Department of General Services v. Superior Court

Petitioners herein are the Joint Rules Committee of the California Legislature and certain agencies in the executive branch of state government charged with responsibility for the reconstruction and restoration of the State Capitol. Real parties in interest are individuals, nonprofit organizations, and corporations for the most part connected with the construction industry. By their petitions for writ of mandamus or other appropriate relief, petitioners seek to have vacated an order of respondent superior court which granted real parties’ motion for summary judgment. The ensuing trial court judgment held that the competitive bidding provisions of the State Contract Act (Gov. Code, § 14250 et seq.) governed petitioners in the performance of the duties imposed upon them by Government Code section 9124, and permanently enjoined them from failing to comply with section 9124 as thus construed.

More specifically, the judgment provided in part: “The Court hereby issues its declaratory judgment declaring and determining that Section 9124 of the Government Code imposes a mandatory duty of [jic] the Joint Rules Committee of the California Legislature to cause the restoration and…