HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 635

BYRepresentative Walk

Requiring contractors to post certain information on the job site.

House Committe on Commerce & Labor

Majority Report:     The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (11)

     Signed by Representatives Wang, Chair; Cole, Vice Chair; Fisch, Fisher, R. King, O'Brien, Patrick, Sanders, Sayan, C. Smith and Walker.

House Staff:Chris Cordes (786-7117)

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE & LABOR MARCH 4, 1987

BACKGROUND:

Under Washington mechanics' and materialmen's lien law, contractors are required to post notices at construction sites on projects costing more than five thousand dollars.  If the primary use of the improvements on the property is residential, the notice must contain:  (1)  the legal description or street address of the site; (2) the property owner's name, address and telephone number; (3)  the prime contractor's business name, address, telephone number and contractor registration number; and either (4)  the name, address and telephone number of the lender administering the construction financing; or (5)  the name and address of the firm issuing a payment bond, if the bond is for an amount not less than fifty percent of the construction cost.  For other projects, the notice must contain:  (1)  the legal description or street address of the site; (2) the property owner's name, address and telephone number; (3)  the prime contractor's business name, address, telephone number and contractor registration number.

Failure to comply with the posting requirements is a gross misdemeanor.

SUMMARY:

SUBSTITUTE BILL:  The requirements for posting notices at construction sites and the gross misdemeanor penalty for violation of the posting requirements are repealed from the mechanics' and materialmen's lien law.

A section is added to the contractor registration law requiring the following notice to be posted at residential construction sites for projects costing more than five thousand dollars:  (1)  the legal description or street address of the site; (2) the property owner's name, address and telephone number; (3)  the prime contractor's business name, address, telephone number and contractor registration number; and either (4)  the name, address and telephone number of the lender administering the construction financing; or (5)  the name and address of the firm issuing a payment bond, if the bond is for an amount not less than fifty percent of the construction cost.

For all other construction projects of more than five thousand dollars, a notice must be posted containing:  (1)  the legal description or street address of the site; (2) the property owner's name, address and telephone number; (3)  the prime contractor's business name, address, telephone number and contractor registration number.

Failure to comply with the posting requirements is an infraction, subject to a monetary penalty of not less than fifty dollars.  Each day of failure to comply is a separate violation.  If a contractor knowingly posts false information or should have known the information was false, the contractor is subject to a monetary penalty of not less than five hundred dollars and not more than one thousand dollars for each violation.  Each notice containing false information or each day false information is posed is a separate violation.

The Department of Labor and Industries is required to adopt rules before September 1, 1987, to implement the notice provisions.  The notice provisions are to be enforced as infractions under the contractor registration law.

If any provision is held invalid, the remainder of the act is not affected.

SUBSTITUTE BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL:  The substitute bill clarifies that failure to comply with the posting requirements is an infraction under the contractor registration provisions and that a monetary penalty is imposed if a contractor knowingly posts false information or posts information that the contractor should have known was false.  Provisions are added that make it a separate violation for each notice for a job site containing false information and each day that a notice is posted containing false information.

Fiscal Note:    Requested February 24, 1987.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:     Representative Walk, prime sponsor; Glenn Belisle, Subcontractors and Suppliers Association; C.E. Link; Gail Meyer; Bob Dilger, Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council.

House Committee - Testified Against: None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:     The requirement that notice be posted at construction sites is unenforced.  It is often very difficult for suppliers and subcontractors to get the information about the construction project that is needed to comply with lien law notice requirements.

House Committee - Testimony Against: None Presented.