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, bridges, and subways, and county waterworks districts. Those provisions include change order authorization for contracts, as prescribed, and impose caps on the extra cost of any change order, varying with the value of the original contract. Existing law, until January 1, 2027, authorizes the County of Los Angeles and the County of Santa Clara to add a change order cap 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, both of which are adjusted annually to reflect the percentage change in the California Consumer Price Index. Existing law imposes similar caps for both counties with regard to county highways and similar caps for the County of Los Angeles with regard to county bridges, subways, waterworks districts, and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District. That law requires the provisions specific to the County of Los Angeles and the County of Santa Clara modify no more than 7 contracts and requires those counties 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 no longer require the County of Los Angeles and the County of Santa Clara to modify no more than 7 contracts and no longer require those counties to provide a review report, as described above. The bill would delete the January 1, 2027 repeal date, thereby extending these provisions indefinitely.

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