Section 17250.35.

(a) The minimum performance criteria and design standards established pursuant to this chapter by a school district for quality, durability, longevity, and life-cycle costs, and other criteria deemed appropriate by the school district shall be adhered to by the design-build entity. Any deviations from those standards may only be allowed by written consent of the school district. The governing board may, and is strongly encouraged to, retain the services of an architect or structural engineer throughout the course of the project in order to ensure compliance with this chapter. Any architect or structural engineer retained pursuant to this subdivision shall be duly licensed and registered in California.

(b) The school district governing board shall be the employer of the project inspector. The project inspector shall be fully independent from any member of the design-build entity and shall not have an affiliation with any member of the design-build entity or any of the project subcontractors. The project inspector shall act under the direction of either the Director of General Services or a competent, qualified agent of the school district.

(c) The total price of the project shall be determined either upon receipt of the lump-sum bids as set forth in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17250.25, or by completion of the process pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 17250.25.

(d) (1) Each contract with a design-build entity shall provide that no construction or alteration of any school building pursuant to this section shall commence prior to the receipt of the written approval of the plans, as to the safety of design and construction, from the Department of General Services.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "plans" includes, but is not limited to, plans for foundations or other building systems based on design criteria provided by the architect or structural engineer of the design-build entity to the Department of General Services prior to the receipt of completed building plans. For purposes of this paragraph, "other building systems" are building systems determined by the Division of the State Architect.

(3) Compliance with paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be in compliance with Sections 17267 and 17297.

(e) The design-build entity shall be liable for building the facility to specifications set forth in the design-build contract in the absence of contractual language to the contrary.

(Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 471, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2008. Repealed as of January 1, 2020, pursuant to Stats. 2012, Ch. 736, Sec. 5.)