AB 2316: School facilities: leasing property.

Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to adopt a resolution that, among other things: (1) declares its intention to enter into a lease or agreement relating to school property, (2) includes specified information about the property, and (3) fixes a time for a public meeting of the governing board of the school district at which sealed proposals to enter a lease or agreement with the school district will be received from any person, firm, or corporation, and considered by the governing board of the school district, as specified.

Existing law, notwithstanding the provision described above, also authorizes the governing board of a school district, without advertising for bids, to lease real property for a minimum rental of $1 per year if the instrument by which this property is leased requires the lessee to construct, or provide for the construction of, a building to be used by the school district and provides that the title to the building shall vest in the school district at the end of the lease.

This bill would delete the language that provides that the governing board of a school district is not required to advertise for bids pursuant to this provision. The bill would require an instrument created pursuant to these provisions to be awarded based on a competitive solicitation process to the proposer providing the best value, as defined, to the school district. The bill would require the governing board of the school district to adopt and publish required procedures and guidelines for evaluating the qualifications of proposers, as provided. The bill would authorize a school district, for purposes of utilizing preconstruction services, to enter into an instrument before written approval is obtained from the Department of General Services Division of the State Architect (DSA) only if the instrument provides that no work for which a contractor is required to be licensed and for which DSA approval is required can be performed before receipt of the required DSA approval.

The bill would provide, for certain projects leased through an instrument before July 1, 2015, if at any time the instrument is determined to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction because it fails to fall within the former competitive bidding exception, that the contractor who entered into the contract with the school district may be paid the reasonable cost, specifically excluding profit, of the labor, equipment, materials, and services furnished by the contractor before the date of the determination, if certain conditions, as determined by the court, are met. The bill would authorize a school district to identify specific types of subcontractors required to be included in a proposal, and would impose specified other procedural requirements on awarding construction subcontracts of a certain value. The bill would provide that the changes made by its provisions, except the deletion of the governing board of a school districts authority to not advertise for bids, shall become inoperative on July 1, 2022.