Legislature(2001 - 2002)
05/10/2002 05:26 PM Senate JUD
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 27-HOME INSPECTORS/CONTRACTORS MS. JANET SEITZ, Staff to Representative Norman Rokeberg, sponsor of HB 27, said HB 27 would require registration for home inspectors along with certain educational and practice requirements. SENATOR THERRIAULT moved the work draft (Version V) as the working document before the committee. There being no objection, Version V was adopted as the working document before the committee. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked Ms. Seitz to explain the changes made in Version V. MS. SEITZ said Version V does not contain the section that dealt with legal actions against home inspectors and associated language requiring a report to be filed on an existing home within two years and a new home within one year. She said there would be no contractual limitation of liability of home inspectors according to Sec. 17. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked Ms. Seitz for the location of the provisions that would allow only two certifying entities. MS. SEITZ said those provisions were in Sections 7 and 43. She said Sec. 7 would require passage of appropriate examination to get a home inspector's license and Sec. 43 would provide for transitional licensing. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said those two entities were the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) and the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO). MS. SEITZ said that was correct. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if that would include the National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI). MS. SEITZ said no. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if the American Home Inspector Training Institute (AHITI) was a different school. MS. SEITZ said it was. She said ASHI had an Alaska chapter and the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) required ICBO certification for new construction. 5:37 p.m. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG, sponsor of HB 27, said he reviewed a number of other entities offering training and testing services that expressed interest in being included. He said ASHI and ICBO were well respected throughout the country. He didn't want to list every particular entity and would not object to the committee adding a provision that would allow inclusion of other entities by regulation. He didn't want to exclude any entities but wanted to be sure they were reviewed before they were approved. He said the legislature didn't have the capacity to review each of the entities. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said HB 27 limits certification to just two entities. He received correspondence from someone who suggested also including NAHI and AHITI because those entities offered training and testing services. He didn't want to pass HB 27 only to discover that a good portion of the home inspectors in Alaska could no longer practice because they got their certification from some other entity. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG said he had been working on the issue for four years and that work spawned the Alaskan ASHI chapter. He said there was some competition between ASHI and one of the entities Chairman Taylor mentioned but he didn't believe that affected Alaska. He felt comfortable including only ASHI and ICBO. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR moved conceptual Amendment 1 to change the semicolon on page 4, line 24 to a comma and add AHITI and NAHI to the list of eligible entities offering examination and courses for inspecting existing homes. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG was not sure of the quality or competency of AHITI and NAHI. SENATOR THERRIAULT asked why it would be preferable to specify certain entities when there could be other qualified entities. He said they could delete all of the language from line 20 to line 27 on page 4. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG said there must be basic standards. He said AHFC required ICBO certification for inspecting new construction. He said Senator Therriault's suggestion would lower requirements and he didn't think they wanted to do that. He said existing home inspection certification was what was at issue and ASHI was the normally accepted standard. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said members of the committee had received correspondence from people who wouldn't be able to get a license unless they went back through the educational process. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG had reviewed some of the entities. He read the complete curriculum from one of the entities mentioned that was in a one-room second-floor walk-up in Connecticut and he didn't believe they had sufficiently demonstrated their qualifications to be included in HB 27. He said entities that could show sufficient qualifications should be included. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said he wasn't concerned with where the inspectors got their certification because they would be liable if they did anything wrong. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG said the same change should be made on page 22, line 6 to be consistent. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said they could change the "or" on page 22, line 6 to an "and." He said that would require all inspectors to take an examination by the board. REPRESENTATIVE ROKEBERG said there wasn't a board. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said the language on page 22, lines 7-8 referred to, "the Examination Board of Professional Home Inspectors." He asked if HB 27 created that board. MS. SEITZ said that examination was already given by a group called Professional Home Inspectors and some people in the state had already taken that examination. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR reiterated that conceptual Amendment 1 would include AHITI and NAHI on page 4, line 24 and page 22, line 6. He asked if there was any objection to Amendment 1. There being no objection, Amendment 1 was adopted. SENATOR COWDERY moved SCS CSHB 27(JUD) out of committee with attached fiscal notes and individual recommendations. There being no objection, SCS CSHB 27(JUD) moved out of committee with attached fiscal notes and individual recommendations.
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