Advocacy Update: September 24th, 2025

September 24, 2025

Stay informed without the overwhelm. The Advocacy Update delivers clear, curated legislative updates restoration contractors can trust, highlighting the bills, policies, and issues that matter most to your business. Each week, get a quick, actionable overview to keep you prepared and ahead in a rapidly changing landscape.

Key Takeaways: 

• While the California state session has adjourned for the year, the following bill—SB 517- was delivered to the governor’s desk. This is in addition to AB 1200, reported last week as having also been delivered to the governor. Governor Newsom has until October 12th to either sign or veto each of the bills. 
• In North Carolina, HB 926, introduced April 10th, saw movement for the first time since July. 

California

SB 517 seeks to expand transparency and accountability relating to subcontractors. First, this bill specifies that the prime or direct contractor is responsible for the completion of a project in accordance with the signed home improvement contract, plan, or specification, and is subject to administrative discipline for failure to comply. However, this bill clarifies that while administrative responsibility rests with the prime or direct contractor, subcontractors or home improvement salespersons are not precluded from administrative discipline for violations. Furthermore, this bill would require home improvement contracts to contain a disclosure regarding whether or not subcontractors will be used for the project. 

If enacted, this bill will require more transparency for subcontractors while simultaneously asserting project completion responsibility on the primary contractor. Overall, this bill impacts restoration contractors by regulating their usage and reporting of subcontractors for restoration work. On September 22nd, this bill was sent to the governor for his approval. 

North Carolina

HB 926, the ‘Regulatory Reform Act of 2025,’ includes a plethora of reforms to various sectors in North Carolina. For context, current North Carolina state law includes continuing educational requirements for general contractors, requiring at least one qualifier or qualifying party of a contractor license to complete eight hours of continuing education annually for the license to remain valid.  

When introduced, this bill included an amendment to this provision that provided an exemption for members of the General Assembly, making it easier for licensed contractors to maintain their license while in office. The third edition of this bill, approved on the House floor 111-0, expanded this provision to also include a licensee who holds a special builder designation, meaning those who have completed educational requirements for accredited builder or accredited master builder titles. However, both of these provisions would be removed in the sixth edition of the bill following an amendment by the Senate Committee on Regulatory Reform, and in the most recent version of the bill, which has now passed the Senate, the provisions are still absent. 

We are specifically looking at the provision related to special builder designations.. The special builder designation provision would have allowed contractors to forgo duplicative educational requirements, making the licensing process less time-consuming. Notably, Jeff Zenger (R-NC74), one of the bill’s co-sponsors and the owner of a commercial and residential contractor company, supports this provision and is knowledgeable about the industry and requirements needed.

This bill has seen several changes over the course of its formation: introduced in the House in April, it went through eight different versions before most recently passing the Senate. However, it now heads back to the House for concurrence. It is possible that the two continuing education provisions could be added back to the bill, but this is difficult to predict and would require the bill to then return to the Senate for a second concurrence. 

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These weekly updates are part of RIA’s mission to educate, advocate, and elevate the restoration industry—empowering contractors to navigate legislative challenges and shape a stronger future for all.