BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2388|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2388
Author: Beall (D)
Amended: 8/13/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/13/12
AYES: Wolk, Dutton, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Hernandez, Kehoe,
La Malfa, Liu
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/10/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Santa Clara County Open-Space Authority:
authorization to
contract
SOURCE : Santa Clara County Open-Space Authority
DIGEST : This bill changes the Santa Clara Open-Space
Authoritys contract requirements for supplies, equipment,
or materials, as follows: (1) increases, from $10,000 to
$25,000, the threshold at which the Authority must award
contracts to the lowest responsible bidder and (2)
increases, from $50,000 to $75,000, the threshold at which
the Authority must award contracts through formal bidding
procedures. If the Authority's governing board awards a
contract to the most responsible and qualified bidder, as
defined, this bill specifies that these bidding thresholds
do not apply to contract for services, including, services,
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including planning, consulting, or legal or appraisal
services, or services authorized to be procured for private
architects, engineers, land surveying, or construction
project management. The bill defines "most responsible and
qualified bidder" as the bidder deemed by the governing
board that best fits the needs of the service contract or
meets specified criteria.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/13/12 adds a fifth criterion
the Santa Clara County Open-Space Authority governing board
may use to identify responsible bidder.
ANALYSIS : The Legislature created the Santa Clara
Open-Space Authority (SB 2028, Mello, Chapter 822, Statutes
of 1992) to acquire, improve, maintain, and preserve
open-space lands in the region. The Authority may contract
for services, supplies, equipment, or materials (except for
legal or appraisal services or contracts with private
architects, engineering, land surveying, and construction
project management firms), according to the following
contract thresholds:
If contracts are valued more than $10,000, the Authority
must award them to the lowest responsible bidder.
If contracts are valued between $10,000 and $50,000, the
Authority may use informal bidding procedures.
If contracts are valued over $50,000, the Authority must
use formal bidding procedures.
This bill changes the Santa Clara Open-Space Authority's
contract requirements for supplies, equipment, or
materials, as follows:
Increases, from $10,000 to $25,000, the threshold at
which the Authority must award contracts to the lowest
responsible bidder.
Increases, from $50,000 to $75,000, the threshold at
which the Authority must award contracts through formal
bidding procedures.
If the Authority's governing board awards a contract to the
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most responsible and qualified bidder, as defined, this
bill specifies that these bidding thresholds do not apply
to contract for services, including:
Services, including planning, consulting, or legal or
appraisal services, or
Services authorized to be procured for private
architects, engineers, land surveying, or construction
project management.
The bill defines "most responsible and qualified bidder" as
the bidder deemed by the governing board that best fits the
needs of the service contract or meets specified criteria.
To determine the most responsible and qualified bidder, the
bill provides criteria the governing board may use,
including:
Experience of the bidder as a firm, including past
performance of the firm on contracts of similar size and
scope,
Experience and qualifications of personnel on the
bidder's team,
Demonstrated understanding of the scope of the service,
including schedule and plan to accomplish, and
Best overall financial return to the governing board.
Demonstrated the attribute of trustworthiness, as well as
quality, fitness, and experience to satisfactorily
perform the work or provide the goods required.
This bill makes technical and clarifying changes related to
formal bid notifications and the governing board. This
bill makes findings and declarations to support the
necessity of a special statute because of the Authority's
unique circumstances.
Comments
Along with a nineteen-year-old contract bid limit that
hasn't been adjusted for inflation, the Authority's lowest
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responsible contract bid requirement prevents them from
choosing a more qualified service contract bidder. By
awarding the contract to the lowest responsible bidder,
which may not be as responsive to the Authority's needs,
the Authority argues that it spends more money overall,
using lower cost service providers more frequently. For
example, in April 2010, due to the lowest contract bid
requirement, the Authority awarded a three-year contract
for auditing services to the lowest bidder, against staff
and counsel's recommendation for another higher-cost
auditor. Subsequently, the lowest-bid contractor billed
the Authority $3,000 more than the agreed figure. The
Authority had to terminate that contract and now is looking
for a new auditor. This bill requires that the Authority's
governing board determine the bidder is the most
responsible and qualified bidder and before exempting the
service contract from the contract bid thresholds.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/14/12)
Santa Clara County Open-Space Authority (source)
East Bay Regional Park District
Marin County Parks
Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District
Peninsula Open Space Trust
Santa Clara County
Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space
District
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/10/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill,
Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
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Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Pan, Perea,
Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cook, Fletcher, Furutani, Jeffries,
Norby, Olsen, V. Manuel P�rez
AGB:n 8/14/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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