Nearly one year after Berkeley's deadly balcony collapse, state lawmakers are taking steps to prevent similar tragedies.
State senators said they never want a repeat of last year's tragedy.
The mother of Ashley Donohoe, one of the six young victims who died in the collapse, looked on Monday as lawmakers in Sacramento considered a measure that would alert the state when a contractor has a history of shoddy work.
"The firm that constructed the apartment complex, Segue Construction, had a history of questionable work," said State Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo. "In previous years paid out $26.5 million in defect settlements."
The Irish Consul General of San Francisco thanked senators for taking action. Most of the students killed or injured in Berkeley were form Ireland.
"Clearly Ireland has been deeply impacted by the tragedy," said Philip Grant with the Irish Consul General. "It's in everybody's interest to see the necessary changes to industry standards and practices so we can make sure that we can prevent needless tragedies from happening again."
Senator Loni Hancock, D-Oakland, said she and others are committed to doing just that.
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"So these families know it will never happen again," Hancock said.
Family members of the one of the victims on Monday attended what what is being called a "critical hearing" in Sacramento to consider potentially life-saving legislation.
