Tackling State Design-Build Legislation: California’s PDB Bill as a Starting Point

Design-Build Delivers

Jan 22 2024 • 30 mins

When DBIA was first established 30 years ago, only three states allow the use of design-build for public projects, so advocating for design-build authority became vital to DBIA's mission.

In 2023, more than 78% of design-build related bills at the state level were passed, up from 25% in 2022. Among the 160 design-build related bills introduced in 2023, there were a record number of progressive design-build or PDB bills, including SB 706, in California, which was led by DBIA’s Western Pacific region.

In this episode of the Design-Build Delivers Podcast, brought to you by USCAD, we talked to a few of the people who made that bill happen, expanding PDB authority to all agencies in California. We take what they learned and we discuss ways to scale it and apply those lessons along with DBIA resources like our updated State Statute Report and our upcoming Model Legislation to guide other states to successfully pass bills to advance design-build authority.

Stay tuned for more from this episode with Design-Build Delivers Minisodes, longer conversations with our guests. Coming soon!

Guest(s), in order of appearance:

Brandon Dekker, M.S., DBIA
Principal, San Diego and Irvine Office Practice Leader
Cannon Design

Christopher Sullivan
Preconstruction Project Manager
Sundt Construction

Marianne O'Brien, FAIA, LEED AP, DBIA
Principal, Architect
SmithGroup

Beau Biller
Lobbyist
Platinum Advisors

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