Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred S.B. No. 1778, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to provide for prompt investigation of unlicensed contracting complaints by:

The Hawaii Building and Construction Trades Council, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 50, and the Iron Workers Stabilization Fund testified in support of this bill. The Building Industry Association-Hawaii supported the intent of this measure. The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs opposed this bill. The General Contractors Association of Hawaii offered comments.

Your Committee finds that it is not rare for unlicensed contracting complaints to be resolved only after the project in question is completed. For example, the Iron Workers Stabilization Fund testified that in January, 2005, it received a final decision of a complaint of unlicensed activity filed with RICO at the beginning of 2004, almost a complete year later. That construction project was completed many months earlier and was already occupied at the time of RICO's final decision. Therefore, it is crucial that complaints be investigated and completed within a timely manner so that stop-work orders can be given in cases where safety of the public is at issue.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1778, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.