Proposition Summary

STATE-FUNDED DESIGN AND ENGINEERING SERVICES. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Prohibits contracting where performance of work by civil service employees is less costly unless urgent need for contract. Prohibits contracts which Controller or awarding agency determines are against public interest, health, safety or where quality of work would be lower than civil service work. Contractors must indemnify state in suits related to performance of contracts. Requires defined competitive bidding of state-funded design and engineering contracts over $50,000, unless delay from bidding would endanger public health or safety. Provisions severable and should be harmonized with similar measures on subject. Summary of Legislative Analyst's Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact: Unknown impact on state and local government costs to obtain construction-related services. Impact would depend largely on factors included in the cost comparison analyses required by the proposition. Administrative costs to the State Controller--one-time costs of probably less than $500,000 and annual costs of up to $2 million.

Proposition Number

224

Year

1998

Document Type

Proposition

Pass/Fail

Fail

Popular Vote Results

Y: 2066925; A: 38.1; N: 3351322; B: 61.9

Election Type

Primary

Proposition Type

Initiative Constitutional Amendment

For Author

DON BROWN, President, California Organization of Police & Sheriffs, COPS; BEN HUDNALL, Business Manager, Engineers & Scientists of California; WOODY ALLSHOUSE, President, CDF Firefighters

Against Author

LARRY MCCARTHY, President, California Taxpayers' Association; LORING A. WYLLIE, JR., Past President, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute; RON BATES, President, League of California Cities

Rebuttal Author

Rebuttal to Argument in Favor of Proposition 224 -- deception: n. the practice of deceiving or misleading -- The STATE BUREAUCRATS BEHIND PROPOSITION 224 and their political cronies are trying to deceive you. -- Ask yourself: Would a state bureaucrats group (mostly Caltrans employees) really spend millions of dollars on a ballot measure to protect YOUR interests? Not likely. -- --Will Proposition 224 save taxpayers money? No. Proposition 24 SHIFTS PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS TO the PUBLIC PAYROLL. BIGGER GOVERNMENT. HIGHER TAXES. That's why the CALIFORNIA TAXPAYERS' ASSOCIATION and other MAJOR TAXPAYER GROUPS OPPOSE IT. -- --Will it make bidding more competitive? No. Talk about the ULTIMATE DECEPTION! DISGUISED as "competitive bidding," Proposition 224 RIGS the SYSTEM to PROTECT STATE BUREAUCRATS AGAINST COMPETITION from the private sector by virtually PROHIBITING STATE and LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FROM CONTRACTING OUT design, engineering and environmental work; PROFESSOR PAUL FRATESSA, Former Chair, Seismic Safety Commission; ALLAN ZAREMBERG, President, California Chamber of Commerce; JANE ARMSTRONG, State Chairman, Alliance of California Taxpayers and Involved Voters

Rebuttal Against Author

ARTHUR P. DUFFY, Chairman, Taxpayers for Competitive Bidding; LOIS WELLINGTON, President, Congress of California Seniors; EDMUNDO LOPEZ, President, Hispanic Contractors Association

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