Question: We're looking for clarification on GC 53060 special services and advice regarding contracting:

1. Is code limited to only the 6 categories? (financial, economic, accounting, engineering, legal, and administrative)

2. What are the parameters for determining if a service falls under one of the 6 categories?

Response: This government code is difficult to interpret and there have been various court cases related to it due to individual district/county offices' own specific interpretations of who is and who is not covered by the 6 categories.

The intent, is to permit public entities to bypass the competitive bidding requirements for those services (financial, economic, accounting, engineering, legal and administrative) that are not normally provided or cannot be provided by classified employees of that public entity. In some cases other specific jobs have been covered (i.e. issuance and preparation of payroll checks) due to their connection to one of the six categories mentioned, but that is a legal question that we suggest that you contact your own legal counsel to ensure that your own interpretation is correct and defendable.