Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed legislation that would boost consumer protection by improving oversight and training of California’s nearly 300,000 licensed contractors.
Senate Bill 630, proposed by Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, and sponsored by the California Contractors State Licensing Board or CSLB, was approved by the Assembly and Senate late August before getting the governor’s signature.
“Ensuring contractors work in a safe, competent and professional manner is at the heart of our commitment to Californians,” Sen. Dodd said in a statement. “A way to do that is through better communication and education, as well as clear pathways for improvement when things go wrong.”
The CSLB regulates 44 types of contractors including builders, plumbers, electricians and painters. To ensure compliance with performance and safety standards, the board can impose remedial training or payment of restitution to consumers.
However, completion of these requirements does not always happen in a timely manner, according to Sen. Dodd’s office. SB 630 would streamline the probationary process for the state’s contractors, ensuring they meet licensing obligations with fewer delays.
“Our agency does not currently have authority to re-impose discipline against a contractor for failure to comply with the terms of probation by completing specified training,” said David Fogt, CSLB registrar of contractors, in a statement.
“Consumer protection will be enhanced by authorizing the CSLB to re-impose discipline without having to file a new disciplinary case.”
The legislation would also help the CSLB save money currently spent on mailing contractors tens of thousands of educational bulletins and documents by requiring submission of an email address with license applications so that communications can be sent electronically.
“This new law will… strengthen an industry that is essential as we continue to build out our state,” Sen. Dodd said.
9 comments
How do you train a contractor? Maybe they should make a tougher test to get a contractors license. You can’t just hand a guy a sheet with a few tips on it and think that will work. It takes years to know what you are doing in the trades. The contractor is the money man. He figures the cost of a job and then hires people to do the job and you hope he hires good people. Today it is harder and harder to find good people. Everybody goes to junior college.
Support UNION shops. Union workers went through training that was called an Apprenticeship that was usually both classroom and on the job training for 4-5 years.
“This new law will… increase the costs of an industry that is essential as we continue to build out our state,” Sen. Dodd said.
Tell me how you keep housing prices low. Not this way.
I suspect this is a way to ensure all those that hang out in the parking lot of Home Depot get hired more frequently. Increasing the cost of doing business for contractors, all the while increasing the size of local/state government. I think the friends of gavvy/dodd who were in the mailing industry no longer see this as a viable career, so time to stop siphoning taxpayer money toward that industry. All under the guise of “consumer protection.”
Hopefully this will increase the quality gap between licensed and under the table work. Hopefully the tests will be in English or high level Spanish. Ever since the illegals have moved into construction the wages have been in a race to the bottom
Hey Dodd, thanks for keep us safe, good job. NOT! Good to see the savings by using an e-mail address, could have done that 5-10 years ago. Maybe we need “training for government officials’, that might keep us safe at lower costs.
Most are illegal with second grade education. Newsom must not be happy with his remodel.
CORRECTION … It’s “Newscum” … get it right
Welp … as much as I hate Newscum & Co. … I have come to the sad, sad, sad realization … they have won … yes …we sit plowing through pints of Hagen Daz … oblivous … asleep … drunk in our prosperity … and they have won … it’s over … they have won … there exists not enough fight left in the American breed to survive … history repeats.
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