Existing law regulates actions seeking recovery on construction defects, as specified, on original construction intended to be sold as an individual dwelling purchased new after January 1, 2003. Existing law provides that general contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers, product manufacturers, and design professionals may be liable for damages for construction defects if they caused, or contributed to, the violation of a particular standard as the result of a breach of contract or through negligence. Existing law also establishes certain prelitigation procedures for both the homeowner and defendants to engage in to attempt to resolve the claim prior to filing a lawsuit for construction defects, and also establishes the parameters of a legal action seeking recovery for construction defects. This bill would establish these provisions as the sole and exclusive remedy available for claims seeking recovery on construction defects, as specified.
Sponsored bills
This measure would proclaim the month of January 2016 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month, encourage all Californians to become educated about human trafficking and work to eradicate these criminal practices within and beyond our borders, and encourage Members of the Legislature, as well as organizations, businesses, and individuals, to host or sponsor and attend community events in order to bring visibility and support to efforts made by nongovernmental organizations to recognize and combat human trafficking.
Existing law establishes various public social services programs to provide protection, care, and assistance to the people of the state in need of those services, by providing appropriate aid and services to the needy and distressed. Existing law establishes homeless youth emergency service pilot projects in the Counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Clara, and San Francisco. This bill would require, from moneys appropriated by the Legislature, as specified, for the purposes of the program, the State Department of Social Services to establish and operate a Homeless Youth Basic Material Needs Assistance Program for homeless youth in California. The bill would require the department to solicit proposals from, and contract with, nonprofit organizations for the purpose of providing basic material needs assistance to homeless youth as directed by the department. The bill would require contracted nonprofit organizations to, among other things, provide a minimum of 100% matching funds, as specified. The bill would require each contracted nonprofit organization to prepare a report for the department including, among other information, the number of homeless youth assisted. The bill would require, after the program has been operating for 3 years, each contracted nonprofit organization to issue and provide to the department, and the department to collect and issue, a report including, among other information, the number of homeless youth assisted each year, and a description of the assistance provided.
Existing law, the Contractors' State License Law, provides for the licensure and regulation of contractors by the Contractors' State License Board within the Department of Consumer Affairs. That law provides for the classification of a speciality contractor and defines a "specialty contractor" as a contractor whose operations involve the performance of construction work requiring special skill and whose principal contracting business involves the use of specialized building trades or crafts, as provided. That definition includes a contractor whose operations include the business of servicing or testing fire extinguishing systems. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to adopt and administer the regulations and building standards he or she deems necessary in order to establish and control a program for servicing, testing, and maintaining all automatic fire extinguishing systems, including, but not limited to, fire sprinkler systems. Existing law prohibits any person from engaging in the business of servicing or testing automatic fire extinguishing systems without a license issued by the State Fire Marshal, but exempts from this prohibition a specialty contractor whose operations include the business of servicing or testing fire extinguishing systems. This bill would instead exempt any speciality contractor, as that term is defined under existing law, from the prohibition on engaging in the business of servicing or testing automatic fire extinguishing systems without a licence from the State Fire Marshal.
Existing law establishes in state government the Department of Technology within the Government Operations Agency. Existing law provides that the Department of Technology is responsible for the approval and oversight of specified information technology projects. Existing law requires specified contracts for the acquisition of information technology projects to be made by or under the supervision of the Department of Technology. Existing law sets forth requirements for the acquisition of goods and services by state agencies and sets forth the various responsibilities of the Department of General Services and other state agencies in overseeing and implementing state contracting procedures and policies. Existing law requires, unless otherwise expressly provided, that all contracts for the acquisition of information technology goods or services be made by or under the supervision of the Department of General Services. This bill would require the Director of Technology, by January 1, 2017, to develop a standardized contractor performance assessment report system to evaluate the performance of a contractor on any information technology contract or project reportable to the Department of Technology, as provided. The bill would require the Director of Technology to implement that evaluation system for all reportable information technology contracts and projects, as specified, and would require that system to be used in addition to any other procurement procedures when evaluating or awarding those contracts or projects.
Existing law authorizes cities and counties, and, if specifically authorized, other local governmental entities, subject to certain limitations and approval requirements, to levy a transactions and use tax for general purposes, in accordance with the procedures and requirements set forth in the Transactions and Use Tax Law, including a requirement that the combined rate of all taxes imposed in accordance with that law in the county not exceed 2%. This bill would increase that maximum combined rate to 3%.
(1) Existing law prescribes various requirements regarding the formation, content, and enforcement of state and local public contracts. Existing law applicable to state public contracts generally requires that the resolution of claims related to those contracts be subject to arbitration. Existing law applicable to local agency contracts prescribes a process for the resolution of claims related to those contracts of $375,000 or less. This bill would establish, for contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2016, a claim resolution process applicable to all claims by contractors in connection with public works. The bill would define a claim as a separate demand by the contractor for one or more of the following: a time extension for relief from damages or penalties for delay, payment of money or damages arising from work done pursuant to the contract for a public work, or payment of an amount disputed by the public entity, as specified. The bill would require a public entity, defined to exclude certain state entities, upon receipt of a claim sent by registered or certified mail, to review it and, within 45 days, provide a written statement identifying the disputed and undisputed portions of the claim. The 45-day period may be extended by mutual agreement. The bill would require any payment due on an undisputed portion of the claim to be processed within 60 days, as specified. The bill, if the public entity fails to issue the written statement, would require that the claim be deemed rejected in its entirety. The bill would authorize, if the claimant disputes the public entity's written response or if the public entity fails to respond to a claim within the time prescribed, the claimant to demand to meet and confer for settlement of the issues in dispute. The bill would require any disputed portion of the claim that remains in dispute after the meet and confer conference to be subject to nonbinding mediation, as specified. The bill would provide that unpaid claim amounts accrue interest at 7% per annum. The bill would prescribe a procedure by which a subcontractor or lower tier contractor may make a claim through the contractor. The bill would require the text of these provisions or a summary of them to be set forth in the plans or specifications for any public work which may give rise to a claim. The bill would specify that a waiver of the rights granted by its provisions is void and contrary to public policy, except as specified. The bill would also specify that it does not impose liability on a public entity that makes loans or grants available through a competitive application process, for the failure of an awardee to meet its contractual obligations. By increasing the duties of local agencies and officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would, on January 1, 2019, repeal the provision establishing the claim resolution process. (2) 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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
(1) Existing law requires the California Transportation Commission to adopt and submit to the Legislature, by December 15 of each year, an annual report summarizing the commission's prior-year decisions in allocating transportation capital outlay appropriations, and identifying timely and relevant transportation issues facing the state. Existing law provides that the annual report may also include a discussion of any significant upcoming transportation issues anticipated to be of concern to the public and the Legislature. This bill would require that the annual report also include specific, action-oriented, and pragmatic recommendations for legislation to improve the transportation system. (2) Existing law requires various transportation planning activities by state and regional agencies. Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to prepare the California Transportation Plan and to update the plan by December 31, 2015, and every 5 years thereafter. Existing law specifies certain subject areas for the movement of people and freight to be considered in the plan. Existing law requires the plan to address how the state will achieve maximum feasible emissions reductions in order to attain a statewide reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 and identify the statewide integrated multimodal transportation system needed to achieve greenhouse gas emission reductions. Existing law requires the department to consult with and coordinate its planning activities with specified entities, including the California Transportation Commission, and to provide an opportunity for public input. Existing law authorizes the California Transportation Commission to present the results of its review and comment to the Legislature and the Governor. This bill would require the California Transportation Commission to review recommendations in the update to the California Transportation Plan prepared by the department in 2015, and every 5 years thereafter, to prepare specific, action-oriented, and pragmatic recommendations for transportation system improvements, and to submit a report in that regard to the Legislature and the Governor by December 31, 2016, and every 5 years thereafter.
The California Constitution requires that the water resources of the State be put to beneficial use to the fullest extent of which they are capable. Under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, which applies to all groundwater basins in the state, all basins designated as high- or medium-priority basins by the Department of Water Resources as basins that are subject to critical conditions of overdraft, as specified, are required to be managed under a groundwater sustainability plan or coordinated groundwater sustainability plans by January 31, 2020. This bill would establish special procedures for a comprehensive adjudication, which is defined as an action filed in superior court to comprehensively determine rights to extract groundwater in a basin. The bill would authorize the court to determine all groundwater rights of a basin, whether based on appropriation, overlying right, or other basis of right, and use of storage space in the basin. The bill would provide that these special procedures governing comprehensive adjudications do not apply in certain cases that do not involve a comprehensive allocation of a basin's groundwater supply. The bill would authorize a judge of the superior court to determine if the action is a comprehensive adjudication, as specified. This bill would require the plaintiff in a comprehensive adjudication to provide notice of the comprehensive adjudication within a specified amount of time after filing the complaint to certain persons including a city, county, or city and county that overlies the basin or a portion of the basin. The bill would require a draft notice and draft form answer, as specified, to be lodged by the plaintiff with the court when filing the complaint. Within 30 days of the assignment of a judge by the Chairperson of the Judicial Council, the bill would require the plaintiff to file a motion for approval of the draft notice and draft form answer. Following a court order approving the notice and form answer and authorizing service of landowners, as specified, the bill would require the plaintiff to identify the assessor parcel numbers and physical addresses of all real property in the basin and the names and addresses of all holders of fee title to real property in the basin, as specified; mail the notice, complaint, and form answer to all holders of fee title to real property in the basin, as specified; and publish the notice in one or more newspapers of general circulation, as specified. The bill would require the plaintiff to file with the court a notice of the completion of the mailing. The bill would deem fulfillment of the service and publication provisions as effective service of process of the complaint and notice on all interested parties of the comprehensive adjudication for purposes of establishing in rem jurisdiction and the comprehensive effect of the comprehensive adjudication. This bill would authorize a groundwater sustainability agency for the basin or a portion of the basin, a city, county, or city and county that overlies the basin or a portion of the basin, and certain persons to intervene in a comprehensive adjudication. This bill would require the court to convene a case management conference and would authorize the court to consider certain matters, including dividing the case into phases to resolve legal and factual issues, in the initial case management conference or as soon as practicable. In addition, the bill would require each party to serve within 6 months of appearing in the comprehensive adjudication, specified initial disclosures made under penalty of perjury to all other named parties and a special master, if one has been appointed in the action. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the court to appoint one or more special masters in a comprehensive adjudication, whose duties could include, among other things, investigating technical and legal issues, as directed by the court, and compiling a report of the findings, as specified. The bill would authorize the court to request the State Water Resources Control Board or the Department of Water Resources to recommend candidates for appointment as a special master or to review the qualifications of candidates. This bill would authorize the court, upon a showing that the basin is in a condition of long-term overdraft, to issue a preliminary injunction that could include, among other things, a moratorium on new or increased appropriations of water. The bill would provide that a judgment in a comprehensive adjudication is binding on the parties to the action, their agents and employees, and all their successors in interest. The bill would also provide the court with continuing jurisdiction to modify or amend a final judgment in a comprehensive adjudication in specified instances. This bill would require the Department of Water Resources and each county and groundwater sustainability agency that overlies the basin or a portion of the basin to post and maintain the notice and form answer on their Internet Web sites, as specified. By requiring counties to take certain actions related to the comprehensive adjudication, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. This bill would provide that it will only become effective if SB 226 is enacted and becomes effective.