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CA: Better bonds
Riverside Press-Enterprise ^ | 2/18/06 | Editorial

Posted on 02/18/2006 10:55:00 AM PST by NormsRevenge

California taxpayers, perhaps poised to spend billions of dollars on new public works projects, deserve to get the most for their money. But that won't happen without changes in state law to speed up construction and hold down costs.

Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposed $222 billion Strategic Growth Plan has focused the state on the need for highway, school, water, prison and court projects. But the debate about what should be included and how much the state can afford should also involve changes in how projects are delivered.

AB 2025, by Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, would allow the use of the design-build process for transportation projects. That process lets a public agency pick a single team to design and build the project, instead of the agency designing the project and then seeking builders' bids. The change streamlines an often time-consuming bureaucratic process, reducing conflicts and accelerating construction.

Design-build requires careful oversight, including tightly written contracts and strong quality control. It's not clear whether design-build saves money, but it results in faster access to better roads, which has its own economic value.

State legislators should also revise the prevailing wage statute, which jacks up the cost of public projects across the state. The regulations essentially set wages on public construction at union rates, which exceed market rates.

A 2004 study of affordable housing projects by the California Institute for County Government, at Cal State Sacramento, found that prevailing wage pay levels averaged one-third to one-half more than market rate wages, increasing projects' costs by about 14 percent in Inland counties.

AB 2019, by Assemblyman Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, would change the prevailing wage formula to track more closely actual wages in rural areas, but there's no reason that index couldn't be applied to the rest of the state, also. Public projects should pay a fair wage, but that doesn't mean taxpayers must pay the highest wages around.

Californians are willing to invest in public infrastructure, but they deserve a fair return: projects built in a timely and cost-effective manner.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Politics/Elections; US: California
KEYWORDS: ab2019; ab2025; better; betterbonds; bonds; california; callegislation; designbuild; niello

1 posted on 02/18/2006 10:55:01 AM PST by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge
Oh you bet! Unions are going to support passage of AB 2019.

Wouldn't it be great if the gang got a set and sponsored legislation to eliminate any consideration of prevailing wage.

If it passed the gang could ring up Fox and advise him to Send then north. Bring backhoes. The gang would be completely forgiven for promoting Prop 187. Life would be good inside the CRP.

2 posted on 02/18/2006 11:05:25 AM PST by Amerigomag
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To: NormsRevenge
It's not clear whether design-build saves money, but it results in faster access to better roads, which has its own economic value.

So, it's not clear whether it will cost less, or more, but it's quicker? The net economic value of "fast" vs. cost should be a primary consideration, not an unknown.

3 posted on 02/18/2006 12:17:08 PM PST by calcowgirl
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To: calcowgirl
Remember the old cheaper-better-faster triangle. You can only have two.

I prefer the cheaper-better choice since it's my money. Especially when it comes out of my pocket in central California and is to be spent in southern California.

Please don't misunderstand. Since I'm fluent in Spanish and can manage most emergency situations in SoCal I do occasionally travel to the LA baisn to catch a show at the Comedy Club but that's only a couple times a year. I can hack the #1 lane on the freeway exchanges but I'd prefer that faster-better be in my back yard.

4 posted on 02/18/2006 4:28:14 PM PST by Amerigomag
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To: Amerigomag
I prefer the cheaper-better choice ...

And those should be the priorities. Faster should only be a primary consideration in the case of emergencies, IMO.

5 posted on 02/18/2006 5:00:56 PM PST by calcowgirl
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To: calcowgirl
Senate "Leader" Don (Pistol Packin) Perata is running an ad on KOVR TV in West Sacramento that seems to be kinda criticising the Bondinator's billious bizzarrness!

Have you had time to check out that Perata Plan website yet? I've taken care of that possum now... You want I should do it myself???

6 posted on 02/19/2006 9:54:06 AM PST by SierraWasp (Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know man!!! (or especially Waspman!!!))
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To: SierraWasp

I'm just starting to look at it now
http://www.plan4ourfuture.org/

I do remember reading this article and others about Perata's advertising (but I never looked at the site):

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/state/13847811.htm

Perata pushes his own infrastructure proposalBy Kevin Yamamura
SACRAMENTO BEE
Feb. 11, 2006

SACRAMENTO - Using images of an old clunker and Hurricane Katrina damage, state Senate Leader Don Perata is launching an unusual $275,000 television ad campaign to promote his infrastructure bond proposal in mostly Republican-leaning areas of the state.

Perata, a Democrat from Oakland, focuses on aspects of his $13 billion bond this year that would pay for freeway improvements and flood protection in the pair of ads.

(snip)

Perata plans to use $275,000 in campaign funds on his initial ad buy, which will begin in Sacramento and Chico and eventually move to the Inland Empire, Orange County and San Diego, said Perata consultant Bill Carrick. The Northern California ads will air on both broadcast and cable stations, while the Southern California ads will be directly targeted at conservative voters through cable television.

The latest campaign finance filing for Perata's "Rebuilding California" account shows he had $299,000 in cash as of Dec. 31. Perata intends to continue raising money to pay for more ads, Carrick said.

"The intent is to point people to the Web site and get them to look at the details of what Perata's plan would do and get them to contact their local legislators," said Paul Hefner, a consultant working on the ad campaign.

Given the ads' reach, the targeted legislators appear to be Republicans, who have expressed the biggest concerns because they believe a large bond package could overextend the state financially.

Any infrastructure bond would require a two-thirds approval from both houses of the Legislature, which requires support from Republicans.

The response from Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman? The more ads, the better.

"I would encourage him to spend a lot more," Ackerman said. "That's almost like putting an ad in Orange County saying, 'Call your legislators and tell them you want to raise taxes.' "

"I hope he pays for a lot of those ads. It would take money away from (legislative) campaigns. In fact, I may even call him up and suggest it to him."

To pay for the ads, Perata is using a ballot-measure campaign committee that is allowed to accept contributions in unlimited amounts. Individual contributions to a candidate's election account are limited.

The "Rebuilding California" campaign account has received contributions from engineering and construction firms that could benefit by a statewide infrastructure bond.


7 posted on 02/19/2006 1:21:30 PM PST by calcowgirl
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To: calcowgirl

Have you heard any of those "Rebuild California" commercials by the commedian Will Durst? They have been sponsored by the building trade unions for quite some time now!


8 posted on 02/19/2006 1:40:23 PM PST by SierraWasp (Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know man!!! (or especially Waspman!!!))
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To: SierraWasp

I haven't heard or seen any yet. I'm sure they'll intensify as the year moves forward.


9 posted on 02/19/2006 2:07:44 PM PST by calcowgirl
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