BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 397
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 6, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                AB 397 (Monning) - As Introduced:  February 14, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              Business and 
          Professions  Vote:                            9 - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires licensed contractors who hold a workers' 
          compensation insurance exemption to recertify that exemption or 
          provide proof of insurance coverage when their licenses are 
          renewed.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor, absorbable one-time cost of $10,000 for programming in 
          2011-12. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . This bill, sponsored by the Contractors State 
            License Board (CSLB), is intended to create a system for the 
            board to maintain a list of active workers compensation 
            exemptions.  Under current law, a licensee could have an 
            exemption certification on file for years without needing to 
            confirm that the exemption is still an accurate representation 
            of the licensee's status. This bill requires licensees to 
            recertify their exemptions each time their licenses are 
            renewed. 

           2)Background  . The CSLB within the Department of Consumer Affairs 
            (DCA) licenses and regulates more than 300,000 contractors 
            under the Contractors State License Law.

            All licensed contractors must carry workers' compensation 
            insurance and file proof of coverage with the CSLB unless they 
            receive an exemption. A contractor who has no employees and 
            has filed a statement with the CSLB certifying that he or she 








                                                                  AB 397
                                                                  Page  2

            has no employees and does not hold a C-39 roofing 
            classification license is exempt from carrying workers 
            compensation insurance.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916) 
          319-2081