Joint powers agreements: zero-emission transportation systems or facilities.

(1) Existing law, the Joint Exercise of Powers Act, authorizes 2 or more public agencies by agreement to exercise any power common to the contracting parties. Existing law requires the agreement to state the purposes of the agreement or the power to be exercised, and provides that the agency or entity provided by the agreement to administer or execute the agreement may be one or more of the parties to the agreement, a commission or board constituted pursuant to the agreement, or a person, firm, or corporation, including a nonprofit corporation, designated in the agreement. Existing law authorizes the agreement to, among other things, provide for the repayment or return to the parties of all or any part of any contributions, payments, or advances made by the parties and for payment to the parties of any sum or sums derived from the revenues of said facilities and authorizes the contracting parties to the agreement to issue revenue bonds to pay the cost and expenses of acquiring or constructing a project or conducting a program for specified purposes. This bill, notwithstanding any other provision of the act, would authorize a private, nonprofit corporation formed for the purposes of providing services to zero-emission transportation systems or facilities, including, but not limited to, finance, design, construction, operation, or maintenance, or authorized by their board of directors to provide such services, to join a joint powers authority or enter into a joint powers agreement with a public agency to facilitate the development, construction, and operation of zero-emission transportation systems or facilities that lower greenhouse gases, reduce vehicle congestion and vehicle miles traveled, and improve public transit connections. The bill, notwithstanding any other law, would prohibit a joint powers authority formed pursuant to these provisions from incurring debt. Under the bill, the authority would be governed by a board of directors, composed as determined by the participating public agency or agencies. The bill would prohibit the representation of private, nonprofit mutual benefit corporations on the board of directors from exceeding 50%. The bill would define terms for its purposes. The bill's provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2032. (2) Existing law sets forth requirements for the solicitation and evaluation of bids and the awarding of contracts by public entities, including requirements applicable if the public entity is required by statute or regulation to obtain an enforceable commitment that a bidder, contractor, or other entity will use a skilled and trained workforce, as defined, to complete a contract or project. Except as specified, existing law requires that, for workers employed on public works, as defined, not less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages, determined as provided by the Director of Industrial Relations, for work of a similar character in the locality in which the public work is performed be paid to those workers, as provided. This bill, except as specified, would require a joint powers authority formed pursuant to the bill that undertakes a project to obtain an enforceable commitment that any entity undertaking the project will use a skilled and trained workforce. The bill would require a private entity performing the work on a project for the joint powers authority to certify, in writing and under penalty of perjury, that prevailing wages will be paid to workers on the project, as provided, and that a skilled and trained workforce will be used to perform all construction work on the project. By requiring private entities performing work on a project under these provisions to certify this information, thereby expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.