Mechanics’ Lien Law Changes Go Into Effect

Robert Campbell was quoted in a June 29, 2012 article in the Daily Journal about changes made to a law protecting laborers from non-payment aimed at making it easy to cash in on liens. 
 
Senate Bill 189, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2010, did not go fully into effect until July 1 of this year because lawmakers wanted to give those affected by it more time to adjust to the changes. The legislation, intended to clear up confusion over the existing statute, marked the first changes to the mechanics' lien law in decades.

Campbell told the paper he would have preferred it if lawmakers had taken a more nuanced approach.
 
"I would argue construction professionals were comfortable with the existing law," Campbell told the Daily Journal. "They had a good, solid, working understanding of what these laws meant. ... [They could have] made the same tweaks to the existing statute."