SENATE BILL REPORT

                   SB 5039

              As Reported By Senate Committee On:

        Labor & Workforce Development, January 26, 1999

Title:  An act relating to creation of dedicated accounts for contractor registration, factory assembled structures, and elevator inspection programs.

Brief Description:  Creating accounts for certain programs.

Sponsors:  Senators Fairley, Horn and Honeyford; by request of Department of Labor & Industries.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Labor & Workforce Development:  1/14/99, 1/26/99 [DPA].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON LABOR & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended.

  Signed by Senators Fairley, Chair; Franklin, Vice Chair; Hochstatter, Kline, Oke, Wojahn.

Staff:  Jill Reinmuth (786-7452)

Background:  The Department of Labor and Industries administers specialty compliance programs for contractors, factory-assembled structures, and elevators.  It ensures that building contractors have insurance and bonding, that manufactured homes and other structures are built according to codes, and that elevators and escalators are safely installed and maintained.

The department collects fees for registering contractors as well as for inspecting manufactured homes, elevators, and escalators.  It then deposits these fees in the general fund.

State law currently provides that program expenditures may not exceed these fees.  These fees, however, consistently exceed program appropriations.

State law also currently provides that contractor registration fees be used solely for program activities.  The use of other fees, however, is not similarly restricted.

Summary of Amended Bill:  Three dedicated accounts are established that are subject to legislative appropriation:  (1) the contractor registration account; (2) the factory-assembled structures account; and (3) the elevator inspection account.  Fees from the contractor registration program, the factory-assembled structure program, and the elevator inspection program are deposited in these accounts, and may be used only for program purposes.

Amended Bill Compared to Original Bill: A technical amendment clarified that fees collected by the department, and not fees collected by counties and cities for enforcement of mobile home installation rules or by local enforcement agencies for inspection of factory built housing and commercial structures, are deposited into the factory assembled structures account.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Effective Date:  Except for Section 5, this bill take effect ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.  Section 5 takes effect September 1, 2000.

Testimony For:  Business and industry support dedicated accounts for these programs.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  PRO: Gary Moore, Department of Labor and Industries; Gary Smith, Independent Business Association.