LA may require city contractors to disclose Trump border wall bids

Construction contractors seeking to do business in Los Angeles may soon have to worry about a particular item on their resume.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Gil Cedillo announced today that he would introduce a motion at Friday’s council meeting to require contractors seeking to do business with the city to disclose whether they have submitted a bid to work on the U.S.-Mexico border wall proposed by President Donald J. Trump.

Under the proposed ordinance, companies that fail to disclose that they have sought contracts to build the wall would face “strict penalties and fines,” according to Cedillo.

"The City of Los Angeles has taken a strong position against Trump's immigration policies, and Angelenos deserve to know if public dollars are going to contractors involved in building the wall," the councilmember said.

Customs and Border Protection is already reviewing design proposals for the wall, with plans to pick several contractors to build prototypes on June 1. The agency, however, will publicly reveal only the finalists.

Los Angeles is not the first California city to consider new rules for border wall contractors. Lawmakers in both San Francisco and Berkeley are considering even stricter legislation that would effectively prohibit border wall contractors from working on city projects.

Los Angeles, where 72 percent of voters cast their ballots for Hillary Clinton in November, has been a site of strong opposition to the president. Less than a week ago, the city council approved a separate resolution supporting legislative action to investigate—and possibly impeach—Trump for violating the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

• Tiny Wall Put Up Around Donald Trump’s Walk of Fame Star [Curbed LA]
• Trump’s wall: How long will it take to build, and at what cost? [Curbed]
• San Francisco considers blacklisting construction companies that bid on border wall [Curbed SF]