Over a year has passed since the latest inception of State Registration and we now have a Bill, #SB11-207. I would like to thank the State Registration committee for all their hard work, in particular a special thanks to Curt Boyd, Amy Hawkins, Debbie Hathorne, and Rick Rosendahl. But we are not out of the woods yet and we are going to need your help. As the bill is circulating through the House and Senate it is important for you to contact your local representatives. In the newsletter we have provided names, numbers, and emails to reach out to your local representatives to ask them to support SB11-207. Another way you can be of assistance is to educate those not familiar with the bill. Please take a few moments and review the summary of the bill which is also included in the newsletter. Please forward any questions you may have to myself or Debbie, we will respond.

So far the vast majority of feedback from people within our industry and those outside is very positive. Those who have shown support are general contractor associations, insurance companies, consumers, consumer advocacy groups, media outlets, local code enforcers, suppliers, manufacturers, CRA members, and the El Paso Roofing Contractors Association. Many agree the bill's impact will be beneficial to our industry and the consumer. Those not accustomed to our industry are surprised to find out there is no statewide regulation already in place. During the past year of speaking to people about the concept of registration or licensing there have been numerous questions and reactions. Following are a few I have fielded and some of my responses. Hopefully these will help if you find yourself in a similar situation.

The most common negative reaction has been "we do not need more regulation and government". Unfortunately, this can be a sort of knee jerk response to any type of regulation. It is also the type of response that is difficult to debate because it is a blanket statement rather than a point of contention regarding the actual merits of a particular regulation. Let's face it regulation is like anything else it can be good or bad. Let's look at the content before we cast judgment, then we can have informed conversations rather than pre-programmed responses. Currently, we have no statewide requirements to maintain the integrity of our industry and ensure companies are playing on a level field. There is also little recourse to the consumer in the event they are dealing with a bad contractor. It is not like we are trying to raise the bar, there is no bar. Just to reiterate some points from the bill -- how do we level the playing field and protect consumers? Minimum insurance requirements, surety bond, required information on proposals, and violators held accountable by DORA.

A new piece of regulation can be fine and dandy but if there are no teeth what does it matter? Potential violators to the law will be held accountable by DORA in a variety of ways including cease and desist letters, administrative fines, seeking an injunction from the Attorney General, and revoke or suspension of registration.

How much time and money will this cost me? Initially you will need to take a nationally recognized test probably similar to the ones offered by the IRC. Every year there will be a renewal fee and requirement to provide updated insurance certificates. You will also need to provide a surety bond and include additional information on your proposals. The required information will be bonding company name and contact information, physical address of contractor's place of business, 72 hour right of rescission, legality of insurance deductibles, scope of work and material with cost, approximate dates to complete work, registration number and type. The exact fees are not known at this time because a budget has yet to be determined by our State Legislature. Although the total yearly additional costs should be less than a computer depending if you choose the master or residential classification.

The contractors who play by the rules will now have another thing to deal with while those who do not will now have another advantage. In my opinion, this one is up to us to deal with as contractors and CRA members. We must educate people and especially consumers that they need to be doing business with registered contractors. If they choose otherwise they are taking a large risk and giving up much of their recourse in the event of a problem. If the bill is passed, the CRA will be putting the public relations committee to task letting the public know about the new law. In the event of a hail storm the campaign will be even more dramatic and immediate. In addition to the CRA's awareness campaign, as roofing contractors we should make it a standard practice to display our registration numbers and educate our employees, customers, suppliers, manufacturer's, and venders. The more people who are aware of it the better.

When should I be ready for this? If all goes according to plan the law will go into effect March 1, 2012. Plenty of notice will be distributed to all by both the CRA and DORA.

Why didn't the bill go further? Several contractors expressed concern to me about other issues that they felt should have been addressed in the bill such as the mislabeling of subcontractors, waiting periods, banishing all out of 'towners,' and displaying registration numbers. While in agreement with many of their sentiments, the political process is one of give and take -- sometimes feeling like more give. Fiscal notes and appearing unfriendly to new business are major concerns when presenting legislation in tough economic times. The other thing to keep in mind is if this passes is it is more of a starting point then a finishing point. There is a DORA sunset review in five years where we can potentially address more issues once we are able to look back and see what SB11-207 accomplished.

PLEAST CONTACT YOUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES.

Kirk Tiley
Tiley Roofing, Inc.
CRA President