Article 3. Public Projects: Alternative Procedure of California Public Contract Code >> Division 2. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 3.

(a) This article applies only to a public agency whose governing board has by resolution elected to become subject to the uniform construction cost accounting procedures set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 22010) and which has notified the Controller of that election. In the event of a conflict with any other provision of law relative to bidding procedures, this article shall apply to any public agency which has adopted a resolution and so notified the Controller.
  (b) A county, whether general law or charter, containing a population of less than 500,000 may award individual annual contracts as provided in Section 20128.5.

(a) Prior to January 1, 2013, this article shall not prohibit a board of supervisors or a county road commissioner from utilizing, as an alternative to the procedures set forth in this article, the procedures set forth in Article 25 (commencing with Section 20390) of Chapter 1.
  (b) On or after January 1, 2013, this article shall not prohibit a board of supervisors or a county road commissioner from utilizing, as an alternative to the procedures set forth in this article, the procedures set forth in Article 25 (commencing with Section 20390) of Chapter 1 for both of the following:
  (1) Maintenance and emergency work.
  (2) New road construction and road reconstruction as long as the total value of the new road construction and the road reconstruction performed under the procedures set forth in subdivision (c) of Section 20395 during a fiscal year does not exceed 30 percent of the total value of all work performed by force account other than maintenance as reported in the Controller's Streets and Roads Annual Report as of March 1 of each year prior to the fiscal year.
  (c) The value of force account work necessary to facilitate capital projects for the purpose of contracting to the private sector, including design, engineering, inspection, testing, and other force account work necessary to administer private contracts, shall be excluded from the 30-percent limit in subdivision (b).
  (d) The value of force account work necessary to facilitate projects performed by county employees, including design, engineering, inspection, testing, and other force account work necessary to administer work performed under subdivision (b), shall apply to the 30-percent limit in subdivision (b).
  (e) On or after January 1, 2013, for a county with a population of less than 50,000, this article shall not prohibit a board of supervisors or a county road commissioner from utilizing, as an alternative to the procedures set forth in this article, the procedures set forth in Article 25 (commencing with Section 20390) of Chapter 1.
  (f) The requirements set forth in Section 22038 shall apply to any county subject to this section.
  (g) Any county board of supervisors or county road commissioner acting pursuant to the authority granted in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall publicly declare its intention to use this authority prior to commencing work. The public declaration may be on a project-by-project basis, via a list of anticipated projects for the fiscal year, or via a list that may be included in the county's annual budget.

(a) Public projects of forty-five thousand dollars ($45,000) or less may be performed by the employees of a public agency by force account, by negotiated contract, or by purchase order.
  (b) Public projects of one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($175,000) or less may be let to contract by informal procedures as set forth in this article.
  (c) Public projects of more than one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($175,000) shall, except as otherwise provided in this article, be let to contract by formal bidding procedure.

It shall be unlawful to split or separate into smaller work orders or projects any project for the purpose of evading the provisions of this article requiring work to be done by contract after competitive bidding.

Each public agency that elects to become subject to the uniform construction accounting procedures set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 22010) shall enact an informal bidding ordinance to govern the selection of contractors to perform public projects pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 22032. The ordinance shall include all of the following:
  (a) Notice to contractors shall be provided in accordance with either paragraph (1) or (2), or both.
  (1) The public agency shall maintain a list of qualified contractors, identified according to categories of work. Minimum criteria for development and maintenance of the contractors list shall be determined by the commission. All contractors on the list for the category of work being bid shall be mailed, faxed, or emailed a notice inviting informal bids unless the product or service is proprietary. All mailing of notices to contractors pursuant to this subdivision shall be completed not less than 10 calendar days before bids are due.
  (2) The public agency may elect to mail, fax, or email a notice inviting informal bids to all construction trade journals specified in Section 22036.
  (b) The notice inviting informal bids shall describe the project in general terms and how to obtain more detailed information about the project, and state the time and place for the submission of bids.
  (c) The governing body of the public agency may delegate the authority to award informal contracts to the public works director, general manager, purchasing agent, or other appropriate person.
  (d) If all bids received are in excess of one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($175,000), the governing body of the public agency may, by adoption of a resolution by a four-fifths vote, award the contract, at one hundred eighty-seven thousand five hundred dollars ($187,500) or less, to the lowest responsible bidder, if it determines the cost estimate of the public agency was reasonable.

(a) In cases of emergency when repair or replacements are necessary, the governing body may proceed at once to replace or repair any public facility without adopting plans, specifications, strain sheets, or working details, or giving notice for bids to let contracts. The work may be done by day labor under the direction of the governing body, by contractor, or by a combination of the two.
  (b) In case of an emergency, if notice for bids to let contracts will not be given, the public agency shall comply with Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 22050).

In counties that are under court order to relieve justice facility overcrowding, the procedures and restrictions specified in Section 20134 shall apply to all contracts issued under this chapter.

The commission shall determine, on a county-by-county basis, the appropriate construction trade journals which shall receive mailed, faxed, or emailed notice of all informal and formal construction contracts being bid for work within the specified county.

Notice inviting formal bids shall state the time and place for the receiving and opening of sealed bids and distinctly describe the project. The notice shall be published at least 14 calendar days before the date of opening the bids in a newspaper of general circulation, printed and published in the jurisdiction of the public agency; or, if there is no newspaper printed and published within the jurisdiction of the public agency, in a newspaper of general circulation which is circulated within the jurisdiction of the public agency, or, if there is no newspaper which is circulated within the jurisdiction of the public agency, publication shall be by posting the notice in at least three places within the jurisdiction of the public agency as have been designated by ordinance or regulation of the public agency as places for the posting of its notices. The notice inviting formal bids shall also be sent electronically, if available, by either facsimile or electronic mail and mailed to all construction trade journals specified in Section 22036. The notice shall be sent at least 15 calendar days before the date of opening the bids. In addition to notice required by this section, the public agency may give such other notice as it deems proper.

(a) In its discretion, the public agency may reject any bids presented, if the agency, prior to rejecting all bids and declaring that the project can be more economically performed by employees of the agency, furnishes a written notice to an apparent low bidder. The notice shall inform the bidder of the agency's intention to reject the bid and shall be mailed at least two business days prior to the hearing at which the agency intends to reject the bid. If after the first invitation of bids all bids are rejected, after reevaluating its cost estimates of the project, the public agency shall have the option of either of the following:
  (1) Abandoning the project or readvertising for bids in the manner described by this article.
  (2) By passage of a resolution by a four-fifths vote of its governing body declaring that the project can be performed more economically by the employees of the public agency, may have the project done by force account without further complying with this article.
  (b) If a contract is awarded, it shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. If two or more bids are the same and the lowest, the public agency may accept the one it chooses.
  (c) If no bids are received through the formal or informal procedure, the project may be performed by the employees of the public agency by force account, or negotiated contract without further complying with this article.

The governing body of the participating public agency or its designated representative shall adopt plans, specifications, and working details for all public projects exceeding the amount specified in subdivision (c) of Section 22032.

Any person may examine the plans, specifications, or working details, or all of these, adopted by the public agency for any project.

This article does not apply to the construction of any public building used for facilities of juvenile forestry camps or juvenile homes, ranches, or camps established under Article 15 (commencing with Section 880) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, if a major portion of the construction work is to be performed by wards of the juvenile court assigned to those camps, ranches, or homes.

The commission shall review the accounting procedures of any participating public agency where an interested party presents evidence that the work undertaken by the public agency falls within any of the following categories:
  (a) Is to be performed by a public agency after rejection of all bids, claiming work can be done less expensively by the public agency.
  (b) Exceeded the force account limits.
  (c) Has been improperly classified as maintenance.

The commission shall review practices of any participating public agency where an interested party presents evidence that the public agency is not in compliance with Section 22034.

(a) In those circumstances set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 22042, a request for commission review shall be in writing, sent by certified or registered mail received by the commission postmarked not later than eight business days from the date the public agency has rejected all bids.
  (b) In those circumstances set forth in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 22042, a request for commission review shall be by letter received by the commission not later than eight days from the date an interested party formally complains to the public agency.
  (c) The commission review shall commence immediately and conclude within the following number of days from the receipt of the request for commission review:
  (1) Forty-five days for a review that falls within subdivision (a) of Section 22042.
  (2) Ninety days for a review that falls within subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 22042.
  (d) During the review of a project that falls within subdivision (a) of Section 22042, the agency shall not proceed on the project until a final decision is received by the commission.
  (e) A request for commission review pursuant to Section 22042.5 shall be in writing, sent by certified or registered mail, and received by the commission no later than eight days from the day an interested party formally complains to the public agency. The commission review shall commence immediately and conclude within 90 days from the receipt of the request for commission review.

The commission shall prepare written findings, which shall be presented to the public agency within 30 calendar days of formal commission review. Should the commission find that the provisions of this chapter or of the uniform cost accounting procedures provided for in this chapter were not complied with by the public agency, the following steps shall be implemented by that agency:
  (a) On those projects set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 22042, the public agency has the option of either (1) abandoning the project, or (2) awarding the project to the lowest responsible bidder.
  (b) On those projects set forth in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 22042, the public agency shall present the commission's findings to its governing body within 30 calendar days of receipt of written notice of the findings and that governing body shall conduct a public hearing with regard to the commission's findings within 60 calendar days of receipt of the findings.
  (c) (1) On findings of noncompliance pursuant to Section 22042.5, the public agency shall notify its governing body of the commission's findings within 60 calendar days of receipt of written notice of the findings from the commission.
  (2) The public agency shall notify the commission in writing, within 90 days of receipt of written notice of the findings, of the public agency's best efforts to comply.

If the commission makes a finding, in accordance with Section 22043, on three separate occasions within a 10-year period, that the work undertaken by a public agency falls within any of the categories described in Section 22042, the commission shall notify the public agency of that finding in writing by certified mail and the public agency shall not use the bidding procedures provided by this article for five years from the date of the commission's findings.

(a) No later than January 1, 1985, the commission shall recommend, for adoption by the Controller, written procedures implementing the accounting procedures review provided for in this article.
  (b) The Controller shall, upon receipt of the commission's recommendation, review and evaluate the recommended procedures and either formally adopt or reject the recommended procedures within 90 days of submission of the commission.