BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2335
                                                                  Page  1

          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 2335 (Nakanishi)
          As Amended June 17, 2008
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |76-0 |(May 1, 2008)   |SENATE: |35-0 |(June 19,      |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2008)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:   L. GOV.  

           SUMMARY  :  Combines three separate statutory provisions  
          concerning forms, declarations, and notice to the property owner  
          relating to the issuance of building permits into a single  
          provision that combines and modifies the existing forms,  
          declarations, and notice to the property owner and expands the  
          acknowledgments property owners are required to make by  
          requiring them to explicitly acknowledge that they understand or  
          verify specified information. 

           The Senate amendments  make technical, clarifying changes to the  
          authorization and acknowledgement portions of the forms,  
          declarations, and notice provisions.
           
          EXISTING LAW REQUIRES:  

          1)Each jurisdiction to require of every applicant for a building  
            permit, to provide declarations attesting to building project  
            identification, licensed contractor's or owner-builder's  
            status, workers compensation coverage, the name of  
            participating construction lending agency, and expressed  
            permission for jurisdiction officials to enter upon the  
            property for the purpose of inspection.

          2)Under a separate statute, each jurisdiction to follow-up every  
            owner-builder application with an informational notice to the  
            owner of the property, informing the property owner that an  
            owner-builder permit has been filed in his/her name, and that  
            there are rules and risks that accrue to the property owner  
            associated with this action. 

          3)Under a separate statute, each jurisdiction to attach to the  
            above notice to the property owner an additional form  
            verifying to the jurisdiction that the owner of the property  








                                                                  AB 2335
                                                                  Page  2

            is aware of, and agrees to an owner-builder permit being  
            issued in his/her name; and, further declares the method and  
            scope of property owner participation in the proposed  
            construction which the property owner is required to fill out,  
            sign, and return before each owner-builder permit can legally  
            be issued. 

           AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill combined three separate  
          statutory provisions concerning forms, declarations, and notice  
          to the property owner relating to the issuance of building  
          permits into a single provision that combines and modifies the  
          existing forms, declarations, and notice to the property owner  
          and expands the acknowledgments property owners are required to  
          make by requiring them to explicitly acknowledge that they  
          understand or verify specified information. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author and the sponsors of this  
          bill, the California Building Officials and the Contractor State  
          License Board, the three separate provisions of the Health &  
          Safety Code pertaining to declarations, forms, and notices  
          required before a building permit can be issued are both  
          unnecessarily duplicative and confusing to the applicant  
          property owner, and issuing jurisdiction alike.  These statutes  
          are meant to provide a legal safety-net for both parties to the  
          process, but, due to the confusion created by overlapping  
          requirements in three different parts of the code, the end  
          result is often more legal trouble rather than less, due to  
          too-hasty review and signing, omission of needed actions, or  
          excessive paperwork going astray.

          This bill simplifies and streamlines the building permit process  
          by combining the three separate provisions of the Health and  
          Safety Code into one provision incorporating the essential  
          elements into one model application form.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    J. Stacey Sullivan / L. GOV. / (916)  
          319-3958 


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