The state of California has introduced new legislation tightening construction regulations in the wake of the balcony collapse tragedy which killed six young people and injured seven others in June 2015.
The Governor of California Jerry Brown signed the bill into law this evening.
The California Senate unanimously voted in favour of it earlier this month, on a 74-0 vote.
This new law will bring more oversight to the construction contractor's industry in California.
It was introduced by Democratic Senators Jerry Hill from Santa Clara and Loni Hancock from Berkeley and is designed to address accountability gaps in the construction process that were brought to light last year.
It ensures that the state agencies charged with overseeing the industry take the appropriate steps to identify bad actors and improve standards.
The law requires contractors who have been convicted of felonies or crimes related to their work to report that information to the Contractors State Licence Board - the industry regulator.
It also requires that Board to determine whether receiving information relating to construction defects would be useful for them.
And it requires the Building Standards Commission to look at improving the safety requirements for balconies and other outdoor structures.
Moves to draft a report on this will begin shortly.
The two senators were moved to introduce this law when it emerged that the builder of the Library Gardens Complex had a history of settlements relating to construction defects totaling $26.5m.
Earlier this summer both Jackie Donohoe, whose daughter Ashley was killed, and 22-year-old Aoife Beary, who was injured at the collapse, and her mother Angela testified during hearings on the new law.
Ms Donohoe was present at the State House in Sacramento today when Governor Brown signed the bill into law.
In a statement afterwards Mrs Donohoe said that she "was not done yet" and urged people to sign her online petition calling for greater building regulation standards.
"It is my hope that this bill will ultimately force changes to the building codes and require stricter standards for balcony construction," she said.
"Most importantly, contractors who build defective structures must be required to publicly disclose their settlements."
Minister says Irish testimony was 'significant'
The Minister for the Diaspora was present at the signing.
Minister Joe McHugh said it was an important day, given the work and effort put in from all of those involved.
He said he had "a quiet moment" with George and Jackie Donohoe who had fought hard for the legislation, after their daughter was killed when the apartment balcony collapsed in June of last year.
He said they were "happy and satisfied" that the bill had gone through, and with the support they had received from the state legislature.
He said it had been mentioned to him that the testimony that Ms Donohoe had given during the course of the hearings had been a "significant contribution" to getting the new law passed.
Mr McHugh said he felt that the tragedy had had a "big impact" on politicians in California, as it affected so many people in Ireland too, and he said he found them "united" and focused on "ensuring this doesn't happen again".
