2018 Legislative Session Report

Early Sunday morning, May 13th, the Legislature adjourned the session in Juneau.

SB45, our top priority bill, passed the Legislature! After five sessions working to get this passed, the bill made it over the finish line on the final day of the session. The vote was 39 – 1 in the House, and 19 – 0 in the Senate.

Support from our members made this bill possible, and we want them to know their efforts were successful.

SB45 requires disclosure by an unlicensed builder if they try to sell a home within two years of starting construction. This will inform to protect consumers, and help enforce against illegal unlicensed building activity.

One final note on SB45 – an amendment was added that had no impact on the construction portion of the bill related to construction. The amendment related to regulating certain liquor licenses, and was supported by distilleries, roadhouses, and hotels across the state. This means we could have a very interesting and fun crowd at the Governor’s bill signing event!

HB79, workers’ compensation definition of “independent contractor”, was also passed. A new definition to classify employees and independent contractors is in Section 17, page 8, beginning on line 17. [CLICK HERE TO READ]

This is the language we supported, and includes several provisions directly influenced by our efforts. Reference to “tools, labor, and other operational costs”, the exception for materials and equipment, and language in the “2 out of 3” criteria were all items we engaged.

For example, here’s our letter to the House Judiciary asking for amendments that were added to the final version of the bill. [CLICK HERE TO READ]

CONCLUSION The 2018 Legislative session was a great success for the Alaska State Home Building Association. We wanted to share this good news with our members and express our thanks and gratitude for their involvement in making our organization a strong voice for the residential construction industry.