House Passes Tougher Contractor Registration Requirements

Substitute House Bill 1843 to toughen registration requirements for contractors in Washington State passed the State House last night. It gives the Department of Labor & Industries greater authority to deny and suspend registration to contractors who have violated the law in the past. It also would require larger bonds from contractors who have had successful lawsuits against them in the past five years. SHB 1843 further gives L&I greater investigative authority, including the ability to obtain a search warrant to enter a job site to investigate potential violations. All of the major residential and commercial contracting groups testified in support of the bill during the committee hearing.