Contractor licensing: judgment debtor prohibition.

Existing law, the Contractors' State License Law, provides for licensing and regulation of contractors by the Contractors' State License Board. That law requires the board, with the approval of the Director of Consumer Affairs, to appoint a registrar of contractors to serve as the executive officer and secretary of the board. That law directs the board to require, as a condition precedent to accepting an application for licensure, renewal, reinstatement, or to change officers or other personnel of record, that an applicant for a license, previously found to have failed or refused to pay a contractor, subcontractor, consumer, materials supplier, or employee based on a specified unsatisfied final judgment, to file or have on file with the board a bond sufficient to guarantee payment of an amount equal to the unsatisfied judgment or judgments, as specified. That law requires a licensee to notify the registrar in writing of a specified unsatisfied final judgment imposed on the licensee within 90 days of the imposition, and to file or have on file with the board a bond sufficient to guarantee payment of an amount equal to specified unsatisfied judgments within 90 days from date of notification. That law requires the license of a licensee who does not comply with these requirements to be automatically suspended. That law prohibits the suspension from being removed until proof of satisfaction of the judgment, or in lieu thereof, a notarized copy of an accord, is submitted to the registrar. The bill would revise and recast the provisions relating to notice of an unsatisfied judgment, a sufficient bond for that judgment, and suspension for failure to comply. The Contractors' State License Law also requires the qualifying person and any partner of the licensee or personnel of the licensee named as a judgment debtor in an unsatisfied final judgment to be automatically prohibited from serving as an officer, director, associate, partner, owner, manager, qualifying individual, or other personnel of record of another licensee. That law requires the license of any other existing renewable licensed entity with any of the same personnel of record as the judgment debtor licensee to be suspended until the license of the judgment debtor is reinstated or until those same personnel of record disassociate themselves from the renewable licensed entity. This bill instead would, if a judgment is entered against a licensee, require a qualifying person or personnel of record of the licensee at the time of the activities on which the judgment is based to be automatically prohibited from serving as a qualifying individual or other personnel of record on another license, until the judgment is satisfied.