(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following:

(1) There is a compelling public interest in ensuring that all federal, state, local, and private funds available for the state highway program are captured and used in a timely manner.

(2) In order to maximize the use of federal, state, local, and private funds and to maintain a competitive posture in seeking supplemental federal funds, California must have a highway construction plan in place.

(3) Changes in federal, state, and local revenues and the growing private participation in state highway construction can result in significant fluctuations in workload relating to project study reports, project development, surveying, and construction inspection. To maintain a more stable workforce in the department and avoid the costly process of short-time hiring and layoff while still responding in a timely manner to funding opportunities and uncertainties, additional flexibility through outside contracting and cooperative agreements with local public agencies is needed to supplement the department’s program staff.

(b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that the department contract for the services of engineers, architects, surveyors, planners, environmental specialists, and materials testing specialists, in order to provide professional and technical project development services to the department whenever the department is inadequately staffed to satisfactorily carry out its program of project study reports, project development, surveying, and construction inspection in a timely and effective manner. It is the further intent of the Legislature to permit, through cooperative agreements with the department, local public agencies to undertake that program of activities on state highway projects for which they are a funding source.

(c) This section shall become operative on January 1, 1998.

(Repealed (in Sec. 2) and added by Stats. 1993, Ch. 433, Sec. 3. Effective September 24, 1993. Section operative January 1, 1998, by its own provisions.)