CONSULTING ENGINEERS AND LAND SURVEYORS OF CALIFORNIA, INC., v. PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS IN CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT
Filed 6/14/06
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT
(Sacramento)
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| CONSULTING ENGINEERS AND LAND SURVEYORS OF CALIFORNIA, INC., et al., Plaintiffs and Respondents, v. PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS IN CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT, Defendant and Appellant. |
C048282
(Super. Ct. No. 03CS01654)
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APPEAL from an order and judgment of the Superior Court of Sacramento County, Raymond M. Cadei, Judge. Affirmed.
Law Offices of Kelley Stimpel Martinez, Kelley Stimpel Martinez; Law Offices of James E. McGlamery and James E. McGlamery for Defendant and Appellant.
Stoel Rives and James P. Corn for Plaintiffs and Respondents.
Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, Louis R. Mauro, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Christopher E. Krueger, Vickie P. Whitney and Leslie R. Lopez, Deputy Attorneys General, for the Department of Transportation as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiffs and Respondents.
This dispute is another round in a long-standing battle by state employees to prevent the State of California from contracting out to private companies the performance of state services. Armed with the Civil Service Act, article VII of California's Constitution (article VII), state employees have usually prevailed in the courts because article VII has been interpreted to forbid, in most circumstances, private companies from contracting with the state to perform services that can be accomplished by state employees.
The battlefield changed in November 2000, when California's voters approved Proposition 35, adding article XXII to our Constitution (article XXII) to allow the state to contract with private entities to obtain architectural and engineering services for public works of improvement. Proposition 35 specified that article VII shall not be construed to limit the state from contracting with private companies for such services.
The state and Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG), a union representing engineers employed by the state, then entered into a collective bargaining agreement, known as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Among other things, it provides that, except in extremely unusual or urgent circumstances, the state must make every effort to use state employees to perform architectural and engineering services for public works projects, before resorting to contracts with private companies. In order to â€
