Save Arts Jobs and California Murals

Under California Business and Professions Code, muralists qualify as “contractors” and must carry a commercial license to undertake a mural for more than $500. In order to comply, cities across the state have halted the implementation of mural projects – costing artists jobs and creating roadblocks for beautification initiatives like the State’s Clean CA Program.

Obtaining a contractor’s license is unnecessary and burdensome for muralists, requiring them to accumulate specialized experience in unrelated skills and pay expensive licensing fees. Authored by Senator Angelique Ashby and sponsored by CA Arts Advocates and the League of California Cities, SB 456 creates a licensing exemption for muralists, allowing them to continue to engage in public and privately commissioned work. Support SB 456 to increase access to public art, protect muralists’ jobs and expand our creative economy.

TEXT:

SB 456, as amended, Ashby. Contractors: exemptions: muralists.

Existing law, the Contractors State License Law, establishes the Contractors State License Board within the Department of Consumer Affairs and sets forth its powers and duties relating to the licensure and regulation of contractors. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a person to engage in the business, or act in the capacity, of a contractor without a license, unless exempted. Existing law exempts from the Contractors State License Law, among other things, a nonprofit corporation providing assistance to an owner, as specified.

This bill would exempt from that law an artist who draws, paints, applies, executes, restores, or conserves a mural, as defined, pursuant to an agreement with a person who could legally authorize the work.