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Assembly advances SB 456 to exempt commissioned murals from contractor licensing requirement
Summary
SB 456 (Ashby) would add a muralist exception to the Business and Professions Code so commissioned fine‑art murals would not require a contractor's license; proponents said a prior reinterpretation of contractor law chilled public mural programs and the bill passed the committee and moved to Appropriations.
The committee advanced SB 456 (Ashby), a bill that would add an explicit exception for muralists to the contractor licensing requirements in the Business and Professions Code. Proponents said a recent reinterpretation of the contractor definition had halted mural commissions and festivals in multiple California cities and that the bill would restore longstanding practice by clarifying that commissioned fine‑art murals are not professional construction contracting.
Senator Ashby framed the bill as a ‘‘community beautification’’ act that preserves artists’ livelihoods and municipal art programs. Donald Gensler, Sacramento’s Art in Public Places manager, described projects canceled or paused in Sacramento, Stockton, Palo Alto and elsewhere after the state interpretation changed. Muralist Jaya King described the permitting, traffic control, insurance and Cal/OSHA compliance her projects already follow and warned that contractor licensure costs and the irregular scheduling of mural work could push artists out of the public mural economy.
The bill’s sponsors and a broad coalition of cities, arts groups and local governments supported the measure, including the League of California Cities, the City of Riverside, Santa Monica and West Hollywood, and numerous local arts advocates. The Painters and Allied Trades said earlier concerns about safety had been mitigated after conversations with the author’s office and characterized its position as a "tweener" (no active opposition after negotiations).
Committee members voiced support for artists and for easing barriers to public art. The bill passed to the Committee on Appropriations as amended.
