(a) The Legislature has recognized the merits of alternative project delivery methods in the past by authorizing their use for projects undertaken by school districts, the University of California, specified local government projects, state office buildings, and public transit projects.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide optional, alternative procedures for delivering the project and its components pursuant to this act. SANDAG may enter into an alternative project delivery method contract authorized in this section on a project or any project component, after comparison of the traditional design, bid, and build process of construction with the proposed alternative project delivery method in a public meeting, if the governing board makes written findings that use of an alternative project delivery method on the specific project or project component under consideration will accomplish at least one of the following objectives: reduce comparable project costs, expedite a project’s completion, or provide features not achievable through the traditional design-bid-build method.

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(c) SANDAG may utilize the following alternative project delivery methods if the conditions in this section are met:

(1) Design-build.

(2) Design sequencing.

(3) Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC).

(d) (1) If a contract for CMGC services is entered into pursuant to this chapter and includes preconstruction services by the construction manager, SANDAG shall enter into a written contract with the construction manager for the preconstruction services, under which SANDAG shall pay the construction manager a fee for preconstruction services in an amount agreed upon by SANDAG and the construction manager. The preconstruction services contract may include fees for services to be performed during the contract period, provided that SANDAG shall not request or obtain a fixed price or a guaranteed maximum price for the construction contract from the construction manager or enter into a construction contract with the construction manager until after SANDAG has entered into a services contract. A preconstruction services contract shall provide for the subsequent negotiation for construction of all or any discrete phase or phases of the project and shall provide for SANDAG to own the design plans and other preconstruction services work products.

(2) A contract for construction services may be awarded after the plans have been sufficiently developed and either a fixed price or a guaranteed maximum price has been successfully negotiated. In the event that a fixed price or a guaranteed maximum price is not successfully negotiated, SANDAG may award the contract for construction services utilizing any other procurement method authorized by law.

(3) The construction manager shall perform not less than 30 percent of the work covered by the fixed price or guaranteed maximum price agreement reached. Work that is not performed directly by the construction manager shall be bid to subcontractors pursuant to § 6955 of the Public Contract Code.

(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that alternative project delivery methods as authorized in this section shall not be construed to extend, limit, or change in any manner the legal responsibility of public agencies and contractors to comply with existing laws.

(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 163, Sec. 2. (AB 427) Effective September 8, 2023.)