Marin County Municipal Code Ch. 3.10 Preference in Contracts and Purchases

The board of supervisors finds:

(a) It promotes the public interest to encourage the development and maintenance of local businesses in Marin County to insure a viable and balanced economy, provide local jobs for residents of the county, reduce commuter traffic, promote the development of the county's tax base, stimulate sales tax receipts, and enhance the number of and type of services available in Marin County for the benefit of its residents.

(b) These goals and objectives will be promoted by the provision of appropriate preferences to local businesses which contract with, and sell services and supplies to the county.

(c) It promotes the public interest to encourage recycling which can reduce the volume of material entering the waste stream and extend landfill expectancy. The amount of material consigned to Marin's landfills has been increasing annually and sanitary landfill space is at a premium. County participation in and encouragement of recycling programs can reduce the volume of material entering the waste stream.

(d) Marin's recycling goals and objectives will be promoted by providing appropriate preferences to businesses who use recycled materials in their products.

(e) Allowance of a preference to achieve legitimate and desirable public purposes is well recognized in state law, including, but not limited to, Government Code Sections 4334 and 4530, et seq. and Public Resources Code 41374.

(Ord. 3034 § 2 (part), 1990: Ord. 2993 § 1 (part), 1989)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(a) Local Business. "Local business" means any business which:

(1) Has its principal place of business in Marin; or

(2) Has a business license issued in Marin County for a period of six months prior to any claim of preference; or

(3) Maintains an office or other facility in Marin in which not less than five persons are employed substantially full time.

(b) Preference. "Preference" is the amount, expressed in terms of a percentage, by which a bid may exceed the next lower bid.

(c) Recycled Product. "Recycled product" includes all materials, goods and supplies for which no less than fifty percent of the total weight consists of secondary and post-consumer waste and not less than ten percent of its total weight consisting of post-consumer waste. A recycled product shall include any product which could have been disposed of as solid waste, after completion of its life cycle as a consumer item, but which otherwise is refurbished for reuse without substantial alteration of its form.

(d) Recycled or Recycling. "Recycled" or "recycling" means the process of collecting, sorting, cleansing, treating and reconstituting materials that would otherwise become solid waste and returning them to the economic mainstream in the form of raw materials for new, reused or reconstituted products which meet the quality standards necessary to be used in the market place.

(Ord. 3034 § 2 (part), 1990: Ord. 2993 § 1 (part), 1989)

(a) Whenever the county acquires services and/or supplies by purchase or contract, the director of purchasing, in evaluating the price or bid, shall award a five percent preference on the price submitted by a local business.

(b) Whenever the county acquires supplies by purchase or contract, the director of purchasing, in evaluating the price or bid of recycled products shall award a fifteen percent preference on the price submitted on recycled products.

(c) In no case shall the total of all preferences for which a bid is eligible exceed fifteen percent.

(d) This section shall not apply to transactions in which the allowance of this preference is otherwise prohibited by state or federal statutes or regulations.

(Ord. 3034 § 2 (part), 1990: Ord. 2993 § 1 (part), 1989)

Any business which falsely claims a preference pursuant to this chapter, shall be ineligible to bid on county purchases or contracts for a period of one year from the date of discovery of the false certification.

(Ord. 3034 § 2 (part), 1990: Ord. 2993 § 1 (part), 1989)