---
type: "Bill"
title: "Private works of improvement: retention payments."
description: "Existing law generally governs retention payments withheld with respect to a contract for a private work of improvement, including by requiring an owner that withholds a retention from a direct contractor to, within 45 days after completion of the work of improvement, pay the retention to the contractor."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20252026"
identifier: "SB 61"
citation: "California SB 61 (20252026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Privateworksofimprovement", "retentionpayments"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Cortese"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 17
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2025-01-09"
last_action: "2025-07-14"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/dc66a57e-fddb-448a-b680-e2a3532832d2"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB61"
source_hash: "b53761394568bda6d986e8bba6ef1d8aef55efcda68b4bf499995cac62c72e60"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California SB 61 (20252026) — Private works of improvement: retention payments.

Existing law generally governs retention payments withheld with respect to a contract for a private work of improvement, including by requiring an owner that withholds a retention from a direct contractor to, within 45 days after completion of the work of improvement, pay the retention to the contractor.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **01/09/25 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB61&version=20250SB6199INT)
2. **03/26/25 - Amended Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB61&version=20250SB6198AMD)
3. **07/14/25 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB61&version=20250SB6196CHP)
4. **SB61** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB61)
5. **06/25/25 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB61&version=20250SB6197ENR)

## Votes

- Do pass and be ordered to the Consent Calendar — **13–0** (pass) · upper
- Consent Calendar 2nd — **37–0** (pass) · upper
- Do pass. To Consent Calendar. — **11–0** (pass) · lower
- SB 61 Cortese Consent Calendar Second Day — **71–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Cortese — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-01-09** Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. `introduction, reading-1`
- **2025-01-10** From printer. May be acted upon on or after February 9.
- **2025-01-29** Referred to Com. on JUD. `referral-committee`
- **2025-03-26** Set for hearing April 8.
- **2025-03-26** From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD. `amendment-passage, committee-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2025-04-09** From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0. Page 705.) (April 8). `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-04-10** Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar. `reading-1, reading-2`
- **2025-04-24** Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 37. Noes 0. Page 887.) Ordered to the Assembly. `passage, reading-1, reading-3`
- **2025-04-24** In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. `reading-1`
- **2025-05-12** Referred to Com. on JUD. `referral-committee`
- **2025-06-17** From committee: Do pass. Ordered to consent calendar. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 17). `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2025-06-18** Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar. `reading-1, reading-2`
- **2025-06-23** Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 71. Noes 0. Page 2247.) Ordered to the Senate. `passage, reading-1, reading-3`
- **2025-06-23** In Senate. Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
- **2025-07-03** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11:15 a.m.
- **2025-07-14** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2025-07-14** Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 49, Statutes of 2025. `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/dc66a57e-fddb-448a-b680-e2a3532832d2`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).