Institutional purchasers: purchase of domestic agricultural food products.

Existing law requires all California state-owned or state-run institutions, except public universities and colleges and school districts, to purchase an agricultural product grown in California when the bid or price of the California-grown agricultural product does not exceed by more than 5% the lowest bid or price for an agricultural product produced outside the state and the quality of the California-grown agricultural product is comparable. Existing law also requires the institutions, when they solicit or intend to accept a bid or price for agricultural products grown outside the state, to accept the bid or price from a vendor that packs or processes these agricultural products in the state before accepting a bid or price from a vendor that packs or processes these agricultural products outside of the state when specified conditions are met, including that the bid or price of the agricultural product grown outside the state and packed or processed in the state does not exceed by more than 5% the lowest bid or price for the agricultural product packed or processed outside the state. Existing law requires a school district that solicits bids for the purchase of an agricultural product to accept a bid or price for that agricultural product when it is grown in California before accepting a bid or price for an agricultural product that is grown outside the state when the bid or price of the California-grown agricultural product does not exceed the lowest bid or price for an agricultural product produced outside the state and the quality of the California-grown agricultural product is comparable. Under existing law, these provisions only apply to a contract to purchase agricultural products for a value that is less than the value of the threshold for supplies and services for which California has obligated itself under the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization. This bill would instead require all California state-owned or state-run institutions, all segments of public postsecondary education, and all local educational agencies that solicit bids for the purchase of an agricultural food product to purchase agricultural food products grown, packed, or processed domestically, unless either the bid or price of the nondomestic agricultural food product is more than 25% lower than the bid or price of the domestic agricultural food product or the quality of the domestic agricultural food product is inferior to the quality of the agricultural food product grown, packed, or produced nondomestically. The bill would provide that the bill's provisions neither limit nor expand California's obligations under the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization. The bill would define "agricultural food product" for these purposes. By creating new duties for school districts and community colleges, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.