Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Construction topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Contractor licensure bill seeks to limit all-or-nothing disgorgement penalty on public works projects
Summary
SB 3 42 would allow contractors to recover payment for licensed periods of work even if there was a brief lapse in licensure; proponents argued the current all-or-nothing disgorgement rule is disproportionate and generates unnecessary litigation.
Senator Umberg presented SB 3 42, the Contractors Licensure Fairness Act, telling the committee the bill targets a perceived injustice in current law that can bar contractors from recovering any payment for a project when a license lapses briefly.
A testifying attorney said repeated court decisions have left no discretion in applying full disgorgement, which can produce outcomes disproportionate to the procedural lapse. He argued the bill would allow disgorgement to be proportional to the time unlicensed and likely reduce litigation incentives. The chair and proponents said the bill does not change the requirement that a contractor be licensed at the start of a project; it would not allow recovery for days worked while unlicensed.
Committee members accepted committee amendments and recorded a motion to pass SB 3 42 as amended to appropriations.
