Amended  IN  Assembly  March 28, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill No. 1457


Introduced by Assembly Member Travis Allen

February 17, 2017


An act to amend Section 10285.1 of the Public Contract Code, relating to public contracts.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1457, as amended, Travis Allen. Disqualification from public contracting. State Contract Act: suspension of contractors: contempt of Congress.
Existing law, the State Contract Act, authorizes a state agency, following a noticed hearing, to suspend a person from bidding on or being awarded a public works or services contract with the agency or from being a subcontractor at any tier if the person person, or a specified other person associated with that person, has been convicted of specified violations, including fraud and bribery, in connection with a public works contract with a public entity, as defined. provided, for a period of 3 years following the date of conviction.

This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to these provisions.

This bill would additionally authorize a state agency to suspend a person for 3 years from bidding on, or being awarded, a public works or services contract if that person or specified other person has been certified by the President of the United States Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives under specified federal law as having failed to give testimony, produce papers, or answer any pertinent question when summoned as a witness by the authority of the United States Congress.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 10285.1 of the Public Contract Code is amended to read:

10285.1.
 A state agency may suspend, for a period of up to three years from the date of conviction, any person from bidding upon, or being awarded, a public works or services contract with the agency under this part or from being a subcontractor at any tier upon the contract, if that person, or any partner, member, officer, director, responsible managing officer, or responsible managing employee thereof, of that person, has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction of any charge of fraud, bribery, collusion, conspiracy, or any other act in violation of any state or federal antitrust law in connection with the bidding upon, award of, or performance of, any public works contract, as defined in Section 1101, with any public entity, as defined in Section 1100, including, for the purposes of this article, the Regents of the University of California or the Trustees of the California State University. A state agency may also suspend, for a period of up to three years from the date of certification, a person from bidding upon or being awarded, a public works or services contract with the agency or from being a subcontractor at any tier upon the contract if the President of the United States Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives has certified that person, or a partner, officer, director, responsible managing officer, or responsible managing employee of that person, as having failed to appear to give testimony, produce papers, or answer any pertinent question when summoned by the United States Congress, as provided in Sections 192 and 194 of Title 2 of the United States Code. A state agency may determine the eligibility of any person to enter into a contract under this article by requiring the person to submit a statement under penalty of perjury declaring that neither the person nor any subcontractor to be engaged by the person has been convicted of any of the offenses referred to in this section within the preceding three years.