AB 783: Public contracts: construction materials: disaster relief.

Existing law authorizes the Department of General Services to enter into contracts on a bid or negotiated basis with manufacturers and suppliers of single source or multisource drugs, and to obtain from them discounts, rebates, or refunds as permissible under federal law.

This bill would, until January 1, 2031, authorize the department to negotiate and enter into contracts on a bid or negotiated basis for construction materials commonly used in residential structures that may include price discounts, rebates, refunds, or other strategies aimed at lowering the cost of these materials. The bill would require that these materials be offered at cost or with minimal administrative fees added to homeowners, contractors, nonprofit organizations, and local governments in any area affected by a state of emergency resulting from an earthquake, flood, fire, riot, storm, or other natural disaster, as specified. The bill would require that the materials only be used for recovery efforts that are directly linked to housing losses caused by a state of emergency.

This bill would require the department to coordinate with local governments, housing agencies, and nonprofit organizations to establish sufficient distribution of the materials within areas affected by a state of emergency resulting from an earthquake, flood, fire, riot, storm, or other natural disaster. prohibit its provisions from being interpreted to require the department to store or distribute materials. The bill would also require the department to report annually to specified committees of the Legislature on the implementation, cost savings, and effectiveness of these provisions.