Transportation

Secretary of Transportation Announces Pilot Program for Local Hiring Preference

US Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx this week announced a pilot program that will allow local agencies to explore ways to consider the creation of local jobs when awarding contracts for federally-funded transportation projects. The details of the proposed program are available in a forthcoming Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which is available online here. The Department released a related proposal to modify the geographic preference provisions applied to USDOT programs, which is available here.

Existing federal contracting rules have essentially prohibited local governments using funds from the Federal Highway Administration or the Federal Transit Administration from using contract provisions that do not directly relate to the performance of work but further social or economic goals. In practice, this has prevented local hire provisions. According to the Department of Transportation, the pilot program announced Tuesday “will allow both agencies to test and evaluate the merits of such provisions and whether the existing competitive bidding process can be improved.”

CSAC would appreciate counties’ feedback on the proposed rules as we determine whether to submit comments.

AB 323 (Olsen) – Support
As introduced on February 13, 2015

Assembly Bill 323, by Assembly Minority Leader Olsen, would indefinitely extend the provisions of AB 890 (Olsen, 2012) which allow a city or county with less than 100,000 population to exempt from CEQA review a project to repair, maintain, or make minor alterations to an existing roadway for public safety purposes. CSAC supported AB 890, and will support the removal of the current sunset date.

SB 321 (Beall) – Request for Comment
As introduced on February 23, 2015

Senate Bill 321, by Senator Beall, would amend the provisions of the gas tax swap that require the Board of Equalization to adjust the per-gallon excise tax rate on gasoline to ensure that it raises the equivalent amount of revenue as the prior sales tax on gasoline. As counties know, this provision of the swap has led to significant swings in the excise rate and the resulting revenues for county road maintenance. Most recently, the Board reduced the excise rate by 6-cents for 2015-16 due to a rate that was set too high for actual prices in 2013-14, as well as the decline in gas prices over the last several months.

CSAC is still analyzing this bill, which would allow the Board of Equalization to spread the proposed 6-cent decrease in the excise rate for 2015-16 over a five-year period, and change the procedures for the rate adjustment in future fiscal years to decrease the volatility in revenues. We encourage counties to review the bill and provide us with any comments on concerns.

Public Works Administration

AB 251 (Levine) – Request for Comment
As introduced on February 9, 2015

Assembly Bill 251, by Assembly Member Levine, would define a de minimis public subsidy for the purposes of determining whether reimbursement by the state or a county of a private project cost that would normally not be borne by the public makes the project a public work. The bill would define a de minimis subsidy as both less than $25,000 and less than one percent of a total project cost.

CSAC staff understands that while current law does not explicitly define a de minimis subsidy, courts have held that three to five percent as the maximum. CSAC is interested in comments from counties as to the impacts of this bill.

SB 119 (Hill) – Request for Comment
As introduced on January 14, 2015

Senate Bill 199, by Senator Hill, would make substantial changes to the statutes governing excavation near subsurface installations. This legislation is important to counties, as they are often both excavators as well as the owners of underground installations that may need to be marked when excavation will occur. The bill’s key provisions would:

• Require the Contractor’s State License Board to adopt a program to enforce violations of excavation provisions by authorizing the board to require a contractor to undergo training, levy a fine, and suspend licenses for violations;
• Clarify and revise provisions related to excavation notification;
• Change the definition of a subsurface installation to an underground or submerged duct, pipeline, or structure, thereby extending notification/marking requirements to storm drains and non-pressurized sewer lines and other drains;
• Delete the existing exemption for Caltrans’ participation in the notification/marking requirements;
• Require owners of subsurface installations to maintain and preserve all plans as records for any subsurface installation as that information becomes known;
• Limit the existing exemption for real property owners to only residential property owners using only hand tools;
• Prohibit excavators from being held liable for damages to an installation due to inaccurate marking, provided that the excavator follows the provisions of the law;
• Award attorney’s fees to excavators sued by subsurface installation owners if the court/arbitrator finds that the excavator complied with the law;
• Require the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to revise and publish standards to clarify excavation best practices by 2017 and convene an advisory committee hearing;
• Create the California Underground Utilities Facilities Safe Excavation Authority to enforce laws relating to the protection of underground infrastructure through civil penalties; and
• Allow the Public Utilities Commission and State Fire Marshall to enforce the requirement to locate and mark subsurface installations operated by utilities, unless they are municipal utilities.

CSAC has already heard from several counties with concerns, but given the bill’s broad scope we would like to hear from as many counties as possible as to the potential impacts of this legislation. We would appreciate hearing any comments or concerns counties may have with the bill as soon as possible.