Paint and Coatings Industry News

Main News Page

’09 Brings Changes to CA Contractors

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Increased penalties, new permit processes, and changes in bond availability are among the changes in California law that may impact contractors in that state this year, according to the Contractors State License Board, which has issued an alert about changes in state law that took effect Jan. 1.

The changes include:

Increased Penalties

SB 797 (Ridley-Thomas) Business & Professions Code § 490 expands the penalties for individuals who contract without a license if they were named on a revoked license and were found to be culpable in the license revocation. (Amended Stats 2008 ch 33 § 2.)

Sunset Dates

SB 963 (Ridley-Thomas) Business & Professions Code § 7000.5 extends the legislative sunset date for the Contractors State License Board until January 1, 2011. The original sunset date for CSLB was July 1, 2009. (Amended Stats 2008 ch 385 § 1.)

Contractor Bonds

SB 1432 (Margett) Business & Professions Code § 7071.5, § 7071.10 and § 7071.11 Requires that a contractor's bond and the qualifying individual's bond be available to a property owner whose single-family dwelling is damaged as the result of a violation of the state Contractors License Law, if the dwelling is not intended or offered for sale at the time the damages were incurred. (Amended Stats 2008 ch 157 §1 (1), §3 (c) (2).)

Small Claims

Code of Civil Procedure § 116.220 increases the small claims court filing against a defendant guarantor that charges a fee for its guarantor or surety services from $4,000 to $6,500. (Amended Stats 2008 ch 157 §4 (4) (c) (3).)

Owner-Builder Declarations

AB 2335 (Nakanishi) Health and Safety Code § 19825 streamlines the law covering the owner-builder permit process.  Expands the requirements for an owner-builder to acknowledge the risks of contracting with unlicensed contractors when obtaining permits. (Repeals Sections 19825 §1, 19830 §3, 19831 §4, and 19832 §5 of the Health and Safety Code, and Added Stat 2008 ch 66 H&S 19825 §2 (a).)

These laws will be included in the 2009 California Contractors License Law and Reference Book, which is scheduled for release in January.   Details of each legislative change is available by looking up the California code and section number at www.leginfo.ca.gov.