Professions and vocations: contractors: home improvement contracts: prohibited business practices: limitation of actions.

(1) Existing law, the Contractors State License Law, defines and regulates the activities of contractors and provides for their licensure, regulation, and discipline by the Contractors State License Board within the Department of Consumer Affairs (department) . That law requires a home improvement contract, as defined, to be in writing and include the contract amount, as specified, and prohibits any downpayment for that contract from exceeding the lesser of $1,000 or 10% of the contract amount. Except for a downpayment, existing law prohibits the contractor from requesting or accepting payment that exceeds the value of the work performed or material delivered. Existing law makes the violation of these provisions a misdemeanor and sets the penalty as a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $5,000, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. This bill would, for violations that take place in a location damaged by natural disaster, as specified, require the court to impose the maximum fine for the above-described crimes. (2) Existing law makes any person who commits specified acts involving a license, certificate, permit, or registration issued by the department guilty of a misdemeanor. Those acts include lending the person's license to any other person or knowingly permitting the use thereof by another, and knowingly permitting any unlawful use of a license issued to the person. Existing law, except as provided, limits the time for beginning prosecution for commission of specified offenses to one year after commission of the offense. With regard to individuals licensed pursuant to the Contractors State License Law who commit the above-described acts, this bill would instead authorize prosecution for a misdemeanor violation of the provisions described above involving use of a license issued by the board to begin within 3 years after discovery of the commission of the offense, or within 3 years after completion of the offense, whichever is later. By extending the statute of limitations for a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.