California 2015-2016 Regular Session Status: Passed Senate

SB 885 — Contracts: design professionals: indemnity.

Last action — June 28 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author.

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

This bill died with 2015-2016 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

Existing law makes specified provisions in construction contracts void and unenforceable, including provisions 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. This bill would specify, with certain exceptions, for contracts and amendments to them entered into on or after January 1, 2017, that a design professional, as defined, only has the duty to defend himself or herself from claims or lawsuits that arise out of, or pertain or relate to, negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct of the design professional. The bill would prohibit these provisions from being construed to affect any duty of a design professional to defend any claims brought against him or her on an ongoing basis during their pendency or the design professional's obligation to reimburse reasonable defense costs incurred by other persons or entities, limited to the design professional's degree of fault, as determined by a court, arbitration, or negotiated settlement. The bill would provide that contracts and solicitation documents are deemed to incorporate its provisions by reference and would define claim to include a demand for money or services, lawsuit, or demand for arbitration. The bill would prohibit waiver of these provisions and would provide that any clause, covenant, or agreement contained in, collateral to, or affecting a contract that requires a design professional to defend claims or lawsuits against other persons or entities is void and unenforceable. The bill would provide legislative findings and declarations in support of these provisions.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. June 28 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author.

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

  3. Referred to Com. on JUD.

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

  5. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 26. Noes 4. Page 4076.) Ordered to the Assembly.

  6. Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading.

  7. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 3766.) (May 3).

  8. Set for hearing May 3.

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

  10. Referred to Com. on JUD.

  11. From printer. May be acted upon on or after February 19.

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

Sponsors

  • Wolk · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on · 2 voted No

Sponsors (1)

  • Wolk

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

3rd Reading

Passed 26 Yea · 4 Nay · 10 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 243010
Democratic 2100
Total 264010
% of votes cast 65%10%0%25%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Anderson — Yea
Bates — Yea
Block — Not Voting
Hueso — Not Voting
Lara — Not Voting
Leno — Yea
Monning — Yea
Nielsen — Yea
Pan — Yea
Pavley — Not Voting
Wieckowski — Yea
Glazer — Nay
Cannella — Yea
Galgiani — Yea
Hill — Yea
Allen — Yea
Mitchell — Yea
De León — Not Voting
Runner — Not Voting
Fuller — Not Voting
Hall — Yea
Hernandez — Yea
Beall — Not Voting
Hertzberg — Yea
Huff — Yea
Leyva — Yea
Liu — Yea
Mendoza — Not Voting
Moorlach — Yea
Morrell — Yea
Roth — Yea
Vidak — Nay
Wolk — Yea
Hancock — Yea
Beth Gaines — Yea
Bill Berryhill — Not Voting
Mark Stone — Nay
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Nay
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended

Passed 6 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5001
Democratic 1000
Total 6001
% of votes cast 86%0%0%14%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Anderson — Yea
Leno — Yea
Hertzberg — Not Voting
Monning — Yea
Moorlach — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

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 885 do?
Existing law makes specified provisions in construction contracts void and unenforceable, including provisions 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. This bill would specify, with certain exceptions, for contracts and amendments to them entered into on or after January 1, 2017, that a design professional, as defined, only has the duty to defend himself or herself from claims or lawsuits that arise out of, or pertain or relate to, negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct of the design professional. The bill would prohibit these provisions from being construed to affect any duty of a design professional to defend any claims brought against him or her on an ongoing basis during their pendency or the design professional's obligation to reimburse reasonable defense costs incurred by other persons or entities, limited to the design professional's degree of fault, as determined by a court, arbitration, or negotiated settlement. The bill would provide that contracts and solicitation documents are deemed to incorporate its provisions by reference and would define claim to include a demand for money or services, lawsuit, or demand for arbitration. The bill would prohibit waiver of these provisions and would provide that any clause, covenant, or agreement contained in, collateral to, or affecting a contract that requires a design professional to defend claims or lawsuits against other persons or entities is void and unenforceable. The bill would provide legislative findings and declarations in support of these provisions.
Who sponsors SB 885?
SB 885 is sponsored by Wolk.
What is the current status of SB 885?
This bill died with 2015-2016 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SB 885?
Track SB 885 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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