2000-2002

PUBLIC CONTRACT CODE
SECTION 2000-2002




2000.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law requiring a
local agency to award contracts to the lowest responsible bidder, any
local agency may require that a contract be awarded to the lowest
responsible bidder who also does either of the following:
   (1) Meets goals and requirements established by the local agency
relating to participation in the contract by minority business
enterprises and women business enterprises. If the bidder does not
meet the goals and requirements established by the local agency for
that participation, the local agency shall evaluate the good faith
effort of the bidder to comply with those goals and requirements as
provided in paragraph (2).
   (2) Makes a good faith effort, in accordance with the criteria
established pursuant to subdivision (b), prior to the time bids are
opened, to comply with the goals and requirements established by the
local agency relating to participation in the contract by minority or
women business enterprises.
   (b) (1) The bidder attended any presolicitation or prebid meetings
that were scheduled by the local agency to inform all bidders of the
minority and women business enterprise program requirements for the
project for which the contract will be awarded. A local agency may
waive this requirement if it determines that the bidder is informed
as to those program requirements.
   (2) The bidder identified and selected specific items of the
project for which the contract will be awarded to be performed by
minority or women business enterprises to provide an opportunity for
participation by those enterprises.
   (3) The bidder advertised, not less than 10 calendar days before
the date the bids are opened, in one or more daily or weekly
newspapers, trade association publications, minority or trade
oriented publications, trade journals, or other media, specified by
the local agency for minority or women business enterprises that are
interested in participating in the project. This paragraph applies
only if the local agency gave public notice of the project not less
than 15 calendar days prior to the date the bids are opened.
   (4) The bidder provided written notice of his or her interest in
bidding on the contract to the number of minority or women business
enterprises required to be notified by the project specifications not
less than 10 calendar days prior to the opening of bids. To the
extent possible, the local agency shall make available to the bidder
not less than 15 calendar days prior to the date the bids are opened
a list or a source of lists of enterprises which are certified by the
local agency as minority or women business enterprises. If the local
agency does not provide that list or source of lists to the bidder,
the bidder may utilize the list of certified minority or women
business enterprises prepared by the Department of Transportation
pursuant to Section 14030.5 of the Government Code for this purpose.
   (5) The bidder followed up initial solicitations of interest by
contacting the enterprises to determine with certainty whether the
enterprises were interested in performing specific items of the
project.
   (6) The bidder provided interested minority and women business
enterprises with information about the plans, specifications, and
requirements for the selected subcontracting or material supply work.
   (7) The bidder requested assistance from minority and women
community organizations; minority and women contractor groups; local,
state, or federal minority and women business assistance offices; or
other organizations that provide assistance in the recruitment and
placement of minority or women business enterprises, if any are
available.
   (8) The bidder negotiated in good faith with the minority or women
business enterprises, and did not unjustifiably reject as
unsatisfactory bids prepared by any minority or women business
enterprises, as determined by the local agency.
   (9) Where applicable, the bidder advised and made efforts to
assist interested minority and women business enterprises in
obtaining bonds, lines of credit, or insurance required by the local
agency or contractor.
   (10) The bidder's efforts to obtain minority and women business
enterprise participation could reasonably be expected by the local
agency to produce a level of participation sufficient to meet the
goals and requirements of the local agency.
   (c) The performance by a bidder of all of the criteria specified
in subdivision (b) shall create a rebuttable presumption, affecting
the burden of producing evidence, that a bidder has made a good faith
effort to comply with the goals and requirements relating to
participation by minority and women business enterprises established
pursuant to subdivision (a).
   (d) "Local agency," as used in this section, means a county or
city, whether general law or chartered, city and county, school
district, or other district. "District," as used in this section,
means an agency of the state, formed pursuant to general law or
special act, for the local performance of governmental or proprietary
functions within limited boundaries.
   (e) "Minority or women business enterprise," as used in this
section, means a business enterprise that meets both of the following
criteria:
   (1) A business that is at least 51 percent owned by one or more
minority persons or women or, in the case of any business whose stock
is publicly held, at least 51 percent of the stock is owned by one
or more minority persons or women.
   (2) A business whose management and daily business operations are
controlled by one or more minority persons or women.
   (f) "Minority person," for purposes of this section, means Black
Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans (including American
Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, and Native Hawaiians), Asian-Pacific
Americans (including persons whose origins are from Japan, China, the
Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, Samoa, Guam, the United States Trust
Territories of the Pacific, Northern Marianas, Laos, Cambodia, and
Taiwan), or any other group of natural persons identified as
minorities in the project specifications by the local agency.
   (g) This section does not apply to any of the following:
   (1) Any contract, funded in whole or in part by the federal
government, to the extent of any conflict between the requirements
imposed by this section and any requirements imposed by the federal
government relating to participation in a contract by a minority or
women business enterprise as a condition of receipt of the federal
funds.
   (2) The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, the Los
Angeles County Transportation Commission, or any other local agency
that has authority to facilitate the participation of minority or
women business enterprises substantially similar to the authority
granted to the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District pursuant
to Section 20229 of this code or the Los Angeles County
Transportation Commission pursuant to Section 130239 of the Public
Utilities Code.


2001.  (a) Any local agency, as defined in subdivision (d) of
Section 2000, that requires that contracts be awarded to the lowest
responsible bidder meeting, or making a good faith effort to meet,
participation goals for minority, women, or disabled veteran business
enterprises shall provide in the general conditions under which bids
will be received, that any person making a bid or offer to perform a
contract shall, in his or her bid or offer, set forth the following
information:
   (1) The name and the location of the place of business of each
subcontractor certified as a minority, women, or disabled veteran
business enterprise who will perform work or labor or render service
to the prime contractor in connection with the performance of the
contract and who will be used by the prime contractor to fulfill
minority, women, and disabled veteran business enterprise
participation goals.
   (2) The portion of work that will be done by each subcontractor
under paragraph (1). The prime contractor shall list only one
subcontractor for each portion of work as is defined by the prime
contractor in his or her bid or offer.
   (b) The Subletting and Subcontracting Fair Practices Act (Chapter
4 (commencing with Section 4100) shall apply to the information
required by subdivision (a) relating to subcontractors certified as
minority, women, or disabled veteran business enterprises.
   (c) For purposes of this section, "subcontractor" and "prime
contractor" shall have the same meaning as those terms are defined in
Section 4113.
   (d) As used in this section, "contract" does not include a
contract negotiated pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section
4525) of Division 5 of Title 1 of the Government Code.



2002.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law requiring a
local agency to award contracts to the lowest responsible bidder, any
local agency may do any of the following in facilitating contract
awards to small businesses:
   (1) Provide for a small business preference in construction, the
procurement of goods, or the delivery of services where
responsibility and quality are equal. The preference to a small
business shall be up to 5 percent of the lowest responsible bidder
meeting specifications.
   (2) Establish a subcontracting participation goal for small
businesses on contracts and grant a preference, up to a maximum of 5
percent, to those bidders who meet the goal.
   (3) Require bidders to make good faith efforts to meet a
subcontracting participation goal for small business contracts.
Bidders that fail to meet the goal shall demonstrate that they made
good faith efforts to utilize small business contractors.
   (b) The term "small business," as used in this section, shall be
defined by each local agency.