San Diego Unified Port District: job order contracting: pilot program

The district can competitively prequalify and use contractors at set unit prices for qualifying smaller projects, while retaining labor, wage, bidding, cost-control, and reporting safeguards.

What the law does ​

• Authorizes competitively bid job order contracts for repair, remodeling, maintenance, and other repetitive work, excluding maritime and longshore operations and new construction.
• Caps awards at $5 million per contract in its initial 12-month term and $1 million per individual job order; allows two annual renewals totaling up to $10 million, subject to annual California Consumer Price Index adjustments.
• Requires compliance with existing collective bargaining agreements, a project labor agreement with the San Diego County Building and Construction Trades Council, prevailing-wage rules, and subcontractor requirements.
• Allows qualifying job orders worth $250,000 or less to be awarded under the district's process to certified small business enterprises or disabled veteran business enterprises.
• Requires independent cost estimates before each job order, prohibits splitting work to evade limits, and permits enforcement actions for subcontracting-law violations.
• Requires the district to report to legislative policy and fiscal committees by January 1, 2035, and repeals the pilot program on January 1, 2037.

Who it affects ​

• San Diego Unified Port District and contractors bidding on recurring port-facility repair, maintenance, and improvement work.
• Construction workers, subcontractors, certified small business enterprises, and disabled veteran business enterprises.
• Maritime and longshore workers, whose covered operations and existing labor agreements are excluded or preserved.

Context ​

The authorization is a time-limited pilot for a port district spanning five cities.