AB 1649: Local Agency Public Construction Act: change orders: County of Santa Clara.

Existing law, the Local Agency Public Construction Act, regulates contracting by local agencies, including counties and special districts. The act includes specific provisions for contracting by counties and contracting for county highways. Those provisions include change order authorization for construction contracts, as prescribed, and impose specified caps on the extra cost of any change order, varying with the value of the original contract. The act prohibits a change or alteration cost from exceeding $210,000.

The act, until January 1, 2027, authorizes the County of Los Angeles to be subject to a change order cap of $400,000 for construction contracts whose original cost exceeds $25,000,000 and of $750,000 for those contracts whose original cost exceeds $50,000,000, both of which are adjusted annually to reflect the percentage change in the California Consumer Price Index. The act provides a similar authorization for the County of Los Angeles with regard to county highways. The act requires the County of Los Angeles to modify no more than 7 contracts pursuant to these provisions and requires the County of Los Angeles to provide a review report to the Assembly Committee on Local Government and the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance no later than July 1, 2026.

This bill would authorize the County of Santa Clara to be subject to a change order of $400,000 for contracts whose original cost exceeds $25,000,000 and of $750,000 for contracts whose original cost exceeds $50,000,000, adjusted annually to reflect the percentage change in the California Consumer Price Index. These change order caps would apply to construction contracting by the county and contracting for county highways. The bill would require the County of Santa Clara to modify no more than 7 contracts pursuant to these provisions and would require the County of Santa Clara provide a review report to the Assembly Committee on Local Government and the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance no later than July 1, 2026.

This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Santa Clara.