Public Contract Code

Question 1

Public contract code:

what kind of code is the Public Contract Code?

Answer 1

it is one of California Law’s 29 codes

just like Health and Safety code, education code, water code, and business/Professions code.

Question 2

Public contract code:

how much public money is required for a project to be considered a public project?

Answer 2

any public money at all = public project

Question 3

requirements of public contracts? 11…wow

Answer 3

1. competitive bidding
2. Alternates procedures
3. Additional cost procedures
4. VE procedures
5. performance bonds
6. payment bonds
7. pre-qualified bidders
8. Open specs (with exceptions)
9. bid advertised
10. bid open to all (with pre-quilification)
11. award to lowest qualified/responsible bidder

Question 4

Public contract code:

what is a responsible bidder?

Answer 4

shown they are trustworthy, have the capacity, and experience to do the work,

Question 5

Public contract code:

What type of provisions/procedures must be in place for public contracts related to changes during construction?

Answer 5

1. Alternates
2. Add costs
3. VE

there must be provisions and procedures for how these things are dealt with…also to help make sure the bid is fair.

Question 6

Public contract code:

What do public contracts require to protect the owner/investors in regards to making sure the work gets done?

Answer 6

1. Performance Bond
2. Payment Bond

public contracts require the GC to have performance bonds and payment bonds

Question 7

Public contract code:

who can bid on a public contract?

how would prospective bidders find out about a project?

What is typically involved with prequalification?

Answer 7

anyone that is qualified…..the bids must be open to all.

owner must advertise publicly. this

prequalification is done before the bidding, some public entities do it once a year, some do it before every project. Each public entity can kinda make its own rules but they tend to be:

1. Experience
2. License
3. legal history
4. safety and code compliance history
5. disqualification from previous projects
6. financial and bonding info
7. insurance info

Question 8

Public contract code:

how must bids be advertised?

how must bids be submitted?

how must bids be first opened?

Answer 8

Public contract code:

• publicly in a local publication, sometimes on a website is OK
• Sealed
• publiclly opened (and read aloud if any bidder request for bids to be read) at the time set forth in the solicitation to bid.

Question 9

Public contract code:

Whom must the contract be awarded to and what does this mean?

Answer 9

Public contract code:

to the lowest “responsive” & “responsible” bidder

“responsive” means: bid must be an unconditional offer to provide the goods and services that are being bid upon and the bid must comply with all the bid procedures that are set forth in the requirements of the bid documents. For example, a bid which excludes a portion of the work which was to be bid on is deemed non-responsive.

“responsible” means: has the licences, experience, and trustworthiness to perform the work.

Question 10

Public contract:

What kind of spec are required?

what are exceptions to this? 4

Answer 10

Public contract:

open specs

exceptions:

1. field test or experiment
2. match an existing product in the public project
3. if item is only available from one source
4. emergency declaration (moving fast)