Local Agency Public Construction Act: change orders: County of Los Angeles.

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, contracting for county highways and county bridges and subways, and contracting by county waterworks districts. Other existing law regulates contracting by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD) . Those specific 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. The act, for a county, imposes a $5,000 cap when the total amount of the original contract does not exceed $50,000. For any original contract that exceeds $50,000, but does not exceed $250,000, the cap is 10% of the amount of the original contract. For contracts whose original cost exceeds $250,000, the cap is $25,000 plus 5% of the amount of the original contract cost in excess of $250,000, and the act prohibits a change or alteration cost from exceeding $210,000. This bill would authorize the County of Los Angeles to add a new 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 would be adjusted annually to reflect the percentage change in the California Consumer Price Index. The act, with regard to county highways, imposes similar caps except that, on contracts up to $250,000, it limits a change order to a net total addition of $25,000. This bill, excepting that cap, would authorize the County of Los Angeles to make changes to the county highways change order provisions corresponding to those described above. Existing law, with regard to county bridges or subways, county waterworks districts, and the LACFCD, for contracts whose original cost is $250,000 or more, establishes a change order cap of $25,000, plus 5% of the amount of the cost of the original contract that exceeds $250,000, and prohibits a change or alteration cost from exceeding $210,000. This bill, with regard to county bridges or subways, county waterworks districts, and LACFCD would authorize the County of Los Angeles to add a new 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. All of these caps would be adjusted annually to reflect the percentage change in the California Consumer Price Index. Existing law permits the board of supervisors to authorize the county engineer, county road commissioner, registered civil engineer, or other county officer to order changes or additions to work being performed under the above contracting provisions. Existing law also permits the board of supervisors and the board of directors of a county water district to authorize the general manager or other district officer to order changes or additions to work being performed under contract under the act. This bill, with regard to those provisions applicable to the County of Los Angeles, would require the board of supervisors and the board of directors of a district, as applicable, at the time the board delegates authority under a contract described above, to implement appropriate measures to prevent fraud and ensure accountability for that delegated authority. The bill would specify that the decision by the county officer whom authority was delegated to shall be binding on the County of Los Angeles, and that all existing protest and grievance procedures regarding that decision remain valid. This bill would require that the provisions relevant to the County of Los Angeles modify no more than 7 contracts and 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. The bill would repeal those provisions as of January 1, 2027. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the County of Los Angeles.