Golden State Boring etc. v. Astaldi Construction

FACTS

I.

STATUTORY BACKGROUND

A. Section 4100 et seq. “The Subletting and Subcontracting Fair Practices Act, sections 4100 et seq. (the [Subcontracting Practices] Act), establishes a detailed mandatory framework for competitive bids on public works contracts.” (Golden State Boring & Pipe Jacking, Inc. v. Orange County Water Dist. (2006) 143 Cal.App.4th 718, 721.) The Subcontracting Practices Act requires the general (or prime) contractor to list in its bid each subcontractor who performs work “in an amount in excess of one-half of 1 percent of the prime contractor’s total bid . . . .” (§ 4104, subd. (a)(1).) Section 4107, which is central to this appeal, prohibits the prime contractor from substituting “a person as subcontractor in place of the subcontractor listed in the original bid” unless the awarding authority consents and a statutory ground for substitution exists. (§ 4107, subd. (a).) The statute also describes a process through which substitutions may be made. (§ 4104, subd. (a)(1).) The requirements of the Subcontracting Practices Act stem from the Legislature’s finding that “the practices of bid shopping and bid peddling in connection with the construction,…