BILL NUMBER: SB 175 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Wieckowski)
FEBRUARY 7, 2011
An act to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 10390) to Chapter
2 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, relating to
public contracts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 175, as introduced, Corbett. Public contracts: bid preferences:
solar photovoltaic system.
Existing law imposes various requirements with respect to
contracting by state agencies.
This bill would require a state agency that accepts bids or
proposals for a contract for the purchase or installation of a solar
photovoltaic system, as defined, to provide a 15% preference to a
business that certifies that all of the solar panels installed as
part of the solar photovoltaic system have been manufactured in
California, in accordance with specified criteria.
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) California faces the most severe economic downturn since the
Great Depression. Over two million Californians are out of work and
California's unemployment rate is one of the highest in the nation.
(b) At a time of scarce state resources, state purchases should be
used to stimulate our state economy and put people back to work.
(c) Former Governor Schwarzenegger's Green Building Executive
Order (S-20-04) mandated that state agencies evaluate the merits of
using clean and renewable onsite energy generation technologies in
all new building or large renovation projects.
(d) California has several companies that manufacture solar panels
in the state, employing Californians and helping our economy.
(e) In the manufacturing of solar panels, it is the creation of
the solar cells that convert sunlight into electrical power that
generates the most value to the economy. Production of solar cells
requires the highest percentage of skilled workers, the highest
capital investment, and supports the highest amount of collateral
infrastructure in the form of additional local businesses and jobs.
(f) California is the nation's largest clean economy. More than
12,000 clean technology companies, including solar manufacturers,
call California home and are creating jobs at nearly 10 times the
rate as the state's other industries. A number of these companies
have developed novel solar cell technologies and it is in the
interest of the state to incentivize these companies to establish and
grow manufacturing operations within the state. This will create
both construction and permanent manufacturing jobs in California.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that whenever a solar
photovoltaic system is placed on state buildings or property, there
should be a preference for a solar photovoltaic system manufactured
in California.
SEC. 2. Article 7 (commencing with Section 10390) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 2 of the Public Contract Code, to
read:
Article 7. Preference for California-Manufactured Solar Panels
on State Property
10390. For the purposes of this article:
(a) "Manufacture," "manufactured," or "manufacturing" means the
transformation of raw materials into a solar panel, including both
the manufacture of the solar cells and the final assembly of the
solar panels.
(b) "Power purchase agreement" means a financial arrangement in
which a third-party developer owns, operates, and maintains a solar
photovoltaic system, and a state agency agrees to site the system on
its roof or elsewhere on its property and purchases the system's
electric output, not the system itself, from the third-party
developer for a predetermined period of time.
(c) "Solar cells" means the basic building block of photovoltaic
(PV) technologies. "Solar cells" are functional semiconductors, made
by processing and treating crystalline silicon or other
photo-sensitive materials to create a layered product that generates
electricity by absorbing light photons.
(d) "Solar panels" means individual solar cells assembled into
larger groups whereby the solar panel or module is the end product,
and consists of a series of solar cells to capture and transfer
solar-generated electricity, a backing surface, and a covering to
protect the cells from weather and other types of damage.
(e) "Solar photovoltaic system" means a system created by
installing multiple solar panels in the same location to increase the
electrical generating capacity. In a "solar photovoltaic system" the
solar panels and solar cells represent the highest intellectual
content and dollar-value items associated with solar photovoltaic
energy generation.
10391. (a) A state agency that accepts bids or proposals for a
contract for the purchase or installation of a solar photovoltaic
system through a power purchase agreement, or through a direct
purchase, shall provide a preference of 15 percent to a business that
certifies that all of the solar panels installed as part of such a
solar photovoltaic system have been manufactured, as defined in
Section 10390, in this state. The preference shall be provided as
follows:
(1) For solicitations to be awarded to the lowest responsible
bidder meeting specifications, the preference to a business that
certifies that all of the solar panels installed as part of the solar
photovoltaic system have been manufactured in this state shall be 15
percent of the bid price of the lowest responsible bidder meeting
specifications.
(2) For solicitations to be awarded to the highest scored bidder
based on evaluation factors in addition to price, the preference to a
business that certifies that all of the solar panels installed as
part of the solar photovoltaic system have been manufactured in this
state shall be 15 percent of the total score of the highest scored
bidder.
(3) A preference awarded pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2) shall
not be awarded to a noncompliant bidder and shall not be used to
satisfy any applicable minimum requirements.
(4) In order to be eligible for the 15-percent preference
authorized pursuant to this section, a business shall submit all
required substantiating documentation and information needed by the
state agency to determine if the business is eligible for the
preference, including, but not limited to, documentation regarding
who the manufacturer of the solar photovoltaic system will be and the
location or locations where the solar photovoltaic system will be
manufactured.
(b) The Department of General Services shall establish a process
to verify that a business meets the criteria for the 15-percent
preference.