PALMDALE – California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has launched a registration program for all contractors and subcontractors that work on public works projects.
As defined by the California labor code, public works are those endeavors utilizing public funds or other considerations at or above $1,000, and engaging construction, alteration, demolition, installation, or repair work done under contract. The registration requirement was authorized by Senate Bill 854 (SB 854) and signed into law on June 20, 2014.
The law requires all public works projects with bid due dates later than March 1, 2015, or awarded on or after April 1, 2015, to use only registered contractors and subcontractors.
Effectively, all contractors, and all subcontractors at any tier, who bid and work on any public works project must be registered by March 1, 2015. The State will be imposing significant penalties for those that are not in compliance.
Minimum qualifications for registration require that applicants (found at labor code section 1725.5):
- Have and maintain sufficient workers compensation coverage for all employees.
- Use only registered public works subcontractors.
- Have and maintain Contractors State License Board or other professional licenses, as applicable.
- Have no outstanding unpaid wage or penalty assessments owed to any employee or agency.
- Have no California debarments under labor code section 1777.1, no other state or federal debarments, and no recent (within the preceding 12 months) registration violations.
- Have no prior violation of registration requirements once the requirements become effective.
DIR’s online registration system
The DIR has established an online registration system, which allows contractors and subcontractors to register. The registration form is located on the DIR’s website.
The registration fee is $300, payable online and only by credit card, annually, with a fixed renewal date of July 1 of each year. The fee goes directly to DIR, via the State Public Works Enforcement Fund established by labor code section 1771.3, to fund its compliance monitoring activities. This replaces the previous Compliance Monitoring Unit and the application of a fee, assessed as a percentage, against public contract awards and paid by awarding bodies.
Contractors may visit the main DIR website for additional detailed information related to SB 854 and other public works requirements here: http://www.dir.ca.gov/Public-Works/PublicWorks.html.
Bidding for Palmdale public works projects
Bidding for public works jobs through the city of Palmdale may be done through the city’s new bidding system called “PlanetBids™” (PB), a fully automated web-based vendor and bid management system designed to make doing business with the city easier than ever before.
Some of the key features and benefits of PB System™ include:
- An online vendor registration process.
- Vendors can register and maintain their profiles at any time at no cost.
- Immediate access to bid opportunities.
- Automatic e-mail notifications for new bid opportunities based on commodity codes defined during vendor registration.
- 24/7 access and download capability to all solicitation documents (notices, addenda, plan holder lists, bid results, etc.).
- Secure electronic submittal of bid responses as well as traditional hard copy submittal.
Interested vendors who would like to do business with the city of Palmdale are encouraged to visit www.cityofpalmdale.org/purchasing, click on “Vendor Registration,” and complete the form.
“Once you’re registered, you may be utilizing the full benefits of the system and maintain your profile at any time,” stated Sr. Financial Analyst Keith Kang. “If you had previously been registered as a vendor with the city, you will need to re-register with this system to be able to receive bid notices.”
For more information, contact the Purchasing Department at 661-267-5447.
–