By: Libi Uremovic | Original Article at patch.com
The April 23, 2015 Beaumont Council Meeting had three (3) contracts on the Agenda regarding work on the Sewer Plant which created a discussion regarding a fair bidding practice.
State Law requires that the Name, Location of place of business, and Contractors license number of each subcontractor that will work on the project. Every company that bids for a contract must list all of their subcontractors that will work on the project. State Law also requires all public works contracts to release their payroll records while working on a government project.
The City stated that they had three ‘approved’ contractors, but unless/until each contractor names their subcontracts that will be working on the project the contractors are not qualified under State Law.
California Public Contract Code 4101: The Legislature finds that the practices of bid shopping and bid peddling in connection with the construction, alteration, and repair of public improvements often result in poor quality of material and workmanship to the detriment of the public, deprive the public of the full benefits of fair competition among prime contractors and subcontractors, and lead to insolvencies, loss of wages to employees, and other evils.
California Public Contract Code 4104: Any officer, department, board, or commission taking bids for the construction of any public work or improvement shall provide in the specifications prepared for the work or improvement or in the general conditions under which bids will be received for the doing of the work incident to the public work or improvement that any person making a bid or offer to perform the work, shall, in his or her bid or offer, set forth:
(a) (1) The name, the location of the place of business, and the California contractor license number of each subcontractor who will perform work or labor or render service to the prime contractor in or about the construction of the work or improvement, or a subcontractor licensed by the State of California who, under subcontract to the prime contractor, specially fabricates and installs a portion of the work or improvement according to detailed drawings contained in the plans and specifications, in an amount in excess of one-half of 1 percent of the prime contractor’s total bid or, in the case of bids or offers for the construction of streets or highways, including bridges, in excess of one-half of 1 percent of the prime contractor’s total bid or ten thousand dollars ($10,000), whichever is greater.
(2) An inadvertent error in listing the California contractor license number provided pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not be grounds for filing a bid protest or grounds for considering the bid nonresponsive if the corrected contractor’s license number is submitted to the public entity by the prime contractor within 24 hours after the bid opening and provided the corrected contractor’s license number corresponds to the submitted name and location for that subcontractor.
(3) (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), any information requested by the officer, department, board, or commission concerning any subcontractor who the prime contractor is required to list under this subdivision, other than the subcontractor’s name, location of business, and California contractor license number, may be submitted by the prime contractor up to 24 hours after the deadline established by the officer, department, board, or commission for receipt of bids by prime contractors.
(B) A state or local agency may implement subparagraph (A) at its option.
(b) The portion of the work that will be done by each subcontractor under this act. The prime contractor shall list only one subcontractor for each portion as is defined by the prime contractor in his or her bid.
(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2014.