AB 2181: Public contracts: contract specifications.

The State Contract Act requires an awarding department, before entering into any contract for a project, to prepare full, complete, and accurate plans and specifications and estimates of cost. That act prohibits, except in specified circumstances, a state agency responsible for letting public works contracts from drafting bid specifications in a manner that limits the bidding to any one concern or product, except under certain circumstances.

Other existing law establishes specific requirements for competitive bidding for building and improvement projects by the Regents of the University of California, including the manner and type of specifications.

The California State University Contract Law governs contracting for building and improvement projects by the California State University and imposes specific competitive bidding requirements for the Trustees of the California State University, including the preparation of specifications for a project.

This bill would require an awarding department, on or before January 1, 2018, to prepare and submit to the Legislature and the Governor a report on the greenhouse gas emissions that are associated with energy-intensive products emissions-intensive products, as defined, in projects within the jurisdiction of the department. The bill would require the emissions total shall to take into account the greenhouse gas emissions that are produced when the energy-intensive emissions-intensive product is manufactured or produced and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the transportation of the energy-intensive emissions-intensive product from the site of its manufacture to the project site. The bill would require the department, as of January, 1 January 1, 2018, to incorporate the greenhouse gas emissions information into its procurement processes, including bid specifications, to procure energy-intensive emissions-intensive products with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions profile that meet standards imposed by a state agency for quality or safety purposes.

The bill would impose similar requirements on the Regents of the University of California and the Trustees of the California State University.