"I mean, for pete's sake, you no longer even need a contractor's license in California. I can't remember when the last time I worked on a job that did not have at least 1 unlicensed contractor working on it."
From what I can tell (and the way it's setup is a gawdawful mess), the CSLB has nothing to do with the certification program. It's the "Division of Apprenticeship Standards" - accountable it seems, to no one.