FINAL BILL REPORT

                 SHB 2686

                         C 217 L 92

                     Synopsis As Enacted

Brief Description:  Regulating contractor registration and licensing.

By House Committee on Commerce & Labor (originally sponsored by Representatives Kremen, Heavey and Fuhrman).

House Committee on Commerce & Labor

Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor

Background:  Construction contractors are required to register with the Department of Labor and Industries.  To apply for registration, the contractor must submit his or her social security number, Employment Security Department number, industrial insurance number, and state excise tax registration number.  Electrical contractors must be licensed by the department, but they are not required to provide information about the contractor's unemployment insurance or workers' compensation coverage in the application.

There is no requirement under the state industrial insurance law that employers domiciled in another state who have employment in Washington open an account with the Department of Labor and Industries before the employment begins in Washington.  If a worker is injured on the job in Washington and the worker's employer is domiciled in another state, the department may require the employer to file proof of worker's compensation insurance in the other state.  If the employer has not provided coverage in another state, the worker is paid his or her benefits by the department and the employer is subject to a penalty. 

Summary:  Both construction and electrical contractors are required to provide information about their workers' compensation coverage to the Department of Labor and Industries when applying for registration or licensure.

As applicable, the contractors must provide their industrial insurance account numbers covering employees domiciled in Washington, and must give evidence of coverage in the contractors' state of domicile for the contractors' out-of-state employees working in Washington.  The department is authorized to verify the information provided by the contractors.  If the contractors have coverage in states other than Washington, the department may notify the other states that the contractors are employing employees in Washington.

Electrical contractors applying for licensure must also include on the application the employer social security number, the Employment Security Department number, and the state excise tax registration number, or use the unified business identifier account number.

Votes on Final Passage:

House  93   0

Senate 42   0    (Senate amended)

House  96   0    (House concurred)

Effective:    June 11, 1992