Opinion No. (2006)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General DANIEL G. STONE Deputy Attorney General THE STATE ALLOCATION BOARD has requested an opinion on the following question: May a school district, without advertising for bids, contract with another public agency to acquire factory-built modular building components for installation on a permanent foundation? CONCLUSION A school district may not, without advertising for bids, contract with another public agency to acquire factory-built modular building components for installation on a permanent foundation. ANALYSIS Under the Local Agency Public Construction Act (Pub. Contract Code, §§ 20100-20920), 1 counties, cities, school districts, and other local public agencies may enter into contracts with private parties for the construction of local projects. A central requirement of this statutory scheme is that, once the local agency has provided contract specifications for a given project, the contract must be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. The question presented for resolution is whether a school district may avoid advertising for bids by contracting with another public agency to acquire factory-built modular building components for…