California senators have passed a new bill in the hopes of preventing a repeat of the Berkeley balcony collapse.

Yesterday, the Senate voted to make public the safety record of building firms.

From now on they will have to report any crimes related to their work to the Contractors State License Board.

The change follows a campaign by the families of the Berkeley victims who say safety concerns were kept quiet about the company who built the balcony at the centre of the fatal collapse.

Six J1 students were killed last summer while standing on a balcony at a party in the university town of Berkeley California.

The State governor has until September 30 to act on the Senate Bill.