Report Title:

Contractors; Exemption

Description:

Increases the exemption for unlicensed contracting work from a total project cost of $1,000 to $100,000. Also requires written approval of unlicensed electrical or plumbing work by a licensed electrician or plumber.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1979

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO CONTRACTORS.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 444-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§444-2 Exemptions. This chapter shall not apply to:

(1) Officers and employees of the United States, the State, or any county while in the performance of their governmental duties;

(2) Any person acting as a receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, personal representative, or any other person acting under any order or authorization of any court;

(3) A person who sells or installs any finished products, materials, or articles of merchandise that are not actually fabricated into and do not become a permanent fixed part of the structure, or to the construction, alteration, improvement, or repair of personal property;

(4) Any project or operation for which the aggregate contract price for labor, materials, taxes, and all other items is not more than [$1,000.] $100,000. This exemption shall not apply in any case where [a]:

(A) A building permit is required regardless of the aggregate contract price[, nor where the];

(B) The undertaking is only a part of a larger or major project or operation, whether undertaken by the same or a different contractor [or in which a];

(C) A division of the project or operation is made in contracts of amounts not more than [$1,000] $100,000 for the purpose of evading this chapter or otherwise; or

(D) Electrical or plumbing work is not approved in writing by a licensed electrician or plumber;

(5) A registered architect or professional engineer acting solely in the person's professional capacity;

(6) Any person who engages in the activities regulated in this chapter as an employee with wages as the person's sole compensation;

(7) Owners or lessees of property who build or improve residential, farm, industrial, or commercial buildings or structures on property for their own use, or for use by their grandparents, parents, siblings, or children and who do not offer the buildings or structures for sale or lease; provided that this exemption shall not apply to electrical or plumbing work that must be performed only by persons or entities licensed under this chapter, or to the owner or lessee of the property if the owner or lessee is licensed under chapter 448E. In all actions brought under this paragraph, proof of the sale or lease, or offering for sale or lease, of the structure not more than one year after completion is prima facie evidence that the construction or improvement of the structure was undertaken for the purpose of sale or lease; provided that this provision shall not apply to residential properties sold or leased to employees of the owner or lessee; provided further that in order to qualify for this exemption the owner or lessee must register for the exemptions as provided in section 444-9.1. Any owner or lessee of property found to have violated this paragraph shall not be permitted to engage in any activities pursuant to this paragraph or to register under section 444-9.1 for a period of three years. There is a presumption that an owner or lessee has violated this section, when the owner or lessee obtains an exemption from the licensing requirements of section 444-9 more than once in two years;

(8) Any joint venture if all members thereof hold licenses issued under this chapter;

(9) Any project or operation where it is determined by the board that less than ten persons are qualified to perform the work in question and that the work does not pose a potential danger to public health, safety, and welfare; or

(10) Any public works project that requires additional qualifications beyond those established by the licensing law and which is deemed necessary and in the public interest by the contracting agency."

SECTION 2. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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