(a) As used in this section, “California company” means a sole proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, corporation, or other business entity that was a licensed California contractor on the date when bids for the public contract were opened and meets one of the following:

(1) Has its principal place of business in California.

(2) Has its principal place of business in a state in which there is no local contractor preference on construction contracts.

(3) Has its principal place of business in a state in which there is a local contractor construction preference and the contractor has paid not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) in sales or use taxes to California for construction related activity for each of the five years immediately preceding the submission of the bid.

(b) (1) When awarding contracts for construction, a state agency shall grant a California company a reciprocal preference as against a nonresident contractor from any state that gives or requires a preference to be given contractors from that state on its public entity construction contracts.

(2) The amount of the reciprocal preference shall be equal to the amount of the preference applied by the state of the nonresident contractor with the lowest responsive bid, except where the resident contractor is eligible for a California small business preference, in which case the preference applied shall be the greater of the two, but not both.

(3) If the contractor submitting the lowest responsive bid is not a California company and has its principal place of business in any state that gives or requires the giving of a preference on its public entity construction contracts to contractors from that state, and if a California company has also submitted a responsive bid, and, with the benefit of the reciprocal preference, the California company’s bid is equal to or less than the original lowest responsive bid, the public entity shall award the contract to the California company at its submitted bid price.

(c) (1) The bidder shall certify, under penalty of perjury, that the bidder qualifies as a California company.

(2) A nonresident contractor shall, at the time of bidding, disclose to the awarding agency any and all bid preferences provided to the nonresident contractor by the state or country in which the nonresident contractor has its principal place of business.

(d) The reciprocal preference is waived if the certification described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) does not appear on the bid.

(e) This section does not apply if application of this section might jeopardize the receipt of federal funds or the nonresident contractor certifies, under penalty of perjury, in its bid that its state of residency does not give a preference for contractors from that state on its public entity construction contracts.

(f) “Construction related activity” shall include, without limitation, any activity for which a California contractors’ license is required.

(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 279, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1997.)