California 2011-2012 Regular Session Status: Enacted

SB 474 — Commercial construction contracts: indemnity.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 707, Statutes of 2011.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Senate
  4. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 17, 2011. Enacted.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 70% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 5 recorded votes so far.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Existing law provides that provisions in construction contracts, as defined, that purport to indemnify the promisee against liability for damages for death or bodily injury to persons, injury to property, or any other loss arising from the sole negligence or willful misconduct of the promisee or the promisee's agents who are directly responsible to the promisee, or for defects in design furnished by those persons, are against public policy and are void and unenforceable. Existing law provides that provisions in construction contracts with a public agency that purport to impose on the contractor, or relieve the public agency from, liability for the active negligence of the public agency are void and unenforceable. Existing law excepts from these provisions agreements to indemnify with professional engineers, among others. Existing law prescribes different requirements and prohibitions for residential construction contracts entered on and after January 1, 2009. This bill would provide, for construction contracts and amendments executed on and after January 1, 2013, that are not for residential construction or a direct contract with a public agency or the owner of private property, as specified, that purport to insure or indemnify, including the cost to defend, a general contractor, construction manager, or other subcontractor, by a subcontractor against liability for claims of death or bodily injury to persons, injury to property, or any other loss, damage, or expense are unenforceable to the extent the claims relate to the active negligence or willful misconduct of that general contractor, construction manager, or other subcontractor, or their other agents, as specified, or for defects in design furnished by those persons, or to the extent the claims do not arise out of the scope of work of the subcontractor in the written agreement between the parties. The bill would require that California law be applied to these contracts regardless of any choice-of-law rules that might otherwise apply. The bill would except certain contractual provisions and types of insurance from these provisions, including an agreement between a subcontractor and general contractor or construction manager as to the timing or immediacy of the defense and provisions for reimbursement of defense fees and costs, as specified. The bill would provide that waiver of these provisions is contrary to public policy, void, and unenforceable. This bill would provide, for construction contracts entered into on and after January 1, 2013, with a public agency, that purport to impose on any contractor, subcontractor, or supplier of goods or services, or relieve the public agency from, liability for the active negligence of the public agency are void and unenforceable. The bill also would provide, for construction contracts entered into on and after January 1, 2013, with the owner of privately owned real property to be improved, as specified, and as to which the owner is not acting as a contractor, construction manager, or supplier of materials or equipment to the work, that purport to impose on any contractor, subcontractor, or supplier of goods or services, or relieve the owner from, liability are unenforceable to the extent of the active negligence of the owner, including that of its employees. The bill would except from these provisions a homeowner performing improvement projects on his or her own single family dwelling. This bill would expand the definition of "construction contract" for purposes of these provisions, to include agreements for renovations and would include agreements respecting, among other things, utility, water, sewer, oil, and gas lines.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 707, Statutes of 2011.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3:30 p.m.

  4. (Enrolled measure version corrected.)

  5. Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 39. Noes 1. Page 2401.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  6. In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  7. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 69. Noes 1. Page 2936.) Ordered to the Senate.

  8. Ordered to third reading.

  9. Read third time and amended. (Page 2769.)

  10. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  11. Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

  12. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 6. Noes 3.) (June 28).

  13. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  14. Referred to Com. on JUD.

  15. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

  16. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 22. Noes 13. Page 1216.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  17. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  18. Ordered to second reading.

  19. Read third time and amended.

  20. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  21. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 3. Noes 2. Page 972.) (May 12).

  22. Joint Rule 62(a) file notice suspended. (Ayes 22. Noes 13. Page 960.)

  23. Set for hearing May 12.

  24. Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.

  25. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  26. Set for hearing May 10.

  27. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.

  28. From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  29. Referred to Com. on RLS.

  30. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 20.

  31. Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Sponsors

  • Evans · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on · 5 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Evans

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Unfinished Business

Passed 39 Yea · 1 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 37000
Democratic 2000
Republican 0100
Total 39100
% of votes cast 98%3%0%0%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Yee — Yea
Dutton — Yea
Cannella — Yea
Wyland — Yea
Fuller — Yea
Runner — Yea
Lowenthal — Yea
De León — Yea
Negrete McLeod — Yea
Hancock — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Corbett — Yea
Anderson — Yea
Blakeslee — Yea
Huff — Yea
Lieu — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Simitian — Yea
Steinberg — Yea
Vargas — Yea
Walters — Yea
Wright — Yea
Alquist — Yea
Harman — Yea
Kehoe — Yea
Leno — Yea
Liu — Yea
Price — Yea
Wolk — Yea
Emmerson — Yea
Correa — Yea
Evans — Yea
DeSaulnier — Yea
Beth Gaines — Yea
Bill Berryhill — Yea
La Malfa — Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea
Strickland, Tony Republican Nay

Official roll call →

SB 474 Evans Senate Third Reading By ATKINS

Passed 69 Yea · 1 Nay · 10 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 670010
Republican 1100
Democratic 1000
Total 691010
% of votes cast 86%1%0%13%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Gorell — Not Voting
Feuer — Yea
Carter — Yea
Olsen — Yea
Fong — Yea
Butler — Yea
Furutani — Yea
Allen — Yea
Yamada — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Gatto — Yea
Gordon — Yea
Hagman — Yea
Campos — Yea
Portantino — Yea
John A. Pérez — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
Hall — Yea
Fletcher — Yea
Hayashi — Yea
Hill — Yea
Cedillo — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Bonilla — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Huffman — Yea
Jeffries — Yea
Lara — Yea
Ammiano — Yea
Block — Yea
Chesbro — Yea
Conway — Yea
Cook — Not Voting
Davis — Yea
Donnelly — Not Voting
Logue — Not Voting
Mendoza — Not Voting
Miller — Yea
Monning — Yea
Morrell — Not Voting
Nielsen — Yea
Norby — Yea
Perea — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Smyth — Yea
Swanson — Yea
Torres — Yea
Wagner — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Halderman — Not Voting
Achadjian — Yea
Alejo — Yea
Beall — Yea
Blumenfield — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Brownley — Yea
Buchanan — Yea
Harkey — Yea
Huber — Yea
Knight — Not Voting
Ma — Yea
Mansoor — Not Voting
Nestande — Yea
Pan — Yea
Silva — Yea
Solorio — Yea
Valadao — Yea
Williams — Yea
Eng — Yea
Dickinson — Yea
Fuentes — Yea
Garrick — Yea
Beth Gaines — Yea
Bill Berryhill — Not Voting
Bonnie Lowenthal — Yea
Roger Hernández — Yea
V. Manuel Pérez — Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Grove, Shannon Republican Yea
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended.

Passed 6 Yea · 3 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6201
Republican 0100
Total 6301
% of votes cast 60%30%0%10%
How each member voted (10)
Member Party Vote
Feuer — Yea
Huber — Yea
Huffman — Not Voting
Atkins — Yea
Wagner — Nay
Monning — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Dickinson — Yea
Beth Gaines — Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay

Official roll call →

3rd Reading

Passed 22 Yea · 13 Nay · 5 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 201205
Democratic 2000
Republican 0100
Total 221305
% of votes cast 55%33%0%13%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Yee — Yea
Hancock — Yea
Wyland — Nay
Lowenthal — Yea
De León — Yea
Evans — Yea
Negrete McLeod — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Fuller — Nay
Cannella — Not Voting
Runner — Nay
Hernandez — Yea
Huff — Nay
Dutton — Nay
Leno — Yea
Lieu — Yea
Pavley — Yea
Simitian — Not Voting
Steinberg — Yea
Vargas — Yea
Alquist — Yea
Anderson — Nay
Blakeslee — Nay
Harman — Nay
Kehoe — Yea
Liu — Yea
Price — Yea
Walters — Nay
Wolk — Not Voting
Wright — Not Voting
Corbett — Yea
Emmerson — Not Voting
Correa — Yea
DeSaulnier — Yea
Beth Gaines — Nay
Bill Berryhill — Nay
La Malfa — Nay
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Padilla, Stephen C. Democratic Yea
Strickland, Tony Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 3 Yea · 2 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 3200
Total 3200
% of votes cast 60%40%0%0%
How each member voted (5)
Member Party Vote
Harman — Nay
Leno — Yea
Blakeslee — Nay
Corbett — Yea
Evans — Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety housing labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 474 do?
Existing law provides that provisions in construction contracts, as defined, that purport to indemnify the promisee against liability for damages for death or bodily injury to persons, injury to property, or any other loss arising from the sole negligence or willful misconduct of the promisee or the promisee's agents who are directly responsible to the promisee, or for defects in design furnished by those persons, are against public policy and are void and unenforceable. Existing law provides that provisions in construction contracts with a public agency that purport to impose on the contractor, or relieve the public agency from, liability for the active negligence of the public agency are void and unenforceable. Existing law excepts from these provisions agreements to indemnify with professional engineers, among others. Existing law prescribes different requirements and prohibitions for residential construction contracts entered on and after January 1, 2009. This bill would provide, for construction contracts and amendments executed on and after January 1, 2013, that are not for residential construction or a direct contract with a public agency or the owner of private property, as specified, that purport to insure or indemnify, including the cost to defend, a general contractor, construction manager, or other subcontractor, by a subcontractor against liability for claims of death or bodily injury to persons, injury to property, or any other loss, damage, or expense are unenforceable to the extent the claims relate to the active negligence or willful misconduct of that general contractor, construction manager, or other subcontractor, or their other agents, as specified, or for defects in design furnished by those persons, or to the extent the claims do not arise out of the scope of work of the subcontractor in the written agreement between the parties. The bill would require that California law be applied to these contracts regardless of any choice-of-law rules that might otherwise apply. The bill would except certain contractual provisions and types of insurance from these provisions, including an agreement between a subcontractor and general contractor or construction manager as to the timing or immediacy of the defense and provisions for reimbursement of defense fees and costs, as specified. The bill would provide that waiver of these provisions is contrary to public policy, void, and unenforceable. This bill would provide, for construction contracts entered into on and after January 1, 2013, with a public agency, that purport to impose on any contractor, subcontractor, or supplier of goods or services, or relieve the public agency from, liability for the active negligence of the public agency are void and unenforceable. The bill also would provide, for construction contracts entered into on and after January 1, 2013, with the owner of privately owned real property to be improved, as specified, and as to which the owner is not acting as a contractor, construction manager, or supplier of materials or equipment to the work, that purport to impose on any contractor, subcontractor, or supplier of goods or services, or relieve the owner from, liability are unenforceable to the extent of the active negligence of the owner, including that of its employees. The bill would except from these provisions a homeowner performing improvement projects on his or her own single family dwelling. This bill would expand the definition of "construction contract" for purposes of these provisions, to include agreements for renovations and would include agreements respecting, among other things, utility, water, sewer, oil, and gas lines.
Who sponsors SB 474?
SB 474 is sponsored by Evans.
What is the current status of SB 474?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 17, 2011. Enacted.
Where can I track SB 474?
Track SB 474 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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