AgdaPkt 2008-05-19 Spec - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

8A Page 4 11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Time for Scheduling Lunch and Lobbying Appointments with legislators 3:30 - 4:30 p.m., Post-Lobbying Debrief (Stop by the League offices for light snacks and refreshments) League of California Cities 1400 K Street, 4th floor conference room Sacramento, CA 95814 R.S.V.P, Please R.SVP to League Staff Meghan McKelvey by Wednesday, May 14 at mmckelvev@cacities.orQor(916) 658-8253. District Budget Meetings City officials who are unable to make the trip to Sacramento on May 21 are encouraged to contact their League public affairs manager to schedule' a district meeting with their legislator. Opposition Letters Needed for AS 983 City officials are urged to review and send letters of opposition on AB 983 by Assembly Member Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco), which represents a major shift in public contracting by requiring local agencies to provide full, complete and accurate plans and specifications, including cost estimates, for public works projects before entering into any contract. This would essentially absolve a contractor from any responsibility for reviewing plans before submitting a bid on a public works project. The League opposes AB 983 because under the proposed contracting law revision, a contractor would have no desire or incentive to report any omissions to a public agency prior to submitting a bid, resulting in expensive change orders to the benefit of the contractor and the detriment of the city. Public contracting is a collaborative process wherein a public agency and contractor work together to identify omissions or changes to provided plans and specifications. In fact, public agencies often rely on the expertise of contractors, who are professionals in their field and are in the best position to notify a public agency if project plans may be incomplete or inaccurate. AS 983 is being heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, May 13. Please fax your letters as soon as possible to help defeat this legislation. Take Action A sample letter is available for your city to fax to the Senate Judiciary Committee and other key contacts at www.cacities.orQ/billsearch. Plug in AS 983 to the bill search function to access the sample letter of opposition, along with faxing instructions. Support Letters Needed for Public-Private Partnership Legislation Cities are urged to send letters in support of AB 2278 by Assembly Member Anna Caballero (D- Salinas). This bill would authorize the Govemor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to advise and educate local agencies about the role that public-private partnerships can play in planning, studying, designing, financing, constructing, operating, maintaining or managing local infrastructure projects. Background 4