BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: ab 2021
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: gordon
VERSION: 3/17/14
Analysis by: Eric Thronson FISCAL: yes
Hearing date: June 10, 2014
SUBJECT:
Labor compliance program requirements
DESCRIPTION:
This bill provides that the San Mateo Transit District may
continue operating an existing, previously approved labor
compliance program to monitor and enforce prevailing wage
requirements on any construction manager/general contractor
project under certain circumstances.
ANALYSIS:
Traditionally, state and local entities develop and construct
transportation projects with a process known as the
design-bid-build delivery method. This method requires the
public agency to fully design a project and then ask general
contractors to bid on the construction contract based on the
agency's design.
In 2013, the Legislature passed and the governor signed AB 797
(Gordon), Chapter 320, which authorized the San Mateo Transit
District (SamTrans) to utilize an alternative project delivery
method for transit projects within its jurisdiction called the
construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) method. Unlike
traditional design-bid-build procurement, the CM/GC project
delivery method allows an agency to engage a construction
manager during the design process to provide assistance to the
design team, which ultimately leads to a more constructible
project.
Among other things, AB 797 requires that SamTrans comply with
state and federal labor compliance requirements as well as
reimburse the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) for its
prevailing wage monitoring costs associated with any SamTrans
CM/GC projects. In lieu of this requirement, AB 797 grants
SamTrans the option of entering into a collective bargaining
AB 2021 (GORDON) Page 2
agreement that binds all of the contractors on a particular
project and ensures that prevailing wage requirements are being
met.
This bill provides that SamTrans may continue operating an
existing, previously approved labor compliance program to
monitor and enforce prevailing wage requirements on any CM/GC
project if it requests and receives approval from DIR, as an
additional alternative to reimbursing DIR for its costs of
monitoring and enforcing prevailing wage requirements.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . According to the author, this bill is necessary to
clarify that SamTrans can use its existing DIR-approved labor
compliance program. The author intended AB 797 to include
standard labor compliance language, and at the time it was
unclear whether SamTrans would be able to use its existing
program. Since passage, the author has determined that
SamTrans can continue with its existing program, but that
requires a change to state law. In order to be clear, this
bill adopts language similar to the labor compliance
authorization in another bill from 2013, AB 401 (Daly),
Chapter 586, which includes the ability to use an existing
labor compliance agreement with DIR approval.
2.Better to be consistent . The author contends that this bill
simply copies labor compliance agreement language from
elsewhere in statute to be applied in this case to SamTrans'
CM/GC authorization, but the existing language from AB 401
includes one clause that is not included in this bill. AB 401
allows an entity to continue operating an existing compliance
agreement and opt out of reimbursing DIR for its costs of
monitoring and enforcing prevailing wage requirements if (1)
it has not contracted with a third party to conduct its labor
compliance program, and (2) it receives approval from DIR to
continue its existing program. This bill does not include the
first requirement, specifically that SamTrans cannot contract
with a third party to conduct its labor compliance program.
According to the author's office, because SamTrans does not
contract with a third party for these services, including this
requirement in this bill would not affect SamTrans. It would,
however, more accurately reflect the existing language that
AB 2021 (GORDON) Page 3
the author claims this bill is intended to copy. In order to
maintain consistency and avoid the need for future fixes to
this section of law, the committee may wish to amend the bill
to include this requirement and more accurately reflect
existing language involving labor compliance programs.
Assembly Votes:
Floor: 78-0
Appr: 16-0
Trans: 15-0
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, June 4,
2014.)
SUPPORT: Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board
San Mateo County Transit District
San Mateo County Transportation Authority
OPPOSED: None received.