Posts Tagged ‘Washington Legislature’

Residential Sprinkler Bill Resurrected in Washington House

On March 2, 2011        

Two years ago we wrote a blog post about 2009 House Bill 2224, introduced in Olympia by Representative Simpson, and aimed to “eradicate barriers that prevent the voluntary installation of sprinkler systems in private residences by promoting education regarding the effectiveness of residential fire sprinklers.”

While the bill had a lot of support in the House and Senate (see voting history here), it never got to the governor’s desk, and largely fizzled out.

The concept is back from the dead, however, being introduced on January 18, 2011, by Representative Van De Wege as 2011 House Bill 1295. Compare this bill’s synopsis with the 2009 summary:

…to eliminate barriers to the voluntary installation of sprinkler systems in private residences. The bill provides financial and regulatory incentives to homeowners, builders, and water purveyors for voluntarily installing the systems. It also exempts a public water system from liability for damages resulting from shutting off water to a residential home with an installed fire sprinkler system.

It’s virtually identical.

The 2011 Bill appears to be moving through the chambers a bit more quickly than its 2009 counterpart, and also has a companion bill in the Senate’s chambers (SB 5206).

Nationwide, residential fire sprinklers are getting more popular, and it’s becoming more and more likely that government regulation over these installations will expand as time goes on. Take, for example, what the U.S. Fire Administration (through FEMA) states as follows on the topic:

It is the official position of the U.S. Fire Administration that all American should be protected against death, injury and property loss resulting from fire in their residences. All homes should be equipped with smoke alarms and automatic fire sprinklers…

We’ll keep you posted on any progress to this legislation.

Posted in:     Building Codes, Regulations, Washington  /  Tags: , ,   /   Leave a comment

Construction Legislation Now Pending in Washington

On February 10, 2011        

The new legislative session has begun in Washington, and a number of bills affecting the construction industry have been introduced. We wrote a full blog post on one of the more interesting bills introduced to address the controversial Williams v. Athletic Field construction lien case. Here is a summary of some of the other pending legislation:

House Bill 1531 (Adjusting the minimum wage rate based on changes in consumer pricing)
Introduced by Rep. Cary Condotta, (R-Wenatchee) (R) on January 25, 2011, requires the calculations for the adjusted minimum wage rate to include the actual change in consumer prices since September 1, 2000, based on the consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, or a successor index. This act requires the new calculations to begin September 30, 2011.
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=127384

House Bill 1532 (Creating a good faith defense for certain minimum wage and overtime compensation complaints)
Introduced by Rep. Cary Condotta, (R-Wenatchee) (R) on January 25, 2011, relieves liability for employers who violate minimum wage or overtime pay requirements when the act or omission occurs in good faith and in reliance on rules, rule interpretations by the Director of the Department of Labor and Industries, or administrative or interpretive opinions issues by the Department.
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=127385

House Bill 1535 (Providing requirements for business payment contracts)
Introduced by Rep. Cary Condotta, (R-Wenatchee) (R) on January 25, 2011, provides for specific requirements for business payment contracts. This act requires a separate signature line for a business representative to accept the terms of the contract on behalf of another and makes the business representative personally liable for the contract. This act applies to business payment contracts executed on or after July 1, 2012.
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=127388

House Bill 1559 (Limiting indemnification agreements involving design professionals)
Introduced by Rep. Kathy Haigh, (D-Shelton) (D) on January 25, 2011, modifies current law to limit indemnification agreements involving design professionals. This act allows for the indemnification of a public agency in a claim filed by a design professional only to the extent of any negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct of the design professional. This act may not be waived or modified by contractual agreement, act, or omission of the parties.
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=127422

Senate Bill 5444 (Concerning the construction of a state boundary bridge)
Introduced by Sen. Steve Conway, (D-Tacoma) (D) on January 25, 2011, to make specific provisions for the construction of a state boundary bridge. This act requires specific conditions in any requests for proposals issued by the Department of Transportation for the bridge, including a requirement that the contractor use products, materials, and components manufactured in Washington or the adjoining state with which the project is designed. This act also provides other considerations for the contract, unless any would jeopardize federal funding. (Companion: HB 1383).
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=127329

Senate Bill 5485 (Maximizing the use of our state’s natural resources)
Introduced by Sen. Jim Hargrove, (D-Hoquiam) (D) on January 26, 2011, to adopt, by reference, the international green construction code to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts at earlier stages in the building and construction design process. The state building code council is required to review the state building code and adopt changes as necessary to promote the greater use of wood and wood products.
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=127647

Senate Bill 5562 (Creating a task force on construction crane safety review)
Introduced by Sen. Jerome Delvin, (R-Richland) (R) on January 31, 2011, to create a task force on construction crane safety review to review the implementation of statutes concerning crane safety. Membership will consist of legislators, stakeholders from the construction crane industry, and a representative of the department of labor and industries. The task force expires December 31, 2011.
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=129265

House Bill 1761 (Limiting private activity bond issues by out-of-state issuers)
Senate Bill 5618 (Limiting private activity bond issues by out-of-state issuers)
Introduced by Rep. Hans Dunshee, (D-Snohomish) (D) on February 1, 2011, to allow lines of group disability insurance, except short-term or student-only plans, to be issued to more groups when certain conditions are met. (Companion: SB 5617).
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=129616

House Bill 1788 (Concerning the practice of registered interior design)
Introduced by Rep. Tami Green, (D-Lakewood) (D) on February 2, 2011, creates registration requirements and fees for those who practice interior design. This act includes design services rendered for new construction, alterations, or interior repairs on any nonstructural interior area of any occupancy not exceeding four thousand square feet. This act creates the state Board for Registered Interior Designers consisting of five members appointed by the Governor. This act requires the Board to adopt a national exam to test competencies in codes and practices in interior, nonstructural design work.
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=129800

House Bill 1806 (Concerning construction and industrial storm water general permits)
Introduced in the House on February 2, 2011, requires construction and industrial storm water general permits issued by the department to include an enforceable adaptive storm water mechanism using benchmarks and action levels as goals. This act sets out specific criteria for monitoring compliance under industrial storm water general permits. This act allows the department to modify or terminate the permit if the permit holder is not satisfying the controls in place with the original permit. This act also creates reporting and assessment requirements of the department regarding these permits. This act expires January 1, 2015.
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=129819

House Bill 1809 (Establishing a preference for resident contractors on public works)
Senate Bill 5662 (Establishing a preference for resident contractors on public works)
Introduced by Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, (D-Sequim) (D) on February 3, 2011, to require the state or a municipality to award a contract to the responsible bidder with the lowest responsive bid after a resident contractor preference of seven percent has been applied. (Companion: SB 5662).
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=130057

Senate Bill 5131 (Expanding the definition of public facilities eligible for impact fee credits)
Substitute offered in the Senate on February 3, 2011, to provide that a local government’s capital facilities plan, included in its comprehensive plan adopted under the growth management act, must include public streets, roads, and transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities.
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=123071

Senate Bill 5250 (Modifying the design-build procedure for transportation projects)
Substitute offered in the Senate on February 3, 2011, to provide that at the request of the transportation committees of the Legislature or the Office of Financial Management, the department of transportation must provide a written explanation as to why the design-build process was not used. The department must periodically evaluate the design-build process
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=124072

Senate Bill 5643 (Revising the definition of “well” in water well construction)
Introduced by Sen. Val Stevens, (R-Arlington) (R) on February 3, 2011, to revise the definition of “well” for purposes of water well construction to provide that “well” does not mean an excavation of less than six feet in depth, regardless of purpose or method of construction.
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=130028

House Bill 1853 (Regarding structural engineers)
Introduced by Rep. Mike Sells, (D-Everett) (D) on February 7, 2011, modifies current law to allow to allow an engineer to provide structural engineering services on certain structures without being registered as a structural engineer. This act excludes from the definition of significant structure non-occupied towers containing telecommunication and broadcast antennas, allowing non-registered structural engineers to provide services on such towers.
http://www.washingtonvotes.org/Legislation.aspx?ID=130677

Posted in:     Construction News  /  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,   /   2 Comments

Lien Bill Introduced in Washington Legislature To Offset Williams v Athletic Field

On January 25, 2011        

Williams v. Athletic’s Field took the Washington mechanic lien world by storm last year, when it declared a mechanic lien invalid even though the claimant used the specific form provided by the statute. We’ve written about this opinion at length on this blog, and noted that the decision is now being reviewed by the Washington Supreme Court.

Today, Representative Moeller introduced a bill “addressing the notice requirements for claiming a mechanics’ or materialmen’s lien,” leapfrogging the Washington Supreme Court to legislatively address the impact of Athletic’s Field. House Bill 1475 can be viewed here. It’s schedule for public hearing in the House Committee on Labor & Workforce Development on January 28th.

Read the original text of the bill here.

The proposed changes are quite simple. When setting forth the statutory form for acknowledgment, the proposed bill would separately provide acknowledgment language for individuals and corporations.

The acknowledgment language that currently exists in the law should be used for “An acknowledgment for an individual claimant, an attorney of an individual claimant, or the administrator, representative, or agent of the trustees of an employee benefit plan…”

For a corporate claimant, the following acknowledgment language is provided in the bill:

_________, being sworn, says: I am the present (or vice president, secretary, treasurer, or other authorized officer or agent, as the case may be) of _________ that executed the claim of a lien, and I acknowledge this claim to be the free and voluntary act and deed of the corporation, for the uses and purposes therein mentioned; I am authorized to execute this claim and the seal affixed is the corporate seal of the corporation; I have read or heard the forgoing claim, read and know the contents thereof, and believe the same to be true and correct and that the claim of lien is not frivolous and is made with reasonable cause, and is not clearly excessive under penalty of perjury.

The law also provides that a party or entity that is not specifically identified in the statute with associated acknowledgment language “shall modify the pattern form to comply with the acknowledgment requirements pursuant to chapter 64.08 RCW”

If passed, the act would take effect on January 1, 2012. We’ll monitor and update you on the status of this act.

Posted in:     Mechanics Lien, Washington  /  Tags: , , , ,   /   Leave a comment

Contractor Violation Rules May Finally Get A Break in Washington

On March 23, 2010        

Over the past few years, a joint legislative task force on the underground construction economy has been responsible for a number of changes to the Washington contractor licensing statutes, and all of these changes had made the laws more strict and aggressive against parties performing construction work without a license.

A new bill in the Washington legislature is recommended by the same task force, but this one may finally give the underground construction economy a break (although the bill will tighten areas of regulation as well).

Introduced by Representative Steve Conway, this bill would allow a fine imposed against an unregistered contractor to be reduced if the contractor registers for an approved training course within 10 days of being notified of the infraction.  Notice some key terms:  ”reduced” and not eliminated, and “may” and not shall.

But, for those operating without a license, or those who are operating and just don’t know they need a license…this bill could provide them with a break to allow the violating party to get legal.

Other components of the bill are not as violator friendly.     Read the full text of the bill here.

This article was originally posted on Wolfe Law Group’s topic-specific Northwest Construction Law Blog.

Posted in:     Licensing, Washington  /  Tags: , , , , , ,   /   Leave a comment

Bill Proposes Extending Reach of Prevailing Wage Laws in Washington

On March 16, 2010        

In the current economy, the construction industry finds itself relying very heavily on public works projects.   It seems that even those projects not classified as a true public works is still relying on some sort of public funding, loan or credit.

And this is why contractors should be take note of HB 1992 in the Washington legislature, which seeks to add a provision to 39.12 RCW to apply those prevailing wage requirements to construction projects that utilize tax incentives, public loans or public land that is sold or leased.

If the project has a touch of public funding, in other words, the prevailing wage requirements will apply.

Read the full text of the proposed addition to the statutes, as it currently exists, here.

This article was originally posted on Wolfe Law Group’s topic-specific Northwest Construction Law Blog.

Posted in:     Prevailing Wages, Washington  /  Tags: , , , , ,   /   Leave a comment
Next Page »