Supervisor Carmen Chu introduced legislation today at the Board of Supervisors designed to make it easier for local, small businesses to do work with the City.

“We are constantly looking for ways to remove the bureaucratic hurdles to contracting with the City, and this is especially important during this difficult economic climate,” said Supervisor Chu. “When we provide more opportunities for participation, we help increase employment and expand the number of local hires.”

Last year, Supervisor Chu also introduced legislation, which was passed unanimously in July 2008 by the Board of Supervisors, to streamline the contracting and payment process for businesses contracting with the City.

The legislation introduced today was developed over several months in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office, President David Chiu, advocates from the contracting community and city departments including the Human Rights Commission. Supervisor Chu’s legislation will next be heard in committee, along with an ordinance that President Chiu had previously introduced that also addresses Micro LBE participation.

Some of the changes addressed by the legislation include:

· Enabling faster execution of small projects while enhancing opportunities for Micro Local Business Enterprise (LBE ) firms to do work. The legislation increases the threshold amount for competitively bid construction contracts to $400,000 and also increases the minimum competitive amount for procurement of professional services for public work projects to $100,000. Currently, a formal competitive process is required for construction contracts in excess of $100,000
(now $114,000) and for professional contracts in excess of $25,000 – including Human Rights Commission goal-setting and good-faith effort demonstration. Very few contracts are smaller than these thresholds as currently defined, and the extremely intensive processes required are often difficult for smaller firms to navigate.
· Allowing for early release of retention to subcontractors certified by the Human Rights Commission as LBEs or subcontractors on multi-year construction projects. The legislation adds a section on the release of retention – to be granted in whole or in part by the department head if a contractor provides appropriate certifications, spelled out in the ordinance.
· Expanding opportunities for Micro LBEs to participate in city construction work. The legislation increases the maximum contract amount to $5M and maximum contract time to five years for Job Order Contracts. Currently, Job Order Contracts are limited to $3M.
· Increasing opportunities for Micro LBE firms on very small contracts. Currently, performance and payment bonds are required for all contracts. The legislation would require performance and payment bonds only for contracts larger than $25,000 – in conformance with state law.