Bill Commons

CA SB 1205

enacted

Public contracts: retention: architecture or engineering services.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · upper

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Quick answers

Did CA SB 1205 pass?

Yes. CA SB 1205 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-09-20): Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 424, Statutes of 2026.

What is CA SB 1205 about?

Existing law imposes various requirements regarding the formation, content, and enforcement of public works contracts. Existing law generally requires that retention proceeds withheld from payment by a public entity be released within 60 days after the date of completion of the work of improvement, except as specified in case of a dispute. Existing law limits the allowable amount of retention proceeds withheld in a contract between a public entity and the original contractor, a contract between the original contractor and a subcontractor, and a contract between subcontractors, as specified. Existing law defines "public entity" differently for these various purposes. This bill would prohibit any retention payments from exceeding 5% of the payment for contracts under design-bid-build, and amendments thereto, entered into on or after January 1, 2027, directly between a public entity and an individual or legal entity permitted by law to practice the profession of architecture or engineering, except for specific projects where, among other things, a finding has been made that the project is substantially complex and requires a higher retention amount. The bill would require any retention withheld to be released no later than 60 days after completion of services under contract. The bill would define terms for its purposes, including "public entity."

Who sponsors CA SB 1205?

Valladares is the primary sponsor of CA SB 1205.

Description

Existing law imposes various requirements regarding the formation, content, and enforcement of public works contracts. Existing law generally requires that retention proceeds withheld from payment by a public entity be released within 60 days after the date of completion of the work of improvement, except as specified in case of a dispute. Existing law limits the allowable amount of retention proceeds withheld in a contract between a public entity and the original contractor, a contract between the original contractor and a subcontractor, and a contract between subcontractors, as specified. Existing law defines "public entity" differently for these various purposes. This bill would prohibit any retention payments from exceeding 5% of the payment for contracts under design-bid-build, and amendments thereto, entered into on or after January 1, 2027, directly between a public entity and an individual or legal entity permitted by law to practice the profession of architecture or engineering, except for specific projects where, among other things, a finding has been made that the project is substantially complex and requires a higher retention amount. The bill would require any retention withheld to be released no later than 60 days after completion of services under contract. The bill would define terms for its purposes, including "public entity."

Introduced
2026-02-19
Latest action
2026-09-20 — Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 424, Statutes of 2026.
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Subjects

Sponsors

  • Valladaresauthor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-09-20

    Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 424, Statutes of 2026.

    became-law

  2. 2026-09-20

    Approved by the Governor.

    executive-signature

  3. 2026-09-03

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

    executive-receipt

  4. 2026-08-27

    Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 40. Noes 0.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

  5. 2026-08-26

    In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  6. 2026-08-26

    Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate.

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  7. 2026-08-26

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 6613.) Ordered to the Senate.

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  8. 2026-08-21

    Assembly Rule 69(b)(1) suspended.

  9. 2026-08-21

    Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-3

  10. 2026-08-21

    Read third time and amended.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-3

  11. 2026-08-21

    Assembly Rule 69(b)(1) suspended. (Ayes 55. Noes 17. Page 6296.)

  12. 2026-08-17

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  13. 2026-08-13

    Assembly Rule 63 suspended.

  14. 2026-08-13

    From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (August 13).

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  15. 2026-08-13

    Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

    amendment-passage,reading-1,reading-2

  16. 2026-06-24

    June 24 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.

  17. 2026-06-10

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 18. Noes 0.) (June 10). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  18. 2026-06-01

    Referred to Com. on G.O.

    referral-committee

  19. 2026-05-22

    In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

    reading-1

  20. 2026-05-22

    Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 33. Noes 0. Page 4420.) Ordered to the Assembly.

    passage,reading-1,reading-3

  21. 2026-05-20

    Ordered to special consent calendar.

  22. 2026-05-14

    From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 4269.) (May 14).

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable

  23. 2026-05-14

    Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1,reading-2,reading-3

  24. 2026-05-08

    Set for hearing May 14.

  25. 2026-05-04

    May 4 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  26. 2026-04-24

    Set for hearing May 4.

  27. 2026-04-22

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 4015.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  28. 2026-04-14

    From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on L. GOV. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0. Page 3866.) (April 14). Re-referred to Com. on L. GOV.

    committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

  29. 2026-04-14

    Set for hearing April 22 in L. GOV. pending receipt.

  30. 2026-04-09

    Set for hearing April 14.

  31. 2026-04-09

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

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  32. 2026-04-08

    Re-referred to Coms. on G.O. and L. GOV.

    referral-committee

  33. 2026-03-24

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

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  34. 2026-03-04

    Referred to Com. on RLS.

    referral-committee

  35. 2026-02-20

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 22.

  36. 2026-02-19

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

    introduction,reading-1,referral-committee

Versions

  • 02/19/26 - Introduced — 2026-02-19Compare
  • 03/24/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-03-24Compare
  • 04/09/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-04-09Compare
  • 08/13/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-08-13Compare
  • 08/21/26 - Amended Assembly — 2026-08-21Compare
  • 08/30/26 - Enrolled — 2026-08-30Compare
  • (document, no version)Compare
  • SB1205Compare

Documents

Votes

  • Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Local Government] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar

    2026-04-14 · pass · 15-0

    Member-level votes (15)
    • Alvarado-Gil: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Weber Pierson: yes
    • Archuleta: yes
    • Cervantes: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
    • Padilla: yes
    • Blakespear: yes
    • Ochoa Bogh: yes
    • Hurtado: yes
    • Rubio: yes
    • Choi: yes
    • Ashby: yes
    • Richardson: yes

  • Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar

    2026-04-22 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Choi: yes
    • Ashby: yes
    • Durazo: yes
    • Laird: yes
    • Arreguín: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Cervantes: yes

  • Placed on suspense file

    2026-05-04 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Dahle: yes
    • Cervantes: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Richardson: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Grayson: yes

  • Do pass

    2026-05-14 · pass · 7-0

    Member-level votes (7)
    • Cervantes: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Richardson: yes
    • Grayson: yes

  • Special Consent

    2026-05-22 · pass · 33-0

    Member-level votes (40)
    • Rubio: yes
    • Durazo: yes
    • Cortese: yes
    • McNerney: yes
    • Pérez: yes
    • Weber Pierson: yes
    • Strickland: yes
    • Gonzalez: yes
    • Cabaldon: yes
    • Wiener: yes
    • Cervantes: yes
    • Umberg: yes
    • Blakespear: yes
    • Archuleta: yes
    • Arreguín: yes
    • Valladares: yes
    • Reyes: yes
    • Ashby: yes
    • Jones: yes
    • Dahle: yes
    • Limón: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Grove: yes
    • Smallwood-Cuevas: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Choi: yes
    • Richardson: yes
    • McGuire: yes
    • Laird: yes
    • Wahab: yes
    • Ochoa Bogh: yes
    • Menjivar: yes
    • Grayson: yes
    • Becker: other
    • Hurtado: other
    • Padilla: other
    • Alvarado-Gil: other
    • Stern: other
    • Niello: other
    • Allen: other

  • Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar

    2026-06-10 · pass · 18-0

    Member-level votes (21)
    • Alvarez: yes
    • Solache: yes
    • Nguyen: yes
    • Dixon: yes
    • Soria: yes
    • Pacheco: yes
    • McKinnor: yes
    • Davies: yes
    • Bryan: yes
    • Fong: yes
    • Ta: yes
    • Berman: yes
    • Ramos: yes
    • Wallis: yes
    • Gipson: yes
    • Blanca Rubio: yes
    • Gabriel: yes
    • Michelle Rodriguez: yes
    • Carrillo: other
    • Macedo: other
    • Valencia: other

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1205

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-09-21T17:04:25.055985Z

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