Court Opinion

ID: 9568590
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:05:27.896893+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:46:19.069721
License: Public Domain

BAXTER, J., Dissenting.
The majority find chapter 433 of Statutes 1993 (Chapter 433) violative of the state Constitution’s civil service provision (Cal. Const., art. VII, § 1), as interpreted by State Compensation Ins. Fund v. Riley (1937) 9 Cal.2d 126 [69 P.2d 985, 111 A.L.R. 1503] and subsequent decisions. In the majority’s view, the legislative determinations supporting the 1993 enactment of Chapter 433 are insufficient to supplant court findings incorporated in a 1990 judgment which were never challenged on appeal. (Maj. opn., ante, at pp. 572-574.)
I respectfully dissent. In my judgment the majority, although purporting to follow settled rules, in fact apply a totally unprecedented standard for invalidating Chapter 433 without offering any justification or rationale for rejecting a century of decisional law in California. In so doing, the majority overstep the clearly marked boundaries delimiting the judicial function and radically alter the balance of power between the coordinate branches of government.
When properly viewed, Chapter 433 represents a constitutionally valid effort by the Legislature to encourage private contracting in furtherance of the objectives of efficiency and economy in state government. In holding otherwise, the majority inappropriately substitute their judgment for that of the Legislature and improperly limit the Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans’s) opportunities to take advantage of private sector efficiencies.
I.
Before today the rules mandating judicial deference to legislative enactments were firmly established. As Justice Ardaiz elaborates in his dissent, decisions dating back to the turn of the century require the courts to always presume that the Legislature acts with integrity and with an honest purpose to keep within constitutional restrictions and limitations. (Beach v. Von Detten (1903) 139 Cal. 462, 464-465 [73 P. 187]; cf. Miller v. Municipal Court (1943) 22 Cal.2d 818, 828 [142 P.2d 297].) “[U]nder the doctrine of separation of powers neither the trial nor appellate courts are authorized to ‘review’ legislative determinations.” (Lockard v. City of Los Angeles (1949) 33 Cal.2d 453, 461-462 [202 P.2d 38, 7 A.L.R.2d 990].) Thus, the Legislature’s determination of the facts warranting its action “ ‘must not be set aside *576or disregarded by the courts, unless the legislative decision is clearly and palpably wrong and the error appears beyond reasonable doubt from facts or evidence which cannot be controverted, and of which the courts may properly take notice.’ ’1 (Lockard v. City of Los Angeles, supra, 33 Cal.2d at p. 461, quoting Matter of Application of Miller (1912) 162 Cal. 687, 696 [124 P. 427]; Barenfeld v. City of Los Angeles (1984) 162 Cal.App.3d 1035, 1040 [209 Cal.Rptr. 8].) In other words, legislative determinations are not to be judicially nullified unless they are manifestly unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious. (Amezcua v. City of Pomona (1985) 170 Cal.App.3d 305, 309310 [216 Cal.Rptr. 37]; Barenfeld v. City of Los Angeles, supra, 162 Cal.App.3d at p. 1040; cf. Voters for Responsible Retirement v. Board of Supervisors (1994) 8 Cal.4th 765, 780 [35 Cal.Rptr.2d 814, 884 P.2d 645] [statutes must be upheld “ ‘ “unless their unconstitutionality clearly, positively, and unmistakably appears” ’ ”]; County of Sonoma v. State Energy Resources Conservation etc. Com. (1985) 40 Cal.3d 361, 368 [220 Cal.Rptr. 114, 708 P.2d 693] [legislation must be upheld unless conflict with constitutional provision is “clear and unquestionable”].) Judges may not substitute their judgment for that of the Legislature if there is any reasonable justification for the latter’s action. (Lockard v. City of Los Angeles, supra, 33 Cal.2d at p. 461; Barenfeld v. City of Los Angeles, supra, 162 Cal.App.3d at p. 1040.) This means that if reasonable minds may differ as to the reasonableness of a legislative enactment (Consolidated Rock Products Co. v. City of Los Angeles (1962) 57 Cal.2d 515, 522 [20 Cal.Rptr. 638, 370 P.2d 342], citing Miller v. Board of Public Works (1925) 195 Cal. 477, 490; Matter of Application of Miller, supra, 162 Cal. at p. 696), or if the reasonableness of the enactment is fairly debatable (Lockard v. City of Los Angeles, supra, 33 Cal.2d at p. 462), the enactment must be upheld.
In 1981, this court made quite plain that the foregoing presumptions and rules of deference apply when legislation is challenged as being in conflict with article VII of the California Constitution (article VII). (Pacific Legal Foundation v. Brown (1981) 29 Cal.3d 168, 180-181 [172 Cal.Rptr. 487, 624 P.2d 1215] [holding that the State Employer-Employee Relations Act did not conflict with article VII or the merit system mandate].) As we recognized back then, the party challenging the legislation bears a “heavy burden” in demonstrating that its provisions “inevitably pose a present total and fatal conflict with applicable constitutional prohibitions.” (29 Cal.3d at pp. 180-181; see also California State Employees’ Assn. v. State of California (1988) 199 Cal.App.3d 840, 846 [245 Cal.Rptr. 232] (CSEA) [rejecting facial *577challenge to constitutionality of legislation authorizing state to contract with private sector for personal services].)
Instead of adhering to the familiar rules above, the majority regard Chapter 433 with hostility and see it as a sinister attempt by the Legislature to undermine the constitutional civil service provision and to circumvent the trial court injunction. While acknowledging that “courts must give legislative findings great weight and should uphold them unless unreasonable or arbitrary” (maj. opn., ante, at p. 569), the majority nonetheless decide that the ordinary deference courts owe to legislative action “vanishes” when “constitutionally protected rights” are threatened and that courts are not foreclosed from exercising “independent judgment of the facts” bearing on an issue of constitutional law {ibid.). Collectively exercising their “independent judgment of the facts,” the majority ultimately determine there is no “substantial” evidence to support the Legislature’s enactment of Chapter 433. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 569.)
In disregarding the Legislature’s determinations, the majority rely on authorities evaluating First Amendment challenges to legislation.2 (E.g., Spiritual Psychic Science Church v. City of Azusa (1985) 39 Cal.3d 501, 514 [217 Cal.Rptr. 225, 703 P.2d 1119] [finding unconstitutional an ordinance prohibiting fortune telling]; Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. FCC (1994) 512 U.S. 622, 666 [114 S.Ct. 2445, 2471, 129 L.Ed.2d 497] [overturning summary judgment in favor of government in case challenging “must-carry” provisions of Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992].) Because such cases rest upon the fundamental ideal that “each person should decide for him [sic] or herself the ideas and beliefs deserving of expression, consideration, and adherence” (Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. FCC, supra, 512 U.S. at p. 641 [114 S.Ct. at p. 2458]), courts have determined that “ ‘[t]he rational connection between the remedy provided and the evil to be curbed, which in other contexts might support legislation against attack . . . , will not suffice.’ ” (Spiritual Psychic Science Church v. City of Azusa, supra, 39 Cal.3d at p. 514, italics added, and cases cited therein.) But never before has that approach been invoked to invalidate legislation resembling Chapter 433. One would expect the majority to justify the extreme and unprecedented action undertaken in this case with sound *578legal analysis. The majority, however, offer no justification or analysis. None whatsoever.3
In my opinion, the majority’s independent-judgment-of-the-facts approach shows a stunning lack of respect not only for controlling case law, but especially for legislative prerogative and the separation of powers. Like Justice Ardaiz, I believe the majority opinion will have far-reaching and pernicious effects, prompting individual judges to invalidate legislation whenever they decide that the legislative determinations, though concerning matters that are fairly debatable, are not supported by what they perceive as substantial evidence.
I find particularly disturbing the majority’s conclusion that the constitutional validity of legislative enactments and amendments depends upon whether the Legislature is able to empirically disprove contrary trial court findings of fact. Such a rule contradicts the commonly accepted view, expressed in a wide variety of contexts, that “a legislative choice is not subject to courtroom factfinding and may be based on rational speculation unsupported by evidence or empirical data.” (FCC v. Beach Communications, Inc. (1993) 508 U.S. 307, 315 [113 S.Ct. 2096, 2102, 124 L.Ed.2d 211] [rejecting equal protection challenge to rationality of legislative classifications in Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984]; cf. Gregg v. Georgia (1976) 428 U.S. 153, 184-186 [96 S.Ct. 2909, 2930-2931, 49 L.Ed.2d 859] [deferring to Georgia Legislature’s judgment that capital punishment is valuable as a deterrent of crime, even though statistical attempts to evaluate its worth have occasioned a great deal of debate and results have been inconclusive]; Legislature v. Eu (1991) 54 Cal.3d 492, 524 [286 Cal.Rptr. 283, 816 P.2d 1309] [rejecting federal constitutional challenge to term limits initiative and finding no need for initiative’s defenders to empirically demonstrate that the initiative will accomplish each of its objectives]; Buhl v. Hannigan (1993) 16 Cal.App.4th 1612, 1619-1621 [20 Cal.Rptr.2d 740] [rejecting motorcyclists’ due process challenge to helmet law and holding that state had no obligation to come forward with evidence controverting motorcyclists’ evidence that helmet law did not accomplish intended safety purpose]; Rittenband v. Cory (1984) 159 Cal.App.3d 410, 424-430 [205 Cal.Rptr. 576] [rejecting equal protection challenge to Judges’ Retirement Law, which used age as a proxy for judicial competence, and following federal precedent declaring that correlation between increasing age and decreasing ability to competently perform work is a logical assumption that *579need not be verified by current empirical proof].) The majority offer no legal justification or policy rationale for abandoning this bedrock principle of law when legislative decisionmaking happens to follow litigation on related subject matter.4
As this very case illustrates, application of the majority’s independent-judgment-of-the-facts approach permits legislative determinations and enactments to be “trumped” by court findings based upon scant evidence and never challenged on appeal. As I shall explain below, however, due deference to the legislative process, coupled with straightforward adherence to precedent interpreting the proper reach of the constitutional civil service provision, foreclose such a bizarre result.
II.
It is settled that “constitutional and other enactments must receive a liberal, practical common-sense construction which will meet changed conditions and the growing needs of the people.” (Amador Valley Joint Union High Sch. Dist. v. State Bd. of Equalization (1978) 22 Cal.3d 208, 245 [149 Cal.Rptr. 239, 583 P.2d 1281].) Consistent with this principle, CSEA, supra, 199 Cal.App.3d 840, recognized that allowing the state to consider cost savings in determining the propriety of private contracting serves the dual purposes of article VII “ ‘to promote efficiency and economy’ ” in state government and “to eliminate the ‘spoils system’ of political patronage.” (CSEA, supra, 199 Cal.App.3d at pp. 846-847.) In this case, the principal issue is whether Chapter 433 constitutes a constitutionally valid attempt by the Legislature to encourage private contracting in furtherance of these objectives.
In 1993, the Legislature enacted Chapter 433 in recognition that California needed a “comprehensive and integrated highway construction plan” to maximize the capture and use of federal, state, local, and private funds and to maintain a competitive posture in seeking supplemental federal funds. (Gov. Code, § 14130, subd. (a)(2), operative until Jan. 1, 1998.) Consistent *580with previous legislative findings regarding the need for additional contracting flexibility to ensure timely and cost-effective project delivery,5 the Legislature noted in its Chapter 433 findings that Caltrans’s use of private consultants had recently accelerated nearly $1 billion worth of construction projects on the state highway system and that this increase in project delivery capability must continue for Caltrans to meet its commitments for timely project delivery. (Gov. Code, § 14130, subd. (a)(4), operative until Jan. 1, 1998.) With these findings in mind, the Legislature granted Caltrans additional flexibility until January 1, 1998, to contract with private engineers for projects involving the seismic retrofitting of highway structures in accordance with statutes enacted following the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and for state transportation projects funded by local resources. (Gov. Code, §§ 14130, subd. (c), operative until Jan. 1, 1998, 14130.1, 14130.2.)
In finding that Chapter 433 conflicts with article VII, the majority point to an alleged absence of any empirical evidence that Caltrans is unable to perform the services in question “adequately and competently” through civil service, or that private contracting has resulted and will result in “substantial costs savings or other significant advantages” to the state. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 572.) In the majority’s view, the supposed lack of any such evidence before the Legislature is significant since here the trial court’s findings to the contrary were supported by one study purporting to show that the cost of contracting was substantially greater than the cost of using civil service staff. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 573.)
I disagree. As both United States Supreme Court precedent (FCC v. Beach Communications, Inc., supra, 508 U.S. at p. 315 [113 S.Ct. at p. 2102]; Gregg v. Georgia, supra, 428 U.S. at pp. 184-186 [96 S.Ct. at pp. 2930-2931]) and our own California case law (Legislature v. Eu, supra, 54 Cal.3d at p. 524; Buhl v. Hannigan, supra, 16 Cal.App.4th at pp. 1619-1621; Rittenband v. Cory, supra, 159 Cal.App.3d at pp. 424-430) clearly demonstrate, it is unnecessary for the Legislature to adduce concrete data or conclusive proof to confirm its determinations regarding the advantages of contracting with the private sector and the need for additional flexibility in that regard.
Indeed, even if empirical evidence were required to validate the Legislature’s action, there is no doubt it existed in this case. The legislative history *581confirms that when Chapter 433 was passed, the issue of cost-effectiveness of contracting for professional services was a hotly disputed matter. (Sen. Transportation Com., Rep. on Sen. Bill No. 1209 (1993-1994 Reg. Sess.) as amended June 24, 1993, pp. 1-2; Sen. Appropriations Com., Fiscal Summary of Sen. Bill. No. 1209 (1993-1994 Reg. Sess.) as amended June 24, 1993; Assem. Com. on Transportation, Rep. on Sen. Bill No. 1209 (1993-1994 Reg. Sess.) as amended July 14, 1993.) Although some studies, such as the one considered by the trial court below, estimated the average total cost of contracting out as being higher than using Caltrans staff (Sen. Appropriations Com., Fiscal Summary of Sen. Bill. No. 1209 (1993-1994 Reg. Sess.) as amended June 24, 1993), such estimates were open to question (Legis. Analyst, letter to Sen. Marian Bergeson (July 15, 1993) p. 2 [advising that estimates of average civil staff personnel costs and average private consultant personnel costs were not directly comparable because the estimates were not based solely on the number of staff hours spent directly on performing project development activities]) and were contradicted by other evaluations (Sen. Transportation Com., Rep. on Sen. Bill No. 1209 (1993-1994 Reg. Sess.) as amended June 24, 1993; Sen. Appropriations Com., Fiscal Summary of Sen. Bill. No. 1209 (1993-1994 Reg. Sess.) as amended June 24, 1993; Assem. Com. on Transportation, Rep. on Sen. Bill No. 1209 (1993-1994 Reg. Sess.) as amended July 14, 1993). Moreover, the Legislature heard from those knowledgeable on the issue of contracting6 that contracting would provide more flexibility in addressing relatively short-term workload increases and expedite the delivery of transportation projects, and that waiting for Caltrans to hire and train new employees would delay locally funded projects and potentially increase the cost to local taxpayers. (See ibid.) Because reasonable minds obviously could differ and did differ over the economies of contracting, it is only fair to conclude that reasonable minds may differ as to the reasonableness of Chapter 433 and its plan for ensuring timely and cost-effective project delivery. Under these circumstances, the legislative judgment may not be set aside. (Matter of Application of Miller, supra, 162 Cal. at p. 696; Miller v. Board of Public Works, supra, 195 Cal. at p. 490.)
In any event, there is an additional reason why the contracting authorized by Chapter 433 is constitutionally permissible despite the perceived absence of concrete data proving the cost-effectiveness of contracting or the inadequacy of civil service staff. As the majority recognize (maj. opn., ante, at pp. 550, 568), the constitutional civil service provision has been construed to allow the state to contract privately for services that state employees have *582traditionally performed where such services are withdrawn from state service or privatized on an experimental basis. (Professional Engineers v. Department of Transportation (1993) 13 Cal.App.4th 585 [16 Cal.Rptr.2d 599] (Professional Engineers).) As I shall explain, Chapter 433 provides a constitutionally valid basis for dissolving the 1990 injunction on the same ground.
In Professional Engineers, supra, 13 Cal.App.4th 585, the Legislature had enacted an urgency measure authorizing Caltrans to contract with private developers to construct and operate tollways under lease agreements with the state. As there described by the Court of Appeal, “[t]his legislation arose from a legislative determination that ‘[p]ublic sources of revenues to provide an efficient transportation system have not kept pace with California’s growing transportation needs, and alternative funding sources should be developed to augment or supplement available public sources of revenue.’ (Stats. 1989, ch. 107, § 1, subd. (b), p. 1018.) The Legislature envisioned that privately financed projects could ‘[flake advantage of private sector efficiencies’ and ‘[m]ore quickly bring reductions in congestion in existing transportation corridors.’ (Stats. 1989, ch. 107, § 1, subd. (e), p. 1018.) Finally, through authorized demonstration projects, Caltrans could test the feasibility and efficiency of the private financing and construction model. (Stats. 1989, ch. 107, § 1, subd. (f), p. 1018.)” (Professional Engineers, supra, 13 Cal.App.4th at p. 589.)
In that case, the Court of Appeal upheld the challenged legislation, concluding that although the design and construction of roads were neither new functions nor ones that state workers could not satisfactorily perform, the privatization program was an experimental one, and no state funds would be used to defray construction costs. (Professional Engineers, supra, 13 Cal.App.4th at p. 593.) Finding that California Constitution, article VII did not discourage such experimentation, the Court of Appeal reasoned: “[T]o strike down these efforts would denigrate a key purpose of the civil service mandate—to promote efficiency and economy in state government. Of course these efficiencies and economies remain to be proven, but the very purpose of the demonstration projects is to explore the feasibility of the private financing/management approach.“ (13 Cal.App.4th at pp. 593-594, italics added.)
This case presents a similar example of permissible legislative experimentation. In addition to authorizing increased contracting flexibility until January 1, 1998, Chapter 433 contains an uncodified section which requires Caltrans and the Legislative Analyst to coordinate in the preparation of a *583report to evaluate the economic viability of contracting out to the private sector. (Ch. 433, § 13.) By September 1, 1996, Caltrans was to submit data to the Legislative Analyst on total project costs for two groups of comparable highway projects. (Ch. 433, § 13, subd. (a).) As envisioned by the Legislature, one group of projects was to consist of projects for which engineering services were provided primarily by civil service staff and the second group was to consist of similar projects for which engineering services were provided primarily by outside consultants. (Ibid.) In turn, the Legislative Analyst was required to forward to the Legislature, as part of its ascertainment of facts and recommendations with respect to the Budget Act of 1997, a report on the cost-effectiveness of Caltrans’s use of contracted services rather than state employees.7 (Ch. 433, § 13, subd. (b); Legis. Counsel’s Dig., Sen. Bill No. 1209, Stats. 1993, ch. 433 (Reg. Sess.) par. (5).)
Presuming the Legislature acted with integrity and with the desire that Chapter 433 be valid and fall within constitutional bounds (Beach v. Von Detten, supra, 139 Cal. at pp. 464-465), I conclude the statutory scheme and its call for a cost-effectiveness study are rationally related to the goal of achieving the most economical mix of public and private service for the timely delivery of state transportation projects. Thus, even though the experimental nature of Chapter 433 may result in individual contract awards which are later demonstrated to lack cost-effectiveness, the Legislature reasonably could have concluded that the act’s provisions will—on an overall basis, or in the long term, or both—further the objectives of efficiency and economy in project delivery.
Moreover, the contracting authorized by Chapter 433 will not encourage a return to the spoils system of political patronage. (CSEA, supra, 199 Cal.App.3d at p. 847.) Notably, all such contracts are subject to statutes and regulations protecting against cronyism. (Gov. Code, former § 14132.1 [contracts of $250,000 or less]; Gov. Code, § 14133 [contracts over $250,000 must comply with Gov. Code, § 4525 et seq.]; Gov. Code, § 4525 et seq. [selection of engineers must be based on demonstrated competence, professional qualifications, and price]; Cal. Code Regs., tit. 16, § 474 et seq. [establishing criteria for selection of contractors, selection process, and rules against conflicts of interest and unlawful activity].) Although these statutes and regulations do not require competitive bidding for the type of services at issue, it has long been recognized that “ ‘the employment of a person who is *584highly and technically skilled in his science or profession is one which may properly be made without competitive bidding.’ ” (Cobb v. Pasadena City Bd. of Education (1955) 134 Cal.App.2d 93, 95 [285 P.2d 41] [competitive proposals do not produce an advantage in hiring professionals such as architects].)
The majority find Chapter 433’s provisions “too far-reaching in scope” to qualify as permissible legislative experimentation under Professional Engineers, supra, 13 Cal.App.4th 585. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 568.) That is, the majority apparently view Chapter 433 as applying to engineering services for project development on a broad, unlimited basis. In addition, the majority read Professional Engineers as confining the scope of permissible experimentation to projects involving the total withdrawal of a state function. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 568.) Those objections are off the mark.
First of all, Chapter 433’s provisions are explicitly limited both in their application and in their duration. In amending the Government Code in 1993, Chapter 433 sought to extend additional flexibility in contracting only to engineering services pertaining to projects involving statutorily required seismic safety retrofitting of publicly owned bridges (Gov. Code, § 14130.1; Sts. & Hy. Code, § 179 et seq.) and to locally funded highway projects8 (Gov. Code, § 14130.2). (Sen. Appropriations Com., Fiscal Summary of Sen. Bill. No. 1209 (1993-1994 Reg. Sess.) as amended June 24, 1993.) And as indicated previously, it is contemplated that these statutory provisions are to remain in effect only until January 1, 1998.9 (Gov. Code, §§ 14130, subd. (f), operative until Jan. 1, 1998, 14130.1, subd. (c), 14130.2, subd. (c).)
Second, contrary to the majority’s suggestion, the experimentation at issue in Professional Engineers did not require the “total” withdrawal of a state function. That is, the challenged legislation did not compel Caltrans to *585withdraw entirely from the function of constructing or operating tollways; Caltrans maintained responsibility for such functions on other projects not covered by the legislation. Moreover, although the experimentation in that case called for private entities to construct and operate the particular projects at issue, it nonetheless contemplated that Caltrans would maintain a supervisory role and “ ‘exercise any power possessed by it with respect to the development and construction of state transportation projects.’ ” (Professional Engineers, supra, 13 Cal.App.4th at p. 590, quoting Sts. & Hy. Code, § 143, subd. (c); see Sts. & Hy. Code, § 143, subd. (e) [plans and specifications for projects to comply with Caltrans’s standards for state transportation projects].) In substance, such experimentation is not materially different from that which is authorized by Chapter 433.10
Finally, the majority claim that nothing in its decision “would prevent Caltrans from seeking modification of the 1990 injunction based on a showing that particular contracts are justified because state workers cannot perform the work ‘adequately and competently,’ or as economically . . . .” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 574.) Yet it is paradoxical for the majority to acknowledge that the results of the cost-comparison study mandated by Chapter 433 (which the majority concede was intended to help determine the economies of private contracting) “could well assist” Caltrans in making such a showing, while at the same time holding that Caltrans is not entitled to relief before such a study is performed. (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 574.) In my view, Caltrans should not have to prove the economies of any particular contract in advance of the mandated study if the whole purpose of the study is to ascertain just such information.
In sum, article VII would not be undermined by the operation of Chapter 433. The majority have not shown that the Legislature was clearly or palpably wrong in determining that Chapter 433’s provisions for additional flexibility in contracting will promote efficiency and economy in state government. Moreover, as Professional Engineers, supra, 13 Cal.App.4th 585, illustrates, changing conditions and California’s growing transportation needs justify a “liberal, practical common-sense construction” (Amador Valley Joint Union High Sch. Dist. v. State Bd. of Equalization, supra, 22 Cal.3d at p. 245) of article VII that encourages innovation and experimentation, even where the cost-effectiveness of particular contracts has not been proven in advance.
*586III.
The majority’s decision to apply an independent-judgment-of-the-facts approach in assessing the constitutional validity of legislative action marks a radical departure from long-standing case law holding that judges may not substitute their judgment for that of the Legislature if there is any reasonable justification for the legislative action. I see no legitimate basis for such an approach, which intrudes upon the legislative process in outright disregard of the separation of powers.
Given the pressing demands upon California to meet its growing transportation needs and the funding and safety concerns that support timely project delivery, it behooves this court to uphold legislative experimentation to the maximum extent consistent with article VII of our state Constitution. Because Chapter 433 encourages contracting flexibility on an expressly limited basis and for the very purpose of promoting and ascertaining efficiency and economy, and because it subjects such contracting to rules protecting against political favoritism, I believe it provides a valid basis, consistent with the constitutional civil service provision, for dissolving the 1990 trial court injunction.
I would affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

 I agree with Justice Ardaiz’s analysis that, for purposes of evaluating a constitutional challenge to legislation, a court may not take judicial notice of the truth of its earlier findings of fact. (Dis. opn. of Ardaiz, J., post, at pp. 590-591, and cases cited therein.)

 The majority also rely on a quote taken out of context from Amwest Surety Ins. Co. v. Wilson (1995) 11 Cal.4th 1243 at page 1252 [48 Cal.Rptr.2d 12, 906 P.2d 1112]. (See dis. opn. of Ardaiz, J., post, at pp. 603-605.)

 Likewise, the majority fail to identify what “constitutionally protected rights” are at stake here which might cause the ordinary rules of deference to “vanish.” (See maj. opn., ante, at p. 569, citing Spiritual Psychic Science Church v. City of Azusa, supra, 39 Cal.3d at p. 514.)

 I also find troubling the majority’s suggestion that legislative action may be validated based only upon data and studies actually considered by the legislative body. (Maj. opn., ante, at pp. 572, 573.) Even the First Amendment cases relied upon by the majority do not espouse such a view. (See Sable Communications of Cal., Inc. v. FCC (1989) 492 U.S. 115, 133 [109 S.Ct. 2829, 2840, 106 L.Ed.2d 93] (conc. opn. of Scalia, J.) [“Neither due process nor the First Amendment requires legislation to be supported by committee reports, floor debates, or even consideration, but only by a vote.”].)

Years before the enactment of Chapter 433, the Legislature, finding that changes in federal, state, and local revenues and the growing private participation in state highway construction can result in significant fluctuations in project development workload, determined it was in the public interest for Caltrans to maintain a more stable work force and to avoid the costly process of short-time hiring and layoff while still responding in a timely manner to funding opportunities and uncertainties. (Stats. 1988, ch. 9, § 1, p. 30.)

 Supporters of Chapter 433 included various local transportation agencies, the California Transportation Commission, and private engineering firms.

 I recognize that the protracted litigation over Chapter 433 has by now probably defeated the Legislature’s intent in this regard. Nonetheless, such intent must be considered in assessing the constitutional validity of the enactment.

 It is specifically in the context of locally funded highway projects that the Legislature excused Caltrans from the requirement of having to staff at a level to provide services for other agencies. (Gov. Code, § 14130.2, subd. (a)(2).)

 Consistent with the view that Chapter 433 is provisional in nature, the Legislature declared that engineering services necessary for seismic safety retrofitting “shall be considered a short-term workload demand.” (Gov. Code, § 14130.1, subd. (b).) On this point, the Legislature obviously had in mind the fact that the retrofitting, which had been mandated by statute following the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, required completion by December 31,1994, at the latest. (Sts. & Hy. Code, § 179.4 [requiring all deficient bridges and structures to be retrofitted or replaced by December 31, 1992, December 31, 1993, or December 31, 1994, depending upon circumstances]; see Gov. Code, § 14130.1, subd. (a) [noting that certain of the contracts for retrofit projects were required to be executed by December 31, 1993].) Unlike the majority, I believe these circumstances amply support the Legislature’s decision to categorize the engineering services required for such projects as a short-term workload demand.

 Although the legislation at issue in Professional Engineers differs from Chapter 433 insofar as it involved no expenditure of state funds, the majority recognize that article VII would permit experimentation “despite the use of state funding.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 568.)