The California State Assembly held an over two-hour Hearing on the Roofing Scam in State and School Buildings, June 30th, 2010 at 9 am in the California State Capitol Building.
It took 13 years to get it done - and only got done because of the wonderful Assemblyman Hector de la Torres from South Gate, CA (LA area). Google his name....you won't believe what he did there to overturn corruption!
So here is one of the news stories on the hearings: http://cbs13.com/onthemoney/On.The.Money.2.1781953.html
And you can see the hearing here: https://www.calchannel.com/channel/viewVideo/1571
The Legal Counsel for the State Auditor at the very beginning describes what they found in my case - and protesting Assemblymen defending the School Districts earlier in the hearing were then demanding to know why these people doing such were not in jail.....
Then Firestone, GAF, Carlisle-Syntec and Malarkey Roofing spoke - specifically about the technical aspects of how the "Lock-Specs" are done, to the tune of 50-100% overruns above the lowest responsible bidders.
At that point, California roofing contractors from a number of areas came forward and spoke about recent projects - and that about "70-80% of the jobs are closed specs." Independent Roofing Reps and Roof Consultants in California attested to the same.... Many came forward in the two-month exercise to do so after my initial contact with the Committee.
We can't thank you enough! More to come!!!!
FYI: I was able to download off a database and give the Committee at the end of May over 800 or more ongoing at that moment state and school district buildings with these "Lock-Specs". Many more federal jobs were seen and compiled.
That did not include all the "Annualized Purchase Orders" such as the $200,000 per year Kern High School District's over 6-year annualized purchasing order scheme to Garland Roofing, with Commercial Roofing System Contractors doing all the work...the subsidiary arm to Garland.
Kern High School District is the largest high school district in California, with 18 high schools, out of the Bakersfield, California area.
Further, we hear another manufacturer has locked in a $500,000 roofing purchase order in a much smaller school district in Burlingame, California - right at the San Francisco International Airport area.
The issues involved in California include:
1. Persons who are not licensed design professionals can be doing these bid specs in California by law - any local jurisdiction may overturn the licensing laws to do so. Licensing Laws mean nothing.
2. No teeth to or enforcement of Public Contract Codes.
3. Lack of information in the public view.
etc.
And yes, it was this blogger/architect that found the State Assemblyman and his Committee...late at night, while working....I noticed that a former Chairman of the San Francisco GOP, which I am on, was testifying as to his late night removal before the next day State Authority Board meeting in which the new persons on the board were going to sell off state buildings....
At the end of that hearing, Hector de la Torres - who had stood up to huge corruption in his hometown of South Gate, CA. - demanded that a state agency employee come back and explain "why some of these operations and maintenance budgets are so high on some of these state buildings!" and I said to myself, "Bingo!" Boy was it ever a "Bingo!" - this is a new Committee for the state - and a first for the exposure of such in the state! Many thanks to so many that came forward to help....and to the Committee Staff......there is a lot more to come.....
Updates:
1. The Committee has not been able to get more done than one law - and that one affected the least involved in kickbacks - architects. School Board Members, School Business and Facilities Administrators and personnel known to be involved in taking kickbacks for contracts forced in specs on designers were exempted from the law.
2. The gentleman I saw in that hearing at the end of April, 2010 and former San Francisco GOP Chairman? He was run over by a white pickup truck that has never been found, in northern Sonoma County, after attending a Bohemian Club meeting summer of 2011. He had successfully fought off the sale of State Buildings to private persons, to save the state many millions in costs later.
