LA City Council to consider ordinance that would favor local firms

Local businesses would be given preferential treatment when bidding for contracts with the city of Los Angeles under a proposed ordinance to be considered tomorrow by the LA City Council.

When Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled the so-called "Local Preference Ordinance" at a news conference in September, he estimated it would create about 10,000 jobs.

The ordinance would favor local businesses by sweetening their bids by 8 percent over those of outsiders. For example, when the city is deciding to award a contract to the lowest bidder, it would deem a local firm's $1 million bid to be $920,000.

Also, when the city is soliciting bids, local businesses' proposals would be awarded extra points. For example, if a local business scored 100 points in the evaluation, the city would deem it to have scored 108 points.

To receive the "local preference," a business would have to lease or own a building in Los Angeles County, and at least half of its full-time employees would have to work in the county at least 60 percent of the time. The company would also have to maintain a business tax registration certificate for the prior six months.