BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    






SENATE COMMITTEE ON                      BILL NO:  AB 3355
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS                AUTHOR:  Firestone
Senator Daniel Boatwright, Chairman  As Introduced  2/23/96


HEARING DATE:  June 10, 1996               FISCAL:  Yes 


 SUBJECT:  Contractors' State License Board:  filing a  
         false workers' compensation exemption statement  
         grounds for disciplinary action.


DIGEST:

Existing law provides for the regulation and licensing of  
approximately 280,000 contractors by the Contractors' State  
License Board (CSLB) of the Department of Consumer Affairs.

Existing law requires CSLB applicants and licensees to have  
on file with the board, as a condition of licensure, a  
Certificate of Workers' Compensation Insurance or  
Certification of Self-Insurance.  

Existing law exempts from certain workers' compensation  
requirements applicants or licensees who have no employees,  
provided that the applicant or contractor files a statement  
with the board that no person is employed by the contractor  
in any manner so as to become subject to the workers'  
compensation laws.

This bill would state that the filing of a false statement  
constitutes a cause for disciplinary action.


FISCAL EFFECT:

Although the Legislative Counsel has keyed this a fiscal  
bill, the Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis  
(4/24/96) states that there is  no fiscal effect.

COMMENTS:

1.  This bill is  sponsored by the Contractors State License  
Board (CSLB) as a cleanup measure to last year's SB 1061  
(Mountjoy, Chapter 467 -- Statutes of 1995).  Among other  





                                                     AB 3355
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things, SB 1061 corrected erroneous references relating to  
workers' compensation insurance coverage.  In doing so, it  
amended and recast Business and Professions Code ? 7125.1  
into ? 7125 and  inadvertently omitted the statement from  
existing law which authorized the CSLB to take disciplinary  
action against a licensee who files a false workers'  
compensation statement.  

As a result, any disciplinary action against a contractor  
who makes a false exemption statement must now be carried  
out under a general disciplinary provision of the Business  
& Professions Code (? 7110) in conjunction with a specified  
provision of the Labor Code (? 3700).   This bill would make  
a correction by reinserting the omitted language.

Support and Opposition:

 Support: Contractors State License Board (CSLB) 
          California Chapters of the National Electrical  
           Contractors Association
          Building Industry Credit and Supply Coalition

 Opposition:None received.




Consultant:Glen V. Ayers