Full Text of HB5735 098th General Assembly
HB5735enr 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning business.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Home | 5 | | Repair and Construction Task Force Act. | 6 | | Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds as follows: | 7 | | (1) In November, 2013, several tornadoes devastated | 8 | | parts of many Illinois towns, including Brookport, Coal | 9 | | City/Braidwood, Gifford, New Minden, Pekin, and | 10 | | Washington. In previous years, Illinois has suffered | 11 | | natural disasters, such as the flooding that destroyed | 12 | | parts of southern Illinois in 1993. Storms, tornadoes, and | 13 | | flooding have affected numerous parts of the State nearly | 14 | | every year. | 15 | | (2) Often, after natural disasters such as storms or | 16 | | flooding, contractors from outside the local area where the | 17 | | disaster occurred come into the area and solicit business. | 18 | | In some cases, the contractors engage in high pressure | 19 | | sales tactics and collect large down payments from | 20 | | homeowners anxious to repair their homes after a disaster, | 21 | | and then fail to complete the work in a workmanlike manner | 22 | | or leave the area without even beginning the work. | 23 | | Homeowners are unable to reach the contractors either |
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| 1 | | because the contractors provided a false physical address | 2 | | or telephone number or because the contractors are | 3 | | unresponsive to calls and letters. | 4 | | (3) Each year, the Attorney General's office receives a | 5 | | significant number of consumer complaints about home | 6 | | repair and construction, and such complaints rank among the | 7 | | top 10 consumer complaint types that office receives | 8 | | annually. These complaints often involve allegations of | 9 | | poor workmanship, failure to complete the contracted for | 10 | | work, or failure to begin the contracted for work. These | 11 | | complaints often arise after natural disasters, but the | 12 | | Attorney General's office also receives numerous | 13 | | complaints every year about routine home repair and | 14 | | construction outside of a natural disaster. | 15 | | (4) The Attorney General wishes to explore whether | 16 | | Illinois residents would benefit from legislation that | 17 | | requires home repair and construction contractors to | 18 | | obtain a license from the Department of Financial and | 19 | | Professional Regulation before offering home repair and | 20 | | construction services in Illinois and, if so, whether | 21 | | potential licensees and all their agents should be required | 22 | | to pass a proficiency test and meet certain qualifications | 23 | | as a condition of obtaining a license. | 24 | | Section 10. Definition. As used in this Act, "home repair | 25 | | and construction" means the building of a new structure |
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| 1 | | primarily designed or used as a residence or the fixing, | 2 | | replacing, altering, converting, modernizing, improving, or | 3 | | making of an addition to any real property primarily designed | 4 | | or used as a residence other than maintenance, service, or | 5 | | repairs under $500. "Home repair and construction" includes the | 6 | | construction, installation, replacement, or improvement of | 7 | | driveways, swimming pools, porches, kitchens, bathrooms, | 8 | | basements, chimneys, chimney liners, garages, fences, fallout | 9 | | shelters, central air conditioning, central heating, boilers, | 10 | | furnaces, electrical wiring, sewers, plumbing fixtures, storm | 11 | | doors, windows, roofs, and awnings and other improvements to | 12 | | structures within the residence or upon the land adjacent to | 13 | | the residence. "Home repair and construction" does not include | 14 | | the sale, installation, cleaning, or repair of carpets; the | 15 | | repair, installation, replacement, or connection of any home | 16 | | appliance, including, but not limited to, disposals, | 17 | | refrigerators, ranges, garage door openers, televisions or | 18 | | television antennas, washing machines, telephones, hot water | 19 | | heaters, satellite dishes, or other appliances when the person | 20 | | replacing, installing, repairing, or connecting the home | 21 | | appliance is an employee or agent of the merchant that sold the | 22 | | home appliance or sold new products of the same type; or | 23 | | landscaping.
| 24 | | Section 15. Home Repair and Construction Task Force; | 25 | | members. |
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| 1 | | (a) There is created the Home Repair and Construction Task | 2 | | Force consisting of the following members: | 3 | | (1) one member of the Senate appointed by the President | 4 | | of the Senate; | 5 | | (2) one member of the Senate appointed by the Minority | 6 | | Leader of the Senate; | 7 | | (3) one member of the House of Representatives | 8 | | appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; | 9 | | (4) one member of the House of Representatives | 10 | | appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of | 11 | | Representatives; | 12 | | (5) one member appointed by the Governor; | 13 | | (6) one member representing the Department of | 14 | | Financial and Professional Regulation appointed by the | 15 | | Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation; | 16 | | (7) one member representing consumers' interests | 17 | | appointed by the Attorney General; | 18 | | (8) two members representing the home repair industry | 19 | | appointed by the Attorney General; | 20 | | (9) three members representing the home builder | 21 | | industry appointed by the Attorney General; | 22 | | (10) one member representing the retail merchants that | 23 | | subcontract with home repair industry and construction | 24 | | industry members appointed by the Attorney General; | 25 | | (11) one member representing the homeowners insurance | 26 | | industry appointed by the Attorney General; |
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| 1 | | (12) three members representing unions with members in | 2 | | the home repair and construction industries appointed by | 3 | | the Attorney General; | 4 | | (13) one member representing the interests of Illinois | 5 | | municipalities appointed by the Attorney General; | 6 | | (14) one member representing the interests of Illinois | 7 | | counties appointed by the Attorney General; | 8 | | (15) one member appointed by the City of Chicago | 9 | | Commissioner of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection; | 10 | | (16) one member representing Illinois building | 11 | | officials appointed by the Attorney General; and | 12 | | (17) one member appointed by the Attorney General, who | 13 | | shall be designated the chairperson by the Attorney | 14 | | General. | 15 | | (b) All appointments to the Task Force shall be made within | 16 | | 60 days after the effective date of this Act. | 17 | | (c) Vacancies in the Task Force shall be filled by the | 18 | | initial appointing authority within 30 days after the vacancy | 19 | | occurs. | 20 | | (d) The members of the Task Force shall serve without | 21 | | compensation. | 22 | | (e) The Task Force may consult with experts and shall | 23 | | receive the cooperation of those State agencies it deems | 24 | | appropriate to assist the Task Force in carrying out its | 25 | | duties. | 26 | | (f) The Task Force shall meet initially at the call of the |
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| 1 | | Attorney General no later than 90 days after the effective date | 2 | | of this Act, and shall thereafter meet at the call of the | 3 | | chairperson. | 4 | | (g) The Attorney General shall provide administrative and | 5 | | other support to the Task Force.
| 6 | | Section 20. Duties. The Task Force shall: | 7 | | (1) discuss whether the residents of Illinois would | 8 | | benefit from legislation requiring home repair and | 9 | | construction service providers to obtain a license from the | 10 | | Department of Financial and Professional Regulation before | 11 | | offering theses services in Illinois; | 12 | | (2) if it is determined that licensure is required, | 13 | | determine: | 14 | | (A) the requirements applicants must meet to | 15 | | qualify for a license; | 16 | | (B) grounds for denial or revocation of a license; | 17 | | and | 18 | | (C) any other considerations relevant to a | 19 | | licensing requirement; and | 20 | | (3) make recommendations to the General Assembly.
| 21 | | Section 25. Report. No later than November 1, 2015, the | 22 | | Task Force shall summarize its findings and recommendations in | 23 | | a report to the General Assembly and shall file the report as | 24 | | provided in Section 3.1 of the General Assembly Organization |
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| 1 | | Act. Upon filing its report, the Task Force is dissolved. | 2 | | Section 30. Repealer. This Act is repealed on January 1, | 3 | | 2016.
| 4 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 5 | | becoming law.
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