Section 2000 - [Effective 1/1/2025] Lowest responsible bidder(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law requiring a local agency to award contracts to the lowest responsible bidder, a local agency may require that a contract be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder who also does either of the following:(1) Meets goals and requirements established by the local agency relating to participation in the contract by minority business enterprises and women business enterprises. If the bidder does not meet the goals and requirements established by the local agency for that participation, the local agency shall evaluate the good faith effort of the bidder to comply with those goals and requirements as provided in paragraph (2).(2) Makes a good faith effort, in accordance with the criteria established pursuant to subdivision (b), prior to the time bids are opened, to comply with the goals and requirements established by the local agency relating to participation in the contract by minority or women business enterprises.(b)(1) The bidder attended any presolicitation or prebid meetings that were scheduled by the local agency to inform all bidders of the minority and women business enterprise program requirements for the project for which the contract will be awarded. A local agency may waive this requirement if it determines that the bidder is informed as to those program requirements.(2) The bidder identified and selected specific items of the project for which the contract will be awarded to be performed by minority or women business enterprises to provide an opportunity for participation by those enterprises.(3) The bidder advertised, not less than 10 calendar days before the date the bids are opened, in one or more daily or weekly newspapers, trade association publications, minority or trade oriented publications, trade journals, or other media, specified by the local agency for minority or women business enterprises that are interested in participating in the project. This paragraph applies only if the local agency gave public notice of the project not less than 15 calendar days prior to the date the bids are opened.(4) The bidder provided written notice of the bidder's interest in bidding on the contract to the number of minority or women business enterprises required to be notified by the project specifications not less than 10 calendar days prior to the opening of bids. To the extent possible, the local agency shall make available to the bidder not less than 15 calendar days prior to the date the bids are opened a list or a source of lists of enterprises which are certified by the local agency as minority or women business enterprises. If the local agency does not provide that list or source of lists to the bidder, the bidder may utilize the list of certified minority or women business enterprises prepared by the Department of Transportation pursuant to Section 14030.5 of the Government Code for this purpose.(5) The bidder followed up initial solicitations of interest by contacting the enterprises to determine with certainty whether the enterprises were interested in performing specific items of the project.(6) The bidder provided interested minority and women business enterprises with information about the plans, specifications, and requirements for the selected subcontracting or material supply work.(7) The bidder requested assistance from minority and women community organizations; minority and women contractor groups; local, state, or federal minority and women business assistance offices; or other organizations that provide assistance in the recruitment and placement of minority or women business enterprises, if any are available.(8) The bidder negotiated in good faith with the minority or women business enterprises, and did not unjustifiably reject as unsatisfactory bids prepared by any minority or women business enterprises, as determined by the local agency.(9) Where applicable, the bidder advised and made efforts to assist interested minority and women business enterprises in obtaining bonds, lines of credit, or insurance required by the local agency or contractor.(10) The bidder's efforts to obtain minority and women business enterprise participation could reasonably be expected by the local agency to produce a level of participation sufficient to meet the goals and requirements of the local agency.(c) The performance by a bidder of all of the criteria specified in subdivision (b) shall create a rebuttable presumption, affecting the burden of producing evidence, that a bidder has made a good faith effort to comply with the goals and requirements relating to participation by minority and women business enterprises established pursuant to subdivision (a).(d) "Local agency," as used in this section, means a county or city, whether general law or chartered, city and county, school district, or other district. "District," as used in this section, means an agency of the state, formed pursuant to general law or special act, for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions within limited boundaries.(e) "Minority or women business enterprise," as used in this section, means a business enterprise that meets both of the following criteria:(1) A business that is at least 51 percent owned by one or more minority persons or women or, in the case of any business whose stock is publicly held, at least 51 percent of the stock is owned by one or more minority persons or women.(2) A business whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more minority persons or women.(f) "Minority person," for purposes of this section, means Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans (including American Indians, Inuit, Aleuts, and Native Hawaiians), Asian-Pacific Americans (including persons whose origins are from Japan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, Samoa, Guam, the United States Trust Territories of the Pacific, Northern Marianas, Laos, Cambodia, and Taiwan), or any other group of natural persons identified as minorities in the project specifications by the local agency.(g) This section does not apply to any of the following:(1) A contract, funded in whole or in part by the federal government, to the extent of any conflict between the requirements imposed by this section and any requirements imposed by the federal government relating to participation in a contract by a minority or women business enterprise as a condition of receipt of the federal funds.(2) The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, or any other local agency that has authority to facilitate the participation of minority or women business enterprises substantially similar to the authority granted to the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District pursuant to Section 20229 of this code or the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission pursuant to Section 130239 of the Public Utilities Code.Ca. Pub. Cont. Code § 2000
Amended by Stats 2024 ch 104 (AB 2287),s 4, eff. 1/1/2025.Amended by Stats. 1988, Ch. 538, Sec. 1.This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.