(a) The Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) shall undertake a fact-based analysis of the length of time the Department of General Services and the community colleges take to perform their respective functions to complete community college construction and alteration projects. This information shall be compiled in a report made available to the Legislature and the Governor by March 1, 2009.

(b) Following the issuance of the report described in subdivision (a), the Department of General Services shall convene a working group advisory committee consisting of a representative from the Department of General Services, the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, the Associated General Contractors of California, and the Professional Engineers in California Government. The working group shall analyze the report and the current process to complete community college construction and alteration projects and develop recommendations for changes, if any, in the project development and review process to ensure the public safety of community college facilities through a collaborative, consistent, cost-effective, and timely project development and review process. The recommendations shall include proposed timeframe goals for the performance of each specific task performed by the Department of General Services and by private design professionals performing services for a community college district and an assessment of the staffing and other resource needs of the Department of General Services to perform its tasks related to the construction or alteration of community college facilities. The recommendations shall be submitted in writing to the Department of General Services, working group members, the Senate and Assembly Committees on Appropriations, the Senate Committee on Education, the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, and the education budget subcommittees of the Assembly and Senate by December 31, 2009.

(Added by Stats. 2008, Ch. 704, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2009.)