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February 1, 2010
For More Information, Contact:
Melissa Figueroa (916) 651-4011
SACRAMENTO – State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) was recognized today with a 2009 distinguished leadership award by the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA). The organization recognized Simitian for his work in the legislature dating back to 2001, when he became one of the first legislators to pass design-build laws for public agencies, focusing on K-12 school districts.
“Given the challenges local districts face around the state in bringing additional school facilities on line, I understand how useful tools like this can be to provide an immediate impact,” said Simitian. “If we can help districts ‘spend smart’ as well as provide adequate resources we’ll be that much better off.”
Design-build is a construction project delivery system that allows the design and construction aspects of a project to be contracted with a single entity.
In 2002, Simitian’s Assembly Bill 1000 opened up the design-build model to a handful of community college districts in the state so they could use the design-build approach to construct new buildings. In 2007, Simitian’s Senate Bill 614 made that permanent to all community college districts and expanded the number of projects at K-12 schools.
Locally, Simitian’s legislation was key to successful building efforts in the San Mateo County Community College District. “Senator Simitian’s legislation allowed us to do more, and to do it faster and less expensively,” said Chancellor Ron Galatolo of the San Mateo County Community College district.
DBIA says since Simitian’s first efforts, the design-build authority has expanded to include cities, counties and many municipalities making California one of the most progressive States in their use of alternative delivery methods.
For more information about Senator Simitian’s DBIA efforts, visit http://www.senatorsimitian.com.