ContractorHandbook

Construction law changes, read from the official text

New state laws on how contractors get paid, one page each. Every page quotes the new text word for word from the legislature's own site, links to it, and says who it covers, from what date, and what it changes on a job.

California SB 61Retention capped at 5% on private contracts entered into from January 1, 2026. Most work on an ordinary house is outside it.Colorado HB26-1311A bond of up to five percent of the money earned, in place of retainage, on private contracts created from August 12, 2026. Property owned by a public entity is excluded.New York A5405A clause requiring retainage above five percent of the contract sum joins the void provisions in General Business Law 757, from December 19, 2025.Iowa SF 574 and SF 2365Retainage on Iowa public improvement contracts capped at three percent from July 1, 2025, down from five. From July 1, 2026 the public body has to send notice of the date of final acceptance.California SB 440A claim process for change orders, time extensions and disputed payments on private jobs: a written answer, a meet and confer, mediation, interest and a right to stop work.Texas HB 3005On a public work contract entered into from September 1, 2025, an audit that runs more than 60 days past substantial completion is not a bona fide dispute under the prompt payment chapter.Florida HB 683On a local government construction contract entered into from July 1, 2025, a conforming change order price quote not answered in writing within 35 days is deemed approved.Arizona SB 1189Only revitalization district construction contracts: they must let contractors and subcontractors suspend or terminate on written notice when payment fails. Private jobs and other public owners are outside it.California SB 33Public works only: the claim process in Public Contract Code 9204, with a written answer within 45 days, meet and confer, mediation and 7 percent interest, loses its January 1, 2027 end date.

How these pages are made

Each page starts from the enacted text, saved from the official site on the day it was read. The build that publishes this site reads every quote on a page back out of that saved copy and refuses to publish the page if one does not match word for word. A date on these pages comes from the act itself or from the legislature's own record of it, and the page says which.

What they are not

They are not legal advice, and they are not news. A page says what the text says and where it stops, and where the text leaves a question open, the page says so instead of guessing. A statute can be amended after a page is written, so read the linked text before you rely on it.

Where to go from here

If a change is about retainage, the retainage calculator works out what is being held on a job, what is payable now and what is left at closeout.

Five of the seven states on this page also have a lien deadline calculator here, which counts that state's deadlines from the dates on your own job: California lien deadline calculator, New York lien deadline calculator, Texas lien deadline calculator, Florida lien deadline calculator and Arizona lien deadline calculator. All seventeen are listed under lien deadline calculators.

Contractor Handbook · https://contractorhandbook.com/law-changes/