(

a) The board shall require as a condition precedent to the issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, renewal, or continued maintenance of a license, that the applicant or licensee file or have on file a contractor’s bond in the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000). (

b) Excluding the claims brought by the beneficiaries specified in subdivision (

a) of

Section 7071.5, the aggregate liability of a surety on claims brought against a bond required by this

section shall not exceed the sum of seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500). The bond proceeds in excess of seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) shall be reserved exclusively for the claims of the beneficiaries specified in subdivision (

a) of

Section 7071.5. However, nothing in this

section shall be construed so as to prevent any beneficiary specified in subdivision (

a) of

Section 7071.5 from claiming or recovering the full measure of the bond required by this section. (

c) A bond shall not be required of a holder of a license that has been inactivated on the official records of the board during the period the license is inactive. (

d) Notwithstanding any other law, as a condition precedent to licensure, the board may require an applicant to post a contractor’s bond in twice the amount required pursuant to subdivision (

a) until the time that the license is renewed, under the following conditions:

(1) The applicant has either been convicted of a violation of

Section or has been cited pursuant to

Section 7028.7.

(2) If the applicant has been cited pursuant to

Section 7028.7, the citation has been reduced to a final order of the registrar.

(3) The violation of

Section 7028, or the basis for the citation issued pursuant to

Section 7028.7, constituted a substantial injury to the public. (

e) This

section shall become operative on January 1, 2023.