations shall (A) submit a report to the Legislature
evaluating whether, during the years this section has applied to
contracts, violations of the Labor Code on school district projects
have decreased as compared to the same number of years immediately
preceding the enactment of this section, and (B) recommend
improvements to the system for prequalifying contractors and
subcontractors on school district projects.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(g)
(i) This section shall become inoperative on January 1,
2019, and, as of July 1, 2019, is repealed.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.