HomeMy Public PortalAbout07) 7E Letter Opposing Assembly Bill 1250MANAGEMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT
MEMORANDUM
DATE: April18, 2017
TO: The Honorable City Cou ncil
FROM: Bryan Cook, City Manager
AGENDA
ITEM 7.E.
SUBJECT: LETTER OPPOSING ASSEMBLY B ILL 1250 -CO UN T IES AND CITIES :
CONTRACTS FOR PERSONAL SERVICES
RECOMMENDATION:
The City Counci l is requ ested to authorize the Mayor to sign a letter on behalf of the
City expressing opposition to Assemb ly Bill (AB) 1250 , w hich could effectively eliminate
almost all co ntracting services for cities and counties (Attachment "A").
BACKGROUND:
1. On Apri l 4 , 2017 , Assembly member Jones-Sawyer introduced AB 1250, a gutted
and amended bill, to the State of California.
ANALYSIS:
Californ ia State Assembly Member Jones -Sawyer has proposed a gutted and amended
bill that could effectively eliminate a lm ost all contracting services for cit ies and counties .
A gutted and am e nded bil l is when amendments to a b ill remove the current contents in
the ir entirety and rep la ce them w ith different provisions. In this case , the bill previously
made minor modifications to the contracting power of counties. It was changed to
impose substant ive a nd substantial limitations on the powers of both counties and cities
to contract for persona l and professiona l service .
Existing law authorizes leg islative bod ies of cities to co ntract with any specially trained
and experienced pe rso n, firm , or co rporation for special services and advice in financial ,
economic, account in g , engineering, legal , or administrative matters . AB 1250 wou ld
establish specific sta ndards for the use of personal services contracts by counties and
cities. Beg inn i ng January 1, 2018 , the bill would allow a county or county agency, or a
city, to contract for personal se rvices currently or customarily performed by co unty
emp loyees , as app l icab le, when specified conditions are met. Specifically, the bill would
City Coun cil
April 18 , 2017
Page 2 of 3
do the following :
• Require a city , before entering into a contract or renewing a contract , to perform
a full economic analysis of the potential impacts of outsourcing , including the
impact on local businesses if consumer spendi ng power is reduced ;
• Mandate a city to conduct a full environmental impact analysis caused by
contracting for th e serv ices ;
• Requ ire tha t the contract be awarded through a competitive bidding process ;
• Force a city to conduct an annual audit of each contract ;
• Eli minate local agency hiring discretion by limiting a lo cal agencies' abi lity to
utilize a contract for th e sole purpose of cost savings through salaries and
benefits ;
• Require that the agency provide an orientation to contract non-city employees ;
• Requ ire a city to create a new, fully searchable database that must be posted on
the city website . Apart from the inherent cost drivers with this provision , there are
significant privacy conce rns about posting full names , job titles , and salaries of
non -city employees .
• Create new liability for the city for employment law vio lations and torts commi tted
by the contractor during the course of the contract.
League of California Cities has co mpleted the only bill analysis fo r AB 1250
(Attachment "8 "). The State of California has yet to post a bill analysis . The proposed
bill is scheduled to be heard in Assembly Public Employees , Retirement and Social
Security on April19 , 2017 .
Problems with the bill are evident on the face of the bullet po inted items above . First ,
there is no defin ition of th e "environmental impact analysis" that would be required by
the bill , meaning any analysis is subject to challenge. Second , the annual audit, the limit
on contracting out for cost savings , the orientation , and the database would all i nc rease
costs on cities w it hout providi ng a commensurate benefit to the city . Third , the
"competitive bidding process " is not defined in the bill and could limi t the city 's ab il ity to
obtain professional services from well -qualified entities if those entities are not the low
bidders , thereby undermining the city's ability to obtain the best value from professional
service providers . Fourth , the new liability for employment law v io lations and torts by
contractors not under the dire ct control of th e city would create a great deal of
uncertainty in contracting for services . And finally , the need for t he eco nomic analysis to
be performed before each renewal of a contract could cause contracts such as the
Sheriff and other essential service providers to be c halleng ed regularly even t hough
they are at the heart of the city's sta tus as a "contract ci ty" under California law.
Council is requested to authorize th e Mayor to sign a letter exp ressing th e City 's
opposition to the proposed bill.
City Council
April18 , 2017
Page 3 of 3
CITY STRATEGIC GOALS:
Authorization for the Mayor to sign the requested letter furthers the City's strateg ic goals
of good governance and quality of life .
FISCAL IMPACT:
None .
ATTACHMENT:
A. Draft Letter
B . League of California Cities Bill Analysis
Apri l 18 , 2017
T he Honorable Reginald Jones-Sawyer, Sr.
Ca li fornia State Asse mbl y
State Capitol Building , Room 2117
Sacra ment o, CA 95814
VIA FAX: 916-319-2159
ATTACHMENT A
RE: AB 1250 (Jones-Sawyer). Co unties and C ities: Contracts for Personal Servic es .
Notice of Oppos ition (as ame11ded 04/0 7/1 7)
De a r Assemb ly Me mber J ones-Sav,ryer:
The City of Temple C ity mu st re spectfu ll y o pp ose Assembl y Bill (AB) 1250, wh ich co ul d effectively
e limin ate a lmost a ll con tra ctin g serv ices fo r c iti es and co unti es.
Loca l governme nts have a long hi story of addres s in g servic e de livery cha ll e nges with crea ti vity, se lf-
re li ance and innova ti on. Uniqu e local chall enges and limited budgets co ntinue to fuel inn ovative efforts to
obtai n expertise and provide high quality servic es. C ity emp loyees prov ide man y service s, whi le others
suc h as refu se col lection and speciali ze d serv ices are provided on a contra ct ba s is. Here in the City of
Te mpl e City, law e n fo rce me nt se rvi ces are pro v id ed via contract with th e Los Ange les Cou nty She r iffs ,
a nd fire pr otect ion by a co ntract wit h a Co unty spec ia l di strict. T he Co un ty prov is ion of these services
ha s bee n in place si nce the in corporation of the C ity in 1960.
As amend ed , AB 12 50 plac es sub sta ntial burden s on loca l age nc ies by adding onero us, over pre scri ptive
a nd unn ecessary requirements that imp ede on loca l co ntro l and have signifi ca nt impacts on loca l
gove rn ance . Spec ifi ca ll y AB 1250 does the fo ll ow in g:
Creates Significant Cost and Workload R equirements :
AB 125 0 elim in ates loca l age ncy hiring di screti on by limiting a loca l agencies ' ab ili ty to uti lize a co ntract
for the sole purpose of cost savings thro ugh salaries and benefits. Thi s creates a s ign ific ant hurdle as
man y loca l age ncies , particu larly smaller urba ni ze d cities lik e Tem pl e City co ntinue to stru ggle
financiall y. Cities are able to s ustainabl y provide serv ices through a ba lance of in-ho use employers and
con tracted ve ndo rs, whil e mainta ining a high qual ity of service.
Moreover, AB 12 50 req uire s th at th e agency pr ovide an ori entatio n to contracted em pl oyees. Last yea r,
AB 2 835 (Coope r) wh ic h man dated that public empl oye rs must prov id e an orie ntat ion to their ow n
employees was ta gge d at $350 million in ongoing costs by th e Ca li fornia departmen t of Finance. Having a
loca l agen cy provide an addit ional orientat ion to no n-C ity emp loyees create sign ificant cost and lo g istica l
co ncerns .
Addit iona ll y, there are re a l and s ign ificant privacy concerns abou t posti ng full name s, job title s, and
sa lari es of non -C ity e mpl oyees on the C ity's we bs ite .
The C ity has se veral spec ifi c concerns abo ut th e intend ed and unintend ed co nse quenc es of this
legi s lati on. First, there is no definiti on of th e "envir onm enta l impa ct analysis " that wou ld be req ui red by
th e bi ll , me anin g any ana lys is the City unde rtakes wou ld be subject to c hallenge. Seco nd, the annu al
a udit, the limit on contractin g out for cost savi ngs, th e required orientation, and the onl in e database would
all require investments of time and money w ith out providing a commensurate benefit to the City. Third,
the "competitive bidding proce ss" required for services contracts is not defined in the bill and could limit
the C ity's ability to obta in profe ss ional se rvices from well-qual ifi ed entities if those ent ities are not the
low bidders . This wou ld und e rmin e the City's ability to obta in the best value from professional serv ice
providers. And finally, the need for the economic analysis to be performed before eac h ren ewa l of a
contract could cause contra cts such those with the Sheriff and County fire district, as well as other
esse nt ial service providers, to be challenged regularly even though they are at the heart of the City's status
as a "co ntract c ity " under Cal ifornia law.
Increased Litigation to Local Agenci es
AB 1250 applies joint and several liability for employment law vio lations arising from perfonnance of the
contractor as well as torts committed by the contractor or any of its subcontractors in the course of
providing serv ices under the co ntract wou ld place over ly restrictive requirements on c ities and potentially
open that agency up to litigati on. This, as we ll as the lack of definitive requirements for the
envi ronm ental review and the regular eco nomic ana lysis needed to renew co ntr acts wi th the Sheriff and
County fire district, increase s the City's ex pos ure to both liability and friv olous litigation designed to
impede the City's delivery of service s.
Cities continue to face difficult budget condit ions, which have been compounded by recent state
takeaways including the lo ss of redevelop ment and pen sion and retiree health care ob ligati ons. This
mea sure compounds exis tin g constitutional lim itation s on local agencies to operate effectively.
The undue work load, pri vacy concerns, cos ts and lit igatio n created by this measure places an
overwhelming and significant burden on nearly eve ry city department and could create significan t and
costly impacts on the city's ability to pr ov ide essenti al services.
Therefore , the City of Templ e C ity respectfu ll y opposes Asse mb ly Bill 1250.
Sincere ly,
Cynthia Sternquist
Mayor
City ofTemple City
cc: Honorab le Ed Hern andez, State Se nator (24 1h Di stri ct)
Honorab le Ed Cha u, Assembl yman ( 49 1h Di st ri ct)
Jennifer Quan, Regi onal Public Affai rs Mana ge r, League of California Cit ies
Michael Bo lden , Chief Consul tant, Assemb ly Committee Public Employees, Re ti rement, and
Socia l ec uri ty
J oshua White, Co ns ultan t, Assem bly Re publi can Caucus
Cami ll e Wagne r, Legislative Secretary, Office of Governor Edmund G. Brow n Jr.
Me g Desmond, League of Ca li fo rni a Cities, mdesmond@cacities.org
AB 1250
Search Results
Thursday, April 13, 2017
ATTACHMENT 8
Calendar: 4/19/2017 9 a.m. -State Capitol, Room 444 ASSEMBLY PUBLIC EMPLOYEES,
RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY, RODRIGUEZ, Chair
Summary: Ex isti ng law authorizes t h e board of supervisors of a county to contract fo r special services
on behalf of va rio us public entitie s with persons who are sp eci all y trained, experienced, expert, and
competent to perform the special services , as prescribed . These services i nclude financia l, econom ic,
accounting, en gin ee r ing, leg al , and other specified services. Existing law also authorizes legi slative
bo dies of ci t ies to co n tract w ith any spec iall y trained an d experienced person, firm , or corporation for
special services and ad vice in fina n cial, econom ic, accounting, engi neering, legal , or adm i n istrative
matters.This bill would establish specific standards for the use of personal services contracts by
counties and cities. Beginn ing January 1, 2018, the bill would allow a cou nty or county agency, or a
city, to contract for personal services currently or customarily performed by county employees, as
appl icab le, w hen specified co ndition s are met. Among oth e r things, the bill would requ ire the cou nty or
city to clearly dem onstrate that the proposed contract will resu lt in actua l overall costs savings to the
county or city and also to show that the contract does not cause the displacement of county or city
workers. The bill would requ i re a contract entered into un der these provisions to specify that it may be
terminated upon materi al breach , if notice is provided, as specified . Additionally, the bill wou ld require
the county or ci ty to provide an orientation to em pl oyees of the co ntractor w h o would perform services
pursuant to the contract, and wou ld esta blish liability provisions for employment law violations and
torts comm it ted in the course of providing services under contract , among other cond itions. The bill
would im pose additional disclosure r eq u i r em ents fo r contracts exceeding $100,000 annually, would
exempt certai n types of contracts from its provisions, and wou ld requ i re e ach county or city to
ma intain on its Internet Web site a searchable database of all of its contracts exceeding $100,000. By
placing new duties on loca l governmen t agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated loca l
program .Th is bill conta ins other related provisions and oth er exist ing laws .
Attachments:
AB 1250 (Jones-Sawyer) SAMP L E City OPPOSE Letter4 .12.17
AB 1250 (Jones-Sawyer) Oppose. Author
Policy Committee Primary Lobbyist
(primary)
Governance, Hutchings, Dan e
Transparency, and Labor
Relations
League Position Position Taken
2nd Lobbyist
Policy Committee
(secondary)
Policy Analyst
Oppose
Total Measures: 1
Hot
Total Tracking Forms: 1
4/13/2017 8:51 :31 AM