(a) The board shall require as a condition precedent to the issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, renewal, or continued maintenance of a license, that the applicant or licensee file or have on file a contractor’s bond in the sum of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).
(b) Excluding the claims brought by the beneficiaries specified in subdivision (a) of Section 7071.5, the aggregate liability of a surety on claims brought against a bond required by this section shall not exceed the sum of seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500). The bond proceeds in excess of seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) shall be reserved exclusively for the claims of the beneficiaries specified in subdivision (a) of Section 7071.5. However, nothing in this section shall be construed so as to prevent any beneficiary specified in subdivision (a) of Section 7071.5 from claiming or recovering the full measure of the bond required by this section.
(c) No bond shall be required of a holder of a license that has been inactivated on the official records of the board during the period the license is inactive.
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, as a condition precedent to licensure, the board may require an applicant to post a contractor’s bond in twice the amount required pursuant to subdivision (a) until the time that the license is renewed, under the following conditions:
(1) The applicant has either been convicted of a violation of Section 7028 or has been cited pursuant to Section 7028.7.
(2) If the applicant has been cited pursuant to Section 7028.7, the citation has been reduced to a final order of the registrar.
(3) The violation of Section 7028, or the basis for the citation issued pursuant to Section 7028.7, constituted a substantial injury to the public.
(e) (1) The board shall conduct a study to obtain information to evaluate whether the current fifteen-thousand-dollar ($15,000) amount of the contractor bond is sufficient, or whether an increase may be necessary.
(2) The board shall report its findings and recommendations to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, by January 1, 2021.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 378, Sec. 6. (SB 610) Effective January 1, 2020.)