California 2015-2016 Regular Session Status: Enacted

AB 626 — Public contracts: claim resolution.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 810, Statutes of 2016.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 24, 2015. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 80% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 7 sponsors

    1 primary, 6 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 8 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Existing law prescribes various requirements regarding the formation, content, and enforcement of state and local public contracts. Existing law applicable to state public contracts generally requires that the resolution of claims related to those contracts be subject to arbitration. Existing law applicable to local agency contracts prescribes a process for the resolution of claims related to those contracts of $375,000 or less. This bill would establish, for contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2017, a claim resolution process applicable to any claim by a contractor in connection with a public works project. The bill would define a claim as a separate demand by the contractor for one or more of the following: a time extension for relief from damages or penalties for delay, payment of money or damages arising from work done pursuant to the contract for a public work, or payment of an amount disputed by the public entity, as specified. This bill would require a public entity, defined to exclude certain state entities, upon receipt of a claim sent by registered or certified mail, to review it and, within 45 days, provide a written statement identifying the disputed and undisputed portions of the claim. The bill would authorize the 45-day period to be extended by mutual agreement. The bill would require any payment due on an undisputed portion of the claim to be processed within 60 days, as specified. The bill would require that the claim be deemed rejected in its entirety if the public entity fails to issue the written statement. This bill would authorize, if the claimant disputes the public entity's written response or if the public entity fails to respond to a claim within the time prescribed, the claimant to demand to meet and confer for settlement of the issues in dispute. The bill would require any disputed portion of the claim that remains in dispute after the meet and confer conference to be subject to nonbinding mediation, as specified. The bill would provide that unpaid claim amounts accrue interest at 7% per annum. The bill would prescribe a procedure by which a subcontractor or lower tier contractor may make a claim through the contractor. This bill would require the text of these provisions, or a summary, to be set forth in the plans or specifications for any public work which may give rise to a claim. The bill would specify that a waiver of these rights is void and contrary to public policy, except as specified. The bill would also specify that it does not impose liability on a public entity that makes loans or grants available through a competitive application process, for the failure of an awardee to meet its contractual obligations. By increasing the duties of local agencies and officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would, on January 1, 2020, repeal the provision establishing the claim resolution process. This bill would specify that these provisions constitute a matter of statewide concern. 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 these statutory provisions.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 810, Statutes of 2016.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

  4. Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 79. Noes 0. Page 6434.).

  5. In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 28 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.

  6. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 5313.).

  7. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  8. Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  9. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  10. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 11).

  11. In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  12. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  13. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  14. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  15. Withdrawn from committee.

  16. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on ED.

  17. In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

  18. Referred to Com. on ED.

  19. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  20. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 55. Noes 24. Page 1868.)

  21. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  22. Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

  23. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 12. Noes 4.) (May 28).

  24. In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  25. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 11. Noes 2.) (April 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  26. Re-referred to Com. on HIGHER ED.

  27. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HIGHER ED. Read second time and amended.

  28. Re-referred to Com. on HIGHER ED.

  29. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on HIGHER ED. Read second time and amended.

  30. Referred to Com. on HIGHER ED.

  31. From printer. May be heard in committee March 27.

  32. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

  • Anderson · Cosponsor
  • Cannella · Cosponsor
  • Chiu · Primary
  • Frazier · Cosponsor
  • Hertzberg · Cosponsor
  • Low · Cosponsor
  • Beth Gaines · Cosponsor

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 6 co-sponsors · 115 not signed on · 7 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Chiu

Co-sponsors (6)

  • Anderson
  • Cannella
  • Frazier
  • Hertzberg
  • Low
  • Beth Gaines Voted No

Not signed on (115)

115 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 115 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

AB 626 CHIU Concurrence in Senate Amendments

Passed 79 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 69001
Democratic 5000
Republican 5000
Total 79001
% of votes cast 99%0%0%1%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Achadjian — Yea
Alejo — Yea
Bloom — Yea
Brough — Yea
Brown — Yea
Harper — Yea
Levine — Yea
Low — Yea
Mathis — Yea
Medina — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Olsen — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Steinorth — Yea
Wood — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Daly — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Burke — Yea
Gordon — Yea
Gray — Yea
Holden — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Campos — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Lopez — Yea
Kim — Yea
Baker — Yea
Bigelow — Yea
Chang — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Chávez — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Dababneh — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Mayes — Not Voting
McCarty — Yea
Melendez — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Ridley-Thomas — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Thurmond — Yea
Ting — Yea
Wagner — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Wilk — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Chau — Yea
Chu — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Salas — Yea
Linder — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Obernolte — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Weber — Yea
Williams — Yea
Hadley — Yea
Beth Gaines — Yea
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Yea
Lorena Gonzalez — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
Travis Allen — Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Yea
Lackey, Tom Republican Yea

Official roll call →

3rd Reading AB626 Chiu By Hertzberg

Passed 39 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 36000
Democratic 3000
Total 39000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (39)
Member Party Vote
Bates — Yea
Block — Yea
Lara — Yea
Liu — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Glazer — Yea
Fuller — Yea
Cannella — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Hill — Yea
Allen — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
De León — Yea
Anderson — Yea
Leno — Yea
Mendoza — Yea
Moorlach — Yea
Morrell — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Pan — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Wolk — Yea
Beall — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Huff — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Monning — Yea
Roth — Yea
Vidak — Yea
Hall — Yea
Hancock — Yea
Beth Gaines — Yea
Bill Berryhill — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6000
Democratic 1000
Total 7000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Beall — Yea
Mendoza — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Hill — Yea
Bates — Yea
Lara — Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Placed on suspense file

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6000
Democratic 1000
Total 7000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Bates — Yea
Lara — Yea
Hill — Yea
Mendoza — Yea
Beall — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

AB 626 LOW Assembly Third Reading

Passed 55 Yea · 24 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 0600
Unaffiliated 511801
Democratic 4000
Total 552401
% of votes cast 69%30%0%1%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Low — Yea
Maienschein — Nay
Melendez — Nay
Nazarian — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Ting — Yea
Weber — Yea
Wood — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Alejo — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Campos — Yea
Chávez — Yea
Cooper — Yea
Dababneh — Yea
Achadjian — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Medina — Yea
Mullin — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Perea — Yea
Salas — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Burke — Yea
Chang — Nay
Chau — Yea
Chiu — Yea
Chu — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Daly — Yea
Baker — Nay
Bigelow — Nay
Bloom — Yea
Gray — Yea
Frazier — Yea
Gomez — Yea
Lopez — Yea
Gordon — Yea
Harper — Nay
Holden — Yea
Kim — Nay
Atkins — Yea
Levine — Yea
Linder — Yea
Mayes — Nay
McCarty — Yea
Obernolte — Nay
Brough — Nay
Brown — Yea
Olsen — Nay
Quirk — Yea
Ridley-Thomas — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Steinorth — Nay
Wagner — Nay
Waldron — Nay
Wilk — Yea
Williams — Yea
Mathis — Nay
Thurmond — Not Voting
Hadley — Nay
Beth Gaines — Nay
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
Travis Allen — Nay
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay
Lackey, Tom Republican Nay
Patterson, Joe Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended.

Passed 12 Yea · 4 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 2000
Unaffiliated 10201
Republican 0200
Total 12401
% of votes cast 71%24%0%6%
How each member voted (17)
Member Party Vote
Holden — Yea
Wood — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Chang — Not Voting
Gomez — Yea
Gordon — Yea
Bigelow — Nay
Daly — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Wagner — Nay
Weber — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does AB 626 do?
Existing law prescribes various requirements regarding the formation, content, and enforcement of state and local public contracts. Existing law applicable to state public contracts generally requires that the resolution of claims related to those contracts be subject to arbitration. Existing law applicable to local agency contracts prescribes a process for the resolution of claims related to those contracts of $375,000 or less. This bill would establish, for contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2017, a claim resolution process applicable to any claim by a contractor in connection with a public works project. The bill would define a claim as a separate demand by the contractor for one or more of the following: a time extension for relief from damages or penalties for delay, payment of money or damages arising from work done pursuant to the contract for a public work, or payment of an amount disputed by the public entity, as specified. This bill would require a public entity, defined to exclude certain state entities, upon receipt of a claim sent by registered or certified mail, to review it and, within 45 days, provide a written statement identifying the disputed and undisputed portions of the claim. The bill would authorize the 45-day period to be extended by mutual agreement. The bill would require any payment due on an undisputed portion of the claim to be processed within 60 days, as specified. The bill would require that the claim be deemed rejected in its entirety if the public entity fails to issue the written statement. This bill would authorize, if the claimant disputes the public entity's written response or if the public entity fails to respond to a claim within the time prescribed, the claimant to demand to meet and confer for settlement of the issues in dispute. The bill would require any disputed portion of the claim that remains in dispute after the meet and confer conference to be subject to nonbinding mediation, as specified. The bill would provide that unpaid claim amounts accrue interest at 7% per annum. The bill would prescribe a procedure by which a subcontractor or lower tier contractor may make a claim through the contractor. This bill would require the text of these provisions, or a summary, to be set forth in the plans or specifications for any public work which may give rise to a claim. The bill would specify that a waiver of these rights is void and contrary to public policy, except as specified. The bill would also specify that it does not impose liability on a public entity that makes loans or grants available through a competitive application process, for the failure of an awardee to meet its contractual obligations. By increasing the duties of local agencies and officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would, on January 1, 2020, repeal the provision establishing the claim resolution process. This bill would specify that these provisions constitute a matter of statewide concern. 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 these statutory provisions.
Who sponsors AB 626?
AB 626 is sponsored by Anderson, Cannella, Chiu, Frazier, Hertzberg, Low, and Beth Gaines.
What is the current status of AB 626?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 24, 2015. Enacted.
Where can I track AB 626?
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