Article 1. Legislative Intent And Definitions of California Public Contract Code >> Division 2. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 1.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act."

The Legislature finds and declares that there is a statewide need to promote uniformity of the cost accounting standards and bidding procedures on construction work performed or contracted by public entities in the state. This chapter provides for the development of cost accounting standards and an alternative method for the bidding of public works projects by public entities.

On or before January 1, 2009, the Controller shall send a notice to all public agencies describing the provisions of this chapter and the benefits of using its provisions. This notice shall also be included in any notification issued by the Controller pursuant to Section 22020.

(a) "Public agency," for purposes of this chapter, means a city, county, city and county, including chartered cities and chartered counties, any special district, and any other agency of the state for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions within limited boundaries. "Public agency" also includes a nonprofit transit corporation wholly owned by a public agency and formed to carry out the purposes of the public agency.
  (b) "Representatives of the construction industry" for purposes of this chapter, means a general contractor, subcontractor, or labor representative with experience in the field of public works construction.
  (c) "Public project" means any of the following:
  (1) Construction, reconstruction, erection, alteration, renovation, improvement, demolition, and repair work involving any publicly owned, leased, or operated facility.
  (2) Painting or repainting of any publicly owned, leased, or operated facility.
  (3) In the case of a publicly owned utility system, "public project" shall include only the construction, erection, improvement, or repair of dams, reservoirs, powerplants, and electrical transmission lines of 230,000 volts and higher.
  (d) "Public project" does not include maintenance work. For purposes of this section, "maintenance work" includes all of the following:
  (1) Routine, recurring, and usual work for the preservation or protection of any publicly owned or publicly operated facility for its intended purposes.
  (2) Minor repainting.
  (3) Resurfacing of streets and highways at less than one inch.
  (4) Landscape maintenance, including mowing, watering, trimming, pruning, planting, replacement of plants, and servicing of irrigation and sprinkler systems.
  (5) Work performed to keep, operate, and maintain publicly owned water, power, or waste disposal systems, including, but not limited to, dams, reservoirs, powerplants, and electrical transmission lines of 230,000 volts and higher.
  (e) For purposes of this chapter, "facility" means any plant, building, structure, ground facility, utility system, subject to the limitation found in paragraph (3) of subdivision (c), real property, streets and highways, or other public work improvement.

A public agency which has, by resolution, elected to become subject to the uniform construction cost accounting procedures set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 22010), may utilize the bidding procedures set forth in Article 3 (commencing with Section 22030) when contracting for "maintenance work," as defined in Section 22002, or when contracting for any other work which does not fall within the definition of "public project," as defined in Section 22002.