Bill Text: CA SB918 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Department of Transportation.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-05-23 - Held in committee and under submission. [SB918 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB918-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 918 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 7, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 22, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator Gaines
( Principal coauthor: Senator
DeSaulnier )
JANUARY 27, 2014
An act to add Sections 14104.1 and 14106 to the Government Code,
to amend Section 10120 of the Public Contract Code, and to add
Section 172 to the Streets and Highways Code, relating to
transportation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 918, as amended, Gaines. Department of Transportation.
(1) Existing law provides that the Department of Transportation
has full possession and control of the state highway system and
associated property. Existing law authorizes the department to
purchase or rent any necessary supplies, instruments, tools,
equipment, and conveniences as may be necessary for the proper
discharge of its duties.
This bill would require the department , on or before
February 1, 2015, to develop and implement an asset management
program that will efficiently and effectively catalog the department'
s assets to ensure the most efficient usage and maintenance of those
assets. assets, and would require the
department to update the program at least once every 5
years.
(2) Existing law, the State Records Management Act, imposes
certain requirements on state agencies with respect to retention of
records that have administrative, legal, or fiscal value.
This bill would impose additional record retention requirements on
the Department of Transportation with respect to documents that are
associated with construction projects. The bill would provide that
the department shall be liable for any loss or damage to any party
resulting from failure to retain these documents, and would provide
for a civil penalty of up to $500 for each occurrence of a missing
document.
(3) Existing law, the State Contract Act, generally provides for a
contracting process by state agencies for public works of
improvement via a competitive bidding process, under which bids are
awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, with certain alternative
bidding procedures authorized in certain cases. Existing law requires
a department, as defined for purposes of the State Contract Act,
including the Department of Transportation, to prepare full,
complete, and accurate plans and specifications and estimates of cost
before entering into any competitively bid contract for a public
works project.
This bill would, with respect to competitively bid projects,
require the department, before it commences the design of a project's
plans, to first obtain full, complete, and accurate survey
information of the field conditions existing in the location where
construction of the project is to be performed. The bill would also
require the department, when preparing the project's plans, to use
state-of-the-art design software that allows for the preparation of
full, complete, and accurate plans and that does not automatically
fix errors in the design but rather requires the project designer to
correct errors on an individualized, contemplative basis.
(4) Existing law requires the department to annually prepare and
submit to the Governor a proposed budget, and to inform the
California Transportation Commission of all pertinent assumptions and
policy directions it intends to use in preparing the budget.
Existing law also requires the department to develop budgeting,
accounting, fiscal control, and management information systems in
order to support its proposed budgets and to improve its program
management, as specified.
This bill would require the department, in preparing the proposed
budget, to include detailed information about outstanding contractor
claims, as defined, relating to construction projects, and to reserve
sufficient moneys in each budget to pay accumulated outstanding
claims, as specified, and to report on those claims and reserves in
budget-related reports.
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. Section 14104.1 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
14104.1. The (a) On
or before February 1, 2015, the department shall develop and
implement an asset management program that will efficiently and
effectively catalog the department's assets to ensure the most
efficient usage and maintenance of those assets.
(b) The department shall update the asset management program at
least once every five years.
SEC. 2. Section 14106 is added to the Government Code, to read:
14106. (a) The requirements of this section shall be in addition
to the requirements for document retention applicable to all state
agencies pursuant to the State Records Management Act (Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 14740) of Part 5.5).
(b) (1) For purposes of this subdivision, "document" includes, but
is not limited to, a document subject to subdivision (a), email
messages and associated attachments, text messages, and handwritten
notes of any kind, including, but not limited to, diaries,
measurement notes, inspection notes, calculations, and meeting
minutes. "Document" also includes any other writing that would
normally be retained as part of a construction project file.
(2) The department shall retain, as part of a construction project'
s file, all documents that are in any way related to the design,
construction, or administration, at every stage, of a construction
project. The documents shall be retained by the department until
final closeout and payment in full for each element of the project is
complete, and all outstanding claims relating to the project have
been resolved, including any available appeal.
(c) If the department fails to retain a document required to be
retained pursuant to subdivision (b) or as required by any other
applicable law, it shall be liable for any loss or damage to any
party resulting from that failure and shall also be subject to a
civil penalty of up to five hundred dollars ($500) for each
occurrence of a missing document. An action under this subdivision
for recovery of a civil penalty may be brought by the Attorney
General or a district attorney.
SEC. 3. Section 10120 of the Public Contract Code is amended to
read:
10120. (a) Before entering into any contract for a project, the
department shall prepare full, complete, and accurate plans and
specifications and estimates of cost, giving such directions as will
enable any competent mechanic or other builder to carry them out.
(b) (1) Before the Department of Transportation commences the
design of a project's plans, it shall first obtain full, complete,
and accurate survey information of the field conditions existing in
the location where construction of the project is to be performed.
The Department of Transportation, when preparing a project's plans,
shall ensure that the plans match existing conditions and shall use
state-of-the-art design software that allows for the preparation of
full, complete, and accurate plans and that does not automatically
fix errors in the design but rather requires the project designer to
correct errors on an individualized, contemplative basis.
(2) Upon award of a contract, the Department of Transportation and
the contractor shall engage in a joint postbid constructability
review to identify any remaining issues and seek to resolve them
SEC. 4. Section 172 is added to the Streets and Highways Code, to
read:
172. (a) As used in this section, "claim" includes, but is not
limited to, a claim with respect to a construction project that is
submitted through the notice of potential claims procedures, an after
contract acceptance claim, or a lien. This section applies to a
construction project regardless of the contracting method used for
the project.
(b) Each proposed budget prepared by the department shall include
detailed financial information about all outstanding claims submitted
by contractors, including passthrough claims submitted by
contractors on behalf of subcontractors. Each budget shall contain a
reserve of moneys sufficient to pay outstanding accumulated claims
for all construction projects, as determined pursuant this section.
(c) For each construction project for which the department
receives a claim through the notice of potential claims procedures or
an after contract acceptance claim, stating a monetary value, moneys
shall be reserved that are sufficient to pay, at a minimum, 60
percent of the claim's value as stated by the contractor, except that
if a claim is heard by the project's dispute resolution board and a
majority of the board finds in favor of the claimant, or if a board
of review, or the department's district director in the district
having jurisdiction of the project, finds in favor of the claimant,
moneys shall be reserved that are sufficient to pay 100 percent of
the claim's value as determined by the applicable board or district
director.
(d) The department shall continue to report, in its budget
documents and otherwise, the value of each outstanding claim as
determined pursuant to this section, and to reserve funding to pay
each claim as required by this section, until the claim is finally
resolved.
