State Contractors Board Falls Into Disrepair By Jordan Rau, LA Times - ktla 5, CA
The board initiates fewer sting investigations, in which staffers pose as homeowners and answer ads to catch unlicensed contractors, a burgeoning problem during California's building boom in recent years. Industry officials say those illegal workers typically underbid legitimate contractors because they do not pay workers compensation for employees and do not carry a bond or liability insurance as protection for botched jobs and injuries.

Even more disturbing to outside monitors, the board has not been able to repair some of its documented areas of weakness in protecting the public from crooked contractors.