Legislation Update
Last Thursday at midnight was the deadline for the governor to act on hundreds of pieces of legislation that have been sitting on his desk since the last few weeks of the legislative session. Below is the final status of key bills that affect special districts.
Assembly Bill 1987 (Ma) & Senate Bill 1425 (Simitian) – PENSIONS
In addition to other provisions, these bills prohibited public agencies from hiring a recent retiree back to service unless the retiree had been retired for at least 180 days. CSDA opposed the 180 day provision because it eliminated the flexibility of local agencies to hire a retiree when appropriate, even during emergency situations.
Status: Vetoed
AB 827 (De La Torre) – EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS
This bill prohibited the use of automatic renewals and automatic compensation increases in excess of a COLA from being included in an employment contract for employees who report directly to the legislative body of a local agency. Although CSDA did not take a formal position on the measure, CSDA suggested amendments to clarify provisions of the bill were ultimately not adopted by the legislature.
Status: Vetoed
AB 2036 (Bill Berryhill) – CONTRACT DOCUMENTS
This bill requires local agencies to provide an electronic copy of contract documents to a contractor plan room, upon request. Previous versions of the bill would have mandated free electronic and hard copies to be provided to all bidders. CSDA worked with stakeholders and the author to accept amendments that reflect current practice and allowed CSDA to be neutral on the bill.
Status: Chaptered
SB 879 (Cox) – DESIGN-BUILD
This bill extends the sunset date on the county design-build statute from January 1, 2011 until July 14, 2014. CSDA supported this bill in order to continue the design-build authorization for those special districts that use the county design-build statute.
Status: Chaptered
SB 972 (Wolk) – DESIGN PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY
CSDA led a local government coalition that engaged in good-faith negotiations on SB 972 that, as introduced, would have shifted legal burdens from design professionals to public agencies. The bill, as it was presented to the governor, simply clarifies existing law.
Status: Chaptered
For more information and status on other key bills that CSDA worked on throughout the legislative year, go to the CSDA website, www.csda.net, click on the blue Legislative Access Services banner, then find “CSDA Key Bill Status List” located under the State Capitol section.