05/04/2004 01:55 PM Senate L&C

             CSHB 542(RLS)-CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  CON   BUNDE  announced   CSHB  542(RLS)   to  be   up  for                                                               
consideration.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS.  SUE STANCLIFF,  staff to  Speaker  Kott, sponsor,  explained                                                               
that  the bill  is meant  to provide  a solution  to the  growing                                                               
issue   of   unregistered  contractors   providing   construction                                                               
services  illegally  under  the  guise  of  a  handyman  license.                                                               
Current  law  states  minimum  requirements   for  a  person  who                                                               
represents  himself  as  either   a  contractor  or  a  specialty                                                               
contractor.  Instead  of   meeting  qualification  standards  and                                                               
insurance requirements, 1,600 business  licenses have been issued                                                               
to     these     construction-related,     exempt-from-contractor                                                               
registrations. This  bill lowers  the project limit  from $10,000                                                               
to $5,000  and expands the work  that can be done  by a specialty                                                               
contractor.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS.  EDEN  LARSON, President  and  CEO,  Associated Builders  and                                                               
Contractors, supported HB 542.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR.  RICK URION,  Director, Division  of Occupational  Licensing,                                                               
said his division had more  complaints in this area than anywhere                                                               
else. The  problem is  that unlicensed  people are  uninsured and                                                               
not bonded and the  consumer has no recourse if he  or she does a                                                               
bad  job. He  explained  that  a category  of  handyman has  been                                                               
created helping clarify the situation.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR FRENCH asked if a  handyman can be a specialty contractor                                                               
and asked what section 3 does.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR. URION answered  that the way the law was  written they were a                                                               
specialty  contractor, but  they were  exempt from  construction.                                                               
Section 3 changes that.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  FRENCH asked  what problems  lowering the  project limit                                                               
from $10,000 to $5,000 would correct.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR.  URION replied  that it  would  keep handymen  in the  repair                                                               
business and out of the construction business.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR FRENCH  put on the  record that he owns  apartment houses                                                               
in  Anchorage and  couldn't get  along without  his handyman.  He                                                               
didn't want to threaten his ability to do work.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GARY STEVENS asked if  this would possibly raise the cost                                                               
of  hiring a  handyman by  adding costs  to be  passed on  to the                                                               
consumer.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR.  URION explained  that no  overhead  was being  added to  the                                                               
handyman category for projects under $5,000.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR GARY STEVENS  moved to pass CSHB  542(RLS) from committee                                                               
with  individual   recommendations  and  attached   fiscal  note.                                                               
Senators  French, Davis,  Seekins, Gary  Stevens and  Chair Bunde                                                               
voted yea and CSHB 542(RLS) moved from committee.