Contractors: license requirements: recovery actions.

Existing law, the Contractors' State License Law, creates the Contractors' State License Board within the Department of Consumer Affairs and provides for the licensure and regulation of contractors. Existing law authorizes a person who utilizes an unlicensed contractor to bring an action in any court of competent jurisdiction in this state for recovery of compensation paid to the unlicensed contractor for performance of any act or contract. Existing law authorizes a court to determine that a contractor has substantially complied with licensure requirements if specified conditions are met, including that the contractor did not know or should not reasonably have known, that he or she was not duly licensed when the performance under the contract occurred. Existing law also requires a contractor to demonstrate that he or she acted promptly and in good faith to reinstate his or her license upon learning it was invalid in order to meet substantial compliance of these licensure requirements. This bill would revise certain of the criteria for a court to find that a contractor is in substantial compliance with the licensure requirements, including removing the condition that the contractor did not know or should not have reasonably have known, that he or she was unlicensed during performance of the contract.