BILL NUMBER: AB 1206 CHAPTERED 10/10/99 CHAPTER 708 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 10, 1999 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 6, 1999 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 3, 1999 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 31, 1999 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 18, 1999 AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 18, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 1999 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 1999 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wesson FEBRUARY 26, 1999 An act to amend Sections 7026 and 7058 of, and to add Section 7058.1 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to contractors. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1206, Wesson. Roadway construction contractors: licensure. Existing law, the Contractors' State License Law, defines the term contractor to be a person who undertakes certain specified types of work. This bill would extend the definition of contractor to include persons who engage in the preparation and removal of roadway construction zones, lane closures, flagging, or traffic diversions. It would define a specialty contractor to include persons performing that work, and would require persons performing that work, on or after January 1, 2001, to hold an appropriate specialty contracting license. The bill would state legislative intent with regard to the performance of this work by licensed contractors who do not hold the specialty license for performing that work, and would provide an exemption from testing for this type of specialty license if the person certifies under penalty of perjury that certain conditions have been satisfied. By expanding the scope of the existing crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 7026 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 7026. "Contractor," for the purposes of this chapter, is synonymous with "builder" and, within the meaning of this chapter, a contractor is any person, who undertakes to or offers to undertake to, or purports to have the capacity to undertake to, or submits a bid to, or does himself or by or through others, construct, alter, repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck or demolish any building, highway, road, parking facility, railroad, excavation or other structure, project, development or improvement, or to do any part thereof, including the erection of scaffolding or other structures or works in connection therewith, or the cleaning of grounds or structures in connection therewith, or the preparation and removal of roadway construction zones, lane closures, flagging, or traffic diversions, and whether or not the performance of work herein described involves the addition to, or fabrication into, any structure, project, development or improvement herein described of any material or article of merchandise. "Contractor" includes subcontractor and specialty contractor. "Roadway" includes, but is not limited to, public or city streets, highways, or any public conveyance. SEC. 2. Section 7058 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read: 7058. (a) A specialty contractor is a contractor whose operations involve the performance of construction work requiring special skill and whose principal contracting business involves the use of specialized building trades or crafts. (b) A specialty contractor includes a contractor whose operations include the business of servicing or testing fire extinguishing systems. (c) A specialty contractor includes a contractor whose operations are concerned with the installation and laying of carpets, linoleum, and resilient floor covering. (d) A specialty contractor includes a contractor whose operations are concerned with preparing or removing roadway construction zones, lane closures, flagging, or traffic diversions on roadways, including, but not limited to, public streets, highways, or any public conveyance. On and after January 1, 2001, no person or entity shall set up or remove roadway construction zones, lane closures, flagging, or traffic diversions on any roadway unless that person or entity holds the appropriate specialty license pursuant to this chapter. SEC. 3. Section 7058.1 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read: 7058.1. (a) An individual or entity covered under subdivision (d) of Section 7058 is exempt from testing for a specialty license with regard to those operations if, by no later than March 31, 2000, the individual or entity provides documentation and certification under penalty of perjury that all of the following apply: (1) The individual or entity has been continuously engaged in the business of traffic control for at least the prior 10 years. (2) The individual or entity has not been a party to a construction litigation judgment totaling more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or 5 percent of the annual value of work performed, whichever is less. (3) The individual or entity has not had any conviction for a serious or willful violation of the California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 (Part 1 (commencing with Section 6300) of Division 5 of the Labor Code). (4) The individual or entity has not been convicted of a violation of federal or state law, including, but not limited to, a violation of provisions governing the payment of wages, benefits, or personal income tax withholding, or provisions governing Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) withholding requirements, state disability insurance withholding requirements, or unemployment insurance payment requirements, during the last five years. For the purposes of the paragraph, only a conviction as an employer shall be deemed applicable, unless it is shown that the individual or entity, in the capacity of an employer, failed to comply with the conditions set forth in subdivision (b) of Section 1775 of the Labor Code. (5) The individual or entity has not been convicted of submitting a false or fraudulent claim to a public agency during the last five years. (b) Any employer who is found to have falsified his or her application for exemption from testing with respect to any information required to be provided under this section may not reapply for that exemption or apply for the required specialty license for a period of two years. (c) Until the Contractors' State Licensing Board adopts an examination for the classification specified in subdivision (d) of Section 7058, any individual or entity that does not qualify for an exemption from testing under subdivision (a) and is performing work defined under subdivision (d) of Section 7058 shall be required to apply for a license in order to continue performing that work until an examination is available, at which time, that individual or entity shall be subject to the examination requirement. SEC. 4. In enacting this act, it is the intent of the Legislature not to require any licensed contractor to obtain a new license for the preparation and removal of roadway construction zones, lane closures, or traffic diversions as long as that work is incidental to the performance of work for which the contractor is licensed and the Legislature expressly recognizes that any licensed contractor may perform this work pursuant to Section 7059 of the Business and Professions Code. SEC. 5. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.