BILL NUMBER: AB 2426 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 26, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Galgiani
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to add Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 999.30) to
Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code, relating
to public contracts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2426, as amended, Galgiani. Public contracts: veterans
preference.
Existing law requires state departments that award specified types
of contracts to establish a 3% participation goal for certified
disabled veteran business enterprises, as defined. Existing law makes
it a crime to, among other things, willfully make false statements
or to fraudulently obtain certification as a disabled veteran
business enterprise, as specified.
This bill would allow a bid preference, as provided, to a bidder
of a public works contract if that bidder utilizes the Helmets to
Hardhats program administered by the Center for Military Recruitment,
Assessment, and Veterans Employment, as specified. This bill would
require that the bidder and each listed subcontractor submit a
certified statement, as specified, and would impose a civil penalty,
as provided, for knowingly providing false information in that
statement. This bill would also make various legislative findings and
declarations.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) There are a tremendous number of returning veterans who have
served the United States honorably in the different branches of the
United States military.
(b) Facilitating the reentry of these returning veterans into the
private sector job market makes economic sense for these veterans,
their families, and for the economy of California as a whole.
(c) Many of these returning veterans have procured skills that
translate very well into the varied trades and crafts of the
construction industry.
(d) The Building and Construction Trades Department ,
AFL-CIO, in Washington, D.C., runs a program called Helmets to
Hardhats, whose sole purpose is to help returning veterans who are
interested in careers in the construction industry with the
transition from soldier to private sector employee.
(e) The Helmets to Hardhats program has been recognized by
employers as an excellent resource for returning veterans to enter
the private sector job market as construction workers.
(f) Employers and unions throughout the United States have agreed
to utilize the Helmets to Hardhats program and have agreed to
coordinate with the Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment
, and Veterans Employment to create and maintain
an integrated veterans database of veterans interested in working in
the construction industry.
SEC. 2. Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 999.30) is added to
Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the Military and Veterans Code, to read:
Article 6.5. Helmets to Hardhats
999.30. For purposes of this article, "Helmets to Hardhats" means
the Center for Military Recruitment, Assessment ,
and Veterans Employment program funded out of the grant program
administered by the Department of Defense and initiated in the 2003
Department of Defense Appropriations Act (Public Law 107-248).
999.31. (a) When a state agency awards a public works contract to
the lowest bidder or lowest responsible bidder, the state agency
shall provide up to a 5-percent bid preference to a bidder
that utilizes Helmets to Hardhats, which assists veterans with entry
into the construction industry by providing preliminary orientation,
assessing construction aptitude for referral to apprenticeship
programs and hiring halls, and offering counseling, mentoring, and
employment opportunities, pursuant to Section 999.32. Bid
preferences shall be provided as follows:
(1) A 1-percent bid preference for bidders that have 3 percent and
above, but less than 6 percent, of their employees working on the
bid project being veterans who are residents of California.
(2) A 2-percent bid preference for bidders that have 6 percent and
above, but less than 9 percent, of their employees working on the
bid project being veterans who are residents of California.
(3) A 3-percent bid preference for bidders that have 9 percent and
above, but less than 12 percent, of their employees working on the
bid project being veterans who are residents of California.
(4) A 4-percent bid preference for bidders that have 12 percent
and above, but less than 16 percent, of their employees working on
the bid project being veterans who are residents of California.
(5) A 5-percent bid preference for bidders that have 16 percent
and above of their employees working on the bid project being
veterans who are residents of California.
(b) A bidder shall be entitled to claim the bid preference only if
the bidder and each listed subcontractor qualifies for the bid
preference.
(c) The preference shall be calculated by reducing the bid by 5
percent of the bid of the lowest responsible bidder, for purposes of
comparing the bid with competing bids.
999.32. A bidder or subcontractor qualifies for the bid
preference under this article only if, during the 12-month period
immediately preceding submission of the bid, the bidder or
subcontractor utilized Helmets to Hardhats.
999.33. A bidder or subcontractor receiving a bid preference
under this article shall utilize Helmets to Hardhats for not less
than one year following acceptance of the bid.
999.34. A bidder shall claim the bid preference under this
article by submitting a separate statement certifying that the bidder
qualifies for the bid preference, and by submitting a separate
statement from each listed subcontractor certifying that the
subcontractor qualifies for the bid preference.
999.35. (a) A person or entity that knowingly provides false
information in the certification required by this article shall be
subject to a civil penalty for each violation in the minimum amount
of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) and the maximum amount
of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).
(b) An action for a civil penalty under this section may be
brought by any public prosecutor in the name of the people of the
State of California.
999.36. (a) If the winning bidder has claimed a bid preference
under this article, then, at the request of the state agency, the
bidder and each listed subcontractor shall supply to the state agency
records sufficient to show that the bidder is entitled to the
preference. The failure to supply the records within a reasonable
time shall result in denial of the bid preference.
(b) If the winning bidder is denied the bid preference because of
the failure of a listed subcontractor to establish entitlement to the
bid preference, the winning bidder shall be granted 14 days to
substitute a new subcontractor that is entitled to the bid
preference, and the original subcontractor shall be liable to the
winning bidder for any reasonable increase in the cost of a new
subcontract.