AB 2033 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Local Agency Public Construction Act: job order contracting: cities.

Summary

Existing law, the Local Agency Public Construction Act, sets forth procedures that a local agency is required to follow when procuring certain services or work. Existing law authorizes certain local agencies to engage in job order contracting, as prescribed. This bill would establish a pilot program to authorize a city to use job order contracting as a procurement method. The bill would impose a $3,000,000 cap on awards under a single job order contract and a $750,000 cap on any single job order. The bill would limit the term of an initial contract to a maximum of 12 months, with extensions as prescribed. The bill would establish various additional procedures and requirements for the use of job order contracting under this authorization. The bill would require the city, on or before January 1, 2030, to submit to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature a report on the use of job order contracting under the bill. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2032.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Jul 2026

Assembly Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 17, 2026 Last action Jul 1, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

04/20/26 - Amended Assembly → 05/04/26 - Amended Assembly · 12 edits · May 4, 2026

MAJOR

AB 2033 was substantially restructured from a simple authorization for cities to award job order contracts capped at $500,000 into a comprehensive pilot program with higher dollar caps, detailed procurement procedures, new enforcement mechanisms, and a sunset date of January 1, 2032. The pilot program raises the per-contract cap to $3,000,000 (with up to $6,000,000 over extensions) and sets a $750,000 limit on individual job orders, while adding requirements for sealed bidding, unit price catalogs, prevailing wage compliance on all work, fraud prevention checks, and labor enforcement remedies. The original $500,000-cap framework appears to be retained alongside the new pilot provisions.

SCOPE

The bill is now framed as a pilot program that sunsets and is repealed on January 1, 2032 (new Section 20176.12). The previous version had no expiration date.

FISCAL

Dollar caps were significantly increased: the new framework allows up to $3,000,000 per single job order contract in the initial term and up to $6,000,000 over two extension terms, with a $750,000 cap on any single job order. The old version capped each annual contract at $500,000.

REQUIREMENT

New Section 20176.2(b) limits the initial contract term to 12 months with a maximum of two subsequent annual extension terms.

New Section 20176.1 establishes detailed solicitation procedures including preparation of unit price catalogs, prohibition on consultants who helped develop solicitation documents from bidding, ability to award multiple contracts from one solicitation, and requirement for a preestablished bid evaluation system.

New Section 20176.1(b) requires sealed bids with adjustment factors to established unit prices and requires bidders to identify subcontractors they intend to use.

New Section 20176.6 requires prevailing wages to apply to ALL work under job order contracts regardless of the dollar thresholds in Labor Code Section 1771.5, and requires the city to designate a monitor to inspect job sites for labor compliance violations.

New Section 20176.2(c) prohibits splitting or separating work into smaller job orders to evade the cost limits in the article.

New Section 20176.3(b)(4) requires any city official who has been delegated authority to report actions taken to the city council during a regular meeting at least once every 90 days.

ENFORCEMENT

New Section 20176.5 adds enforcement provisions for violations of the Unfair Competition chapter, including bid shopping. The city may terminate the contract, declare a contractor ineligible for future contracts, or withdraw authorization for awarded work after an administrative due process review.

New Section 20176.7 requires the city to compare contractor estimates against unit prices before issuing any job order as a fraud prevention measure, and allows the city to decline to issue the job order if the estimate is inconsistent with established unit prices.

TIMELINE

The legislative report deadline was moved up from January 1, 2031 to January 1, 2030 (Section 20176.11).

DEFINITION

New Section 20176.5(b) requires job order contractors who use subcontractors to verify that the subcontractor possesses and maintains appropriate licenses and credentials.

05/04/26 - Amended Assembly → 05/22/26 - Amended Assembly · 8 edits · May 22, 2026

MODERATE

AB 2033 was substantially restructured to create a comprehensive job order contracting framework for cities, replacing a simpler single-section authorization with a multi-section article containing detailed procurement procedures, higher dollar limits, expanded labor protections, and new enforcement mechanisms. The most significant policy change is the increase in contract value limits from $500,000 per contract to $3 million per initial term (up to $6 million over three years), along with a $750,000 cap on individual job orders.

SCOPE

Contract value limits increased substantially: the old bill capped each annual job order contract at $500,000. The new bill allows up to $3 million per contract in the initial 12-month term, with two renewals for a total maximum of $6 million over three years. Individual job orders are capped at $750,000.

REQUIREMENT

Employee protection provision expanded from a general prohibition on using contracts to lay off or transfer permanent employees to three specific prohibitions: (1) laying off, reducing hours of, or transferring permanent employees; (2) performing work that is the subject of an active written work order already assigned to city employees; and (3) substituting for a position that is currently funded in the adopted budget and occupied by a permanent employee.

New detailed solicitation and award procedures added, including requirements for unit price catalogs, conflict-of-interest rules barring consultants who helped prepare solicitation documents from bidding, sealed bid submission, adjustment factors to unit prices, subcontractor identification, and preestablished evaluation criteria.

New prevailing wage monitor provision: the city must designate one individual to inspect job sites for labor compliance violations at the request of the designated labor representative in a project labor agreement.

New anti-splitting provision: work shall not be split or separated into smaller job orders to evade the cost limits in the article.

ENFORCEMENT

New fraud prevention requirement: the city must compare each contractor's estimate against established unit prices before issuing a job order and may decline to issue the order if the estimate is inconsistent. New enforcement remedies for labor violations (including bid shopping): termination, ineligibility for future contracts, or withdrawal of authorization.

TIMELINE

Legislative reporting deadline moved earlier from January 1, 2031 to January 1, 2030. Sunset date remains January 1, 2032.

TECHNICAL

The bill was restructured from a two-section format (Section 20176 with subsections, plus Sections 20176.1 and 20176.2) into a twelve-section article (Sections 20176 through 20176.12) with more granular organization of topics.

02/17/26 - Introduced → 04/20/26 - Amended Assembly · 6 edits · Apr 20, 2026

MODERATE

The amendment significantly expands AB 2033 by adding delegation of authority to city officials, a skilled workforce requirement tied to apprenticeship programs, employee protections against job loss, a legislative reporting deadline of January 1, 2031, and an exemption for cities using alternative public project procedures. These additions make the bill more operationally detailed and add accountability mechanisms not present in the introduced version.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from a simple authorization for cities to award annual job order contracts under $500,000 to a more comprehensive framework that includes delegation of authority to city officials with dollar thresholds, workforce requirements tied to apprenticeship programs, employee protections, a legislative reporting obligation, and an exemption for cities using alternative public project procedures.

REQUIREMENT

New subdivision (b) allows the city council to authorize, by ordinance, the city manager, public works director, or other official to award individual job orders up to $150,000 and make changes to previously authorized job orders up to 10 percent of the original amount or $150,000 (whichever is less), with aggregate changes capped at 25 percent of the original job order. The ordinance must include detailed procedures governing the official's exercise of authority.

New subdivision (e) requires any entity awarded an annual job order contract to provide an enforceable commitment that it and its subcontractors at every tier will use a skilled and trained workforce for work in apprenticeable occupations in building and construction trades, per Chapter 2.9 of Part 1. An exception applies if the contract is subject to a project labor agreement binding all contractors to the same standard.

New subdivision (d) prohibits using an annual job order contract to lay off, reduce the hours of, or involuntarily transfer any permanent city employee.

ELIGIBILITY

New Section 20176.2 authorizes a city that has elected to be subject to alternative public project procedures under Article 3 (commencing with Section 22030) to award job order contracts under this article, removing what would otherwise be a conflict between the two procurement frameworks.

TIMELINE

New Section 20176.1 requires the city to submit a report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on or before January 1, 2031, describing its bid evaluation system, each job order contract awarded and the contractor, and an assessment of the use of job order contracting.

TECHNICAL

New subdivision (c) clarifies that the section does not remove the city's requirement to follow applicable Public Contract Code provisions regarding advertising of public works projects and award of public works contracts.

Floor votes · Assembly May 27, 2026

How they voted

68–1

Passed · 10 other

Total votes 79

May 27, 2026

D Democratic59

56 Yea 3

94% Yea

R Republican20

12 Yea 1 Nay 7

60% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jul 1, 2026

Upper · Passed

In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

upper

Jun 10, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on L. GOV.

upper

May 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 69. Noes 1.)

lower

May 22, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time and amended. Ordered to third reading. (Page 5272.)

lower

May 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.

lower

Apr 30, 2026

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (April 29).

lower

Apr 21, 2026

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

lower

Apr 20, 2026

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. Read second time and amended.

lower

Mar 2, 2026

Committee

Referred to Com. on L. GOV.

lower

Feb 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors