DRAFT ONLY - APPROVAL PENDING

Wyoming Legislature
Committee Meeting Summary of Proceedings

Contractor Subcommittee of the Joint Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Interim Committee

Friday, August 29, 2003 Natrona County School District Board Room

Casper, Wyoming

Meeting Attendance (Present)

Subcommittee Members

Rep. Frank Latta, Chairman

Rep. Pete Illoway

Rep. Marty Martin

Legislative Service Office

Mark Quiner, Assistant Director

Others Present

Please refer to Appendix 1 to review the Subcommittee Sign-in Sheet for a list of other individuals who attended the meeting.

Written Meeting Materials and Handouts

All meeting materials and handouts provided to the Subcommittee by the Legislative Service Office (LSO), public officials, lobbyists, and the public are referenced in the Meeting Materials Index, attached to the minutes. These materials are on file at the LSO and are part of the official record of the meeting.

Call To Order

Chairman Latta called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. The following sections summarize the Subcommittee proceedings by topic.

Contractor and manufactured home installer licensing, 04LSO-0039.W1

Chairman Latta announced the Subcommittee would review the bill draft entitled, "Contractor and manufactured home installer licensing, 04LSO-0039.W1." (Appendix 2). Chairman Latta indicated the Subcommittee was generally aware of the issues and was interested in resolving the issues that it could and making a recommendation to the full Corporations Committee.

The Subcommittee then heard testimony from interested members of the audience.

Mr. George Parks, Executive Director of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, indicated there was a lot of common ground between the parties. Mr. Parks provided information on the status of building codes in Wyoming municipalities. (Appendix 3). Currently, 41 municipalities have building codes and many municipalities license contractors. There is also a Wyoming Trades Certification Program and WAM administers the statewide testing program for licensure under the program. He indicated the Subcommittee needed to address the federal mandates under manufactured home installers. Also, does the state want to license contractors that work on state buildings? WAM is also concerned that if the state begins to license all contractors, what effect will that have on the municipalities which currently license contractors?

Mr. Charles Ware of the Wyoming Contractors Association, indicated the main purpose of the bill was to look at out-of-state contractors coming into the state for school construction purposes. He thinks the manufactured home installers can also be part of the bill. He indicated most of the member contractors in his organization are already licensed in the towns they operate. Some are even licensed in other states. He indicated his organization is willing to work with the Legislature on this bill.

Mr. Tim Wells representing the Wyoming Building Trades has seen contractors come into this state and do poor work and leave. If the work is bad, there is no recourse for consumers at this time. He thinks there should be some protection for consumers.

Mr. Tim Summers representing the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) supports the bill. AARP has a strong interest in the bill since 80% of its members own their homes and have been in their homes for a long time. Many of these homes are in need of home improvement. Many members are downsizing their homes and buying new homes. These people need protection. Many AARP members also purchase manufactured homes. He indicated the Better Business Bureau ranks complaints on home improvement as the #5 highest consumer complaint. He thinks the bill will protect consumers against bad out-of-state contractors.

Mr. Clay Rouse of the State Fire Marshal's Office indicated his office currently licenses electrical contractors in the state and wonders how the bill might affect that process.

Ms. Laurie Urbigkit representing the Wyoming Association of Realtors and the Wyoming Housing Association first testified on behalf of the Wyoming Association of Realtors. She indicated that organization would like to see contractors held to some sort of standard. There is concern over finding a handy man to do minor repair work in a lot of homes prior to them being sold. She would like to see some "tiered" licensing which is currently in the bill draft which separates contractors from manufactured home installers.

Ms. Urbigkit also testified on behalf of the Wyoming Housing Association. She provided information on the federal mandate regarding manufactured home installers. The federal law will require manufactured home installers to be certified by the year 2005. The federal law requires either HUD or a federally certified state program to regulate manufactured home installers. Appendix 4. Ms. Urbigkit also provided a draft of a bill from her organization only addressing manufactured home installers. Appendix 5. The bill draft establishes a manufactured housing commission to register home installers. The draft establishes a statewide standard for installation, etc.

Mr. Clark Johnson with the City of Sheridan stated there is currently a building code in the state, but it generally addresses fire and electrical safety. The code is not a structural code. He provided information on the impact of the bill from a municipal level. He related that many buildings are built outside of city limits and are not necessarily inspected by a municipal building inspector. Enforcement of the system is a key issue. Currently, the City of Sheridan licenses around 315 contractors annually for a fee of $100 per year. He thinks manufactured home installers should also be part of the bill.

Mr. Dick Busby, building official for the City of Gillette indicated Gillette does regulate contractors. He is new to Wyoming, but he comes from Arizona where he was a licensed contractor. Arizona requires testing and education of licensed contractors. 39 states currently license contractors. The issues he sees are consumer protection and enforcement of licensure program as well as the handyman issue. He indicated Arizona requires licensure if the job is over $750.

Mr. Doug Barrett of the City of Casper indicated he has been a building official for the City of Casper for 18 years. He implemented a licensure program for contractors in Casper. Casper currently has reciprocity with Cheyenne and Laramie. He indicated that although WAM assists with licensure testing, Casper also gives a local test. He indicated that licensure does not solve all the problems and there is still a need for building inspectors. If the state required high bonding requirements, he indicated that would eliminate up to ½ of the contractors in Casper since they couldn't afford the bonding.

Following discussion by the Subcommittee, the Subcommittee felt the current draft may be too broad in its scope (for example, the draft also requires railroad and highway contractors to be licensed), so the Subcommittee recommended that Ms. Urbigkit's bill draft be sent to LSO for the creation of a formal bill draft.

Chairman Latta requested that the County Commissioners Association and WAM meet together to address removing railroads and highway contractors from licensure requirements as well as consider the handyman exemption (for small jobs) and report back on their progress.

Meeting Adjournment

There being no further business, Chairman Latta adjourned the meeting at 11 a.m..

Respectfully submitted,