Politics & Government
Sacramento CA: Bill re: Problem-Plagued Firm Probed in Fatal Berkeley Balcony Collapse
Action will be taken July 14th 2015 - Your support is needed
This happens Tuesday July 14th 2015
Contact your representatives and seek their support.
Advisory – July 14, 2015 – Office of State Senator Jerry Hill
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CONTACT: Aurelio Rojas, Communications Director, 916-747-3199 cell or 916-651-4013 office.
Crucial Hearing Tuesday On Bill By Senators Hill & Hancock To Close Legal Loophole That Kept Regulators In The Dark About Problem-Plagued Firm Probed in Fatal Berkeley Balcony Collapse
Find out what's happening in San Brunofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
SB 465 Would Require Disclosure to Regulators Of Legal Settlements In Cases Alleging Construction Defects, Negligence
WHAT: Legislation by Senators Jerry Hill and Loni Hancock to require disclosure to regulators of felony convictions and settlements in cases alleging construction defects, fraud, negligence, incompetence and other serious professional wrongdoing faces a pivotal hearing before the Assembly Business and Professions Committee.
Six people were killed and seven others were hospitalized after the balcony of a Berkeley apartment building collapsed during a birthday party on June 16. The company that built the apartment house had paid more than $26.5 million in the past three years to settle lawsuits involving balconies. But because the firm had settled the cases, the state board that oversees construction licensing in California was unaware of the company’s history of defect lawsuits until after the tragedy. Hill’s legislation to compel such disclosures is opposed by the California Building Industry Association and the United Contractors, which has been lobbying the Assembly committee to kill it.
WHEN: Tuesday, July 14, 9 a.m.
WHERE: State Capitol, Room 447
BACKGROUND: Senator Hill, D-San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, is chairman of the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee and Senator Hancock Chairs the Senate Public Safety Committee. Hill introduced legislation three years ago to allow plaintiffs to report legal settlements to the Contractors State License Board. The bill passed, but Hill could not persuade the board to make disclosure a requirement. The fatal balcony collapse in Berkeley has been linked to wood rot caused by water that seeped into support beams of the 8-year-old building. The firm that built the apartment complex has been sued repeatedly by litigants claiming shoddy construction. David Fogt, the Contractors State License Board’s chief of enforcement, told the Sacramento Bee editorial board last week that had the license board known about the series of settlements, it would have launched an investigation that could have resulted in suspending or revoking the firm’s contractor license.
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Nate Solov
Senior Correspondent – San Bruno Patch
Photo Credit: San Bruno Patch Archives
Source Credit: CA State Senator Jerry Hill
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