Legal Question in Construction Law in California

He can "ask." What he cannot do is substitute subcontractors, or reassign work from one sub to another in trades that overlap, or do anything else to punish anyone who refuses to lower their bid. It is completely illegal under the Public Contracts Code. I used to be a Sr. Deputy City Attorney on the Construction Team of the San Francisco City Attorney's Office, and later was construction council to the San Francisco Airport Commission. We used to see this all the time, and we debarred a few contractors for it. If you need further help with this, feel free to contact me privately. I predict that even if this issue blows over, this could be a troubled project. So feel free to call me any time.

For a case that MAY be helpful, look at Schram Construction Co. v. Regents of the University of California (2010) 187 Cal.App.4th 1040. However, in broad, general terms, the competitive bidding system would not work unless prime contractors could depend upon their proposed subcontractors' bids, and vice-versa, the selected subs have a right to expect and demand that the successful prime will not look to its subs for pricing, etc. changes in its favor.