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Public Agencies No Longer Required to Contract with DIR Registered Contractors for Small Projects

Senate Bill (SB) 96, passed this June as part of the California state budget, contains provisions designed to encourage more contractors to participate on small public works projects.

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Appellate Court Orders Publication of Lease-Leaseback Decision, Making it Binding Precedent

On May 31, 2017, the First District Court of Appeal ordered publication of its decision in California Taxpayers Action Network v. Taber Construction, Inc. et al.(2017) 12 Cal.App.5th 115 (Taber), which upholds the validity of a lease-leaseback arrangement. This reversed the court's initial decision not to publish the case.

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Public Entities Must Proceed with Caution When Preparing an Addendum to a Negative Declaration

A California appellate court has held that a public entity violated the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by preparing an addendum to a mitigated negative declaration.

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Federal Court Upholds Texas School Board's Practice of Student Invocations at School Board Meetings

A federal appeals court recently upheld a Texas school district's practice of permitting students to deliver a religious invocation at the beginning of governing board meetings.

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Bond Insurers on Credit Watch

On June 6, 2017, S&P Global Ratings (S&P) placed two of the three active municipal bond insurers, Build America Mutual Assurance Company (BAM) and National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. (NPFGC), on credit watch with negative implications.

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Appeals Court Says Bidding Not Required for Lease-Leaseback Contract

Another California appellate court has ruled that a lease-leaseback (LLB) contract made without competitive bidding is legally enforceable.

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Governor Signs Bill Limiting Design Professionals' Duty to Indemnify Against Liability

The law regarding what obligations a design professional may assume to defend and indemnify a client against liability has been amended once again, and the resulting changes will affect the terms that can be included in design professionals' contracts.

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California Public Records Act Applies to Private Accounts

Emails, text messages and other written communications sent to or from a public official's private account may be subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act (CPRA), the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a highly anticipated decision published on March 2, 2017.

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Change in Law May Require Shift to Even-Year Elections

In September 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 415. SB 415, which becomes operative on January 1, 2018, prohibits political subdivisions from holding odd-year regular elections if a prior odd-year election resulted in a "significant decrease in voter turnout," as defined by statute.

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