BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2419|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2419
Author: Cook (R)
Amended: 5/6/10 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEVEL. COMM. : 7-0, 6/14/10
AYES: Negrete McLeod, Aanestad, Calderon, Correa, Florez,
Walters, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland, Oropeza
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/10/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Contractors
SOURCE : Contractors State License Board
DIGEST : This bill makes minor, non-substantive and
technical changes relating to the Contractors State License
Law and in other related state laws.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law
1. Licenses and regulates more than 250,000 contractors
under the Contractors' State License Law by the
Contractors' State License Board (CSLB) within the
Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). The CSLB is under
CONTINUED
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the direction of the registrar of contractors
(Registrar).
2. Authorizes the CSLB to issue licenses to a contracting
business in three different branches, generally
identified by letter identification; A - general
engineering contracting, B - general building
contracting, and C - specialty contracting.
3. Provides that 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, and authorizes CSLB to adopt
reasonably necessary rules and regulations for the
classification of specialty contractors in a manner
consistent with established usage and procedure as found
in the construction business, and to limit their field
and scope of operations to those to which he or she is
classified and qualified to engage, as defined.
4. Makes inoperative and repeals (sunsets) the provisions
providing for the CSLB and the Registrar on January 1,
2011.
This bill:
1. Renames the Contractors' State License Law the
"Contractors State License Law," and renames the
Contractors' State License Board the "Contractors State
License Board."
2. Revises and renames contractor classification titles to
conform with current usage.
3. Makes technical, nonsubstantive, and conforming changes
related to these provisions.
Background
CSLB issues licenses to contractors who meet safety and
experience requirements within their field, as well as home
improvement salespersons. There are more than 316,000
licensed contractors in the state in 43 different licensing
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classifications. In addition to educating consumers about
contractors and construction law, the CSLB administers
examinations to test prospective licensees, issues
licenses, investigates complaints against licensed and
unlicensed contractors, issues citations, suspends or
revokes licenses, and seeks administrative, criminal, and
civil sanctions against violators.
The CSLB was established in 1929 as the Contractors License
Bureau under the Department of Professional and Vocational
Standards. Today it is part of the DCA. A 15-member board
appoints the CSLB's executive officer (the Registrar of
Contractors) and directs administrative policy for the
agency's operations. The board includes nine public
members (eight noncontractors and one local building
official), five contractors and one labor representative.
Appointments are made by the Governor and the Legislature.
The Registrar oversees more than 400 employees, who are
distributed among the headquarters office in Sacramento and
field offices throughout the state.
The CSLB's Statewide Investigative Fraud Team focuses on
the underground economy and on unlicensed contractors.
This unit conducts stings and sweeps to help curtail
illegal contracting by citing those who are not licensed.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/29/10)
Contractors State License Board
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the sponsor, CSLB,
"Very simply stated, AB 2419 is cleanup legislation. It
would correct grammatical and spelling errors that have
accumulated in the Contractors State License Law over many
years. It would also change the punctuation within CSLB's
formal title so that it is consistent with established
usage, and provides other clarifying amendments in the
license law."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AB 2419
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4
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles
Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De
Leon, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, V.
Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: De La Torre, DeVore, Fuentes, Harkey,
Mendoza, Norby, Saldana, Solorio, Torlakson, Vacancy
JJA:do 6/29/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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