SB163 SD1

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. This exemption shall not apply in any case where a building permit is required regardless of the aggregate contract price, nor where 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 division of the project or operation is made in contracts of amounts not more than $1,000 for the purpose of evading this chapter or otherwise;

(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; provided that the employee is not the RME for a contracting entity;

(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 3. Section 444-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§444-4 Powers and duties of board. In addition to any other powers and duties authorized by law, the board shall:

(1) Grant licenses, including conditional licenses, to contractors pursuant to this chapter and rules;

(2) Adopt, amend, or repeal [~~such~~] rules [as] that the board may deem proper fully to effectuate this chapter and carry out the purpose thereof, which is the protection of the general public. All rules shall be approved by the governor and the director, and when adopted pursuant to chapter 91, shall have the force and effect of law. The rules may forbid acts or practices deemed by the board to be detrimental to the accomplishment of the purpose of this chapter. The rules may require contractors to make reports to the board containing any items of information [as] that will better enable the board to enforce this chapter and rules, or [as] that will better enable the board from time to time to amend the rules more fully to effectuate the purposes of this chapter. The rules may require contractors to furnish reports to owners containing any matters of information [as] that the board deems necessary to promote the purpose of this chapter. The enumeration of specific matters which may properly be made the subject of rules shall not be construed to limit the board's general power to make all rules necessary fully to effectuate the purpose of this chapter;

(3) Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 necessary to implement [~~the provisions of~~] this chapter relating to CFCs, including, but not limited to, procedures for the disposal of air conditioning units utilizing CFCs that include mandatory recovery and recycling of CFCs;

(4) Enforce this chapter and rules adopted pursuant thereto;

(5) Suspend or revoke any license for any cause prescribed by this chapter, or for any violation of the rules, and refuse to grant, renew, restore, or reinstate any license for any cause which would be grounds for revocation or suspension of a license;

(6) Publish and distribute pamphlets and circulars containing any information [as] that the board deems proper to further the accomplishment of the purpose of this chapter;

(7) Contract for professional testing services to prepare, administer, and grade the examinations for applicants [as] that may be required for the purposes of this chapter. The board shall determine the scope and length of the examinations, whether the examinations shall be oral, written, or both, and the score that shall be deemed a passing score;

(8) Order summary suspension of a license; provided that summary suspensions may be delegated in accordance with section 436B-23;

(9) Issue informal nonbinding interpretations or declaratory rulings, and conduct contested case proceedings pursuant to chapter 91; and

(10) Subpoena witnesses and documents, administer oaths, receive affidavits and oral testimony, including telephonic communications.

When a licensed contractor is subject to discipline for any cause prescribed in this chapter, or for any violation of the rules adopted pursuant to this section, in addition to any remedies provided by law that the board may impose on the contractor, the board may also award reasonable attorney fees to the injured person."

SECTION 4. Section 444-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) No license hereunder shall be issued to:

(1) Any person unless the person has filed an application and paid the applicable fees;

(2) Any person unless the person meets the experience requirements as prescribed in the board's rules; provided that the board may accept experience acquired on a self-employed or unlicensed basis if the experience can be verified;

(3) Any person or RME of a contracting entity who does not possess a history of honesty, truthfulness, financial integrity, and fair dealing; provided that any person or RME of a contracting entity who during the six years prior to application has failed to satisfy an undisputed debt or a judgment relating to services or materials rendered in connection with operations as a contractor shall be presumed not to possess a history of financial integrity;

(4) Any person unless the person has successfully passed a written examination as prescribed by the board;

(5) Any individual unless the individual is age eighteen years or more;

(6) Any joint venture which is not exempt under section 444-2(8) unless the contracting business thereof is under the direct management of a member or employee thereof, and unless the member or employee holds an appropriate license;

(7) Any individual who is unable to qualify as a contractor or any partnership or corporation, unless the contracting business of the individual, partnership, or corporation is under the direct management of an employee, partner, or officer thereof who holds an appropriate license;

(8) Any person unless the person submits satisfactory proof to the board that the person has obtained workers' compensation insurance, or has been authorized to act as a self-insurer under chapter 386 or is excluded from the requirements of chapter 386;

(9) Any person unless the person submits satisfactory proof to the board that the person has obtained liability insurance; or

(10) Any person unless the person submits a bond if required by the board under section 444-16.5."

SECTION 5. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.

SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	163
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII