Bill Text: HI SB471 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Contractor Requirements.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-11-30 - Carried over to 2018 Regular Session. [SB471 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2018-SB471-Introduced.html
|
THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
471 |
|
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017 |
|
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to contractor requirements.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that automatic fire sprinkler systems have a proven record of significantly reducing life loss, injury, and property damage, and are commonly installed in most commercial and high rise buildings. Eight out of ten fire deaths occur in the home, and installing both smoke alarms and sprinklers reduces the risk of death in a home fire by eighty-two per cent. Only the sprinkler head closest to the fire will activate and eighty-five per cent of fires are contained by the operation of just one sprinkler.
The legislature also finds that the modern home is more susceptible to severe fire damage and collapse than older homes due to:
(1) Engineered lumber now being used as a composite joist or beam as part of today’s modern, lightweight construction material. Compared with traditional wood materials in older homes, lightweight construction assemblies collapse in six minutes versus eighteen minutes for wood;
(2) Modern furnishings burning quicker and hotter than traditional furnishings. These place not only occupants but also firefighters in extreme peril when a fire occurs in a home without sprinklers; and
(3) Open plan design contributing to rapid fire spread. Higher ceiling heights and open plan designs provide larger volumes of oxygen to promote fire spread. These plan designs also provide less compartmentalization and promote fire spread.
The legislature further finds that California, Maryland, and the District of Columbia require residential sprinklers in all new one- and two-family dwellings. Eighteen states do not require sprinklers, but allow local jurisdictions to require them. Jurisdictions that have sprinklers in new one- and two-family dwellings have not seen any decrease in the sale of new homes, while experiencing fewer fire-related deaths, injuries, and property loss.
The purpose of this Act is to require contractors that build new one- and two-family dwellings to provide buyers with:
(1) Written materials prepared by the state fire council on the life-saving benefits of a fire sprinkler system; and
(2) Written materials on the costs associated with the installation and maintenance of a residential fire sprinkler system.
SECTION 2. Chapter 444, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding three new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§444-A Disclosure of residential fire sprinkler system information. At the time of or before agreeing to final pricing for construction of a new dwelling with a buyer, a contractor shall provide the buyer with a copy of written materials prepared and adopted by the state fire council, which detail the benefits of a residential fire sprinkler system. At the same time, a builder shall provide the buyer with a written cost estimate form indicating the costs associated with the installation, water meter, permitting, and maintenance of a residential fire sprinkler system. The buyer shall acknowledge receipt of the written materials in writing. The contractor shall file the cost estimate form with the department within thirty days of the form being acknowledged and signed by the owner or buyer. Upon request of the buyer, the builder shall, at the buyer's expense, install a residential fire sprinkler system.
As used in this section:
"Builder" means any individual, trustee, partnership,
corporation, or other entity contracting with an owner for the
construction of a new one- or two-family dwelling.
"Buyer" means any individual, trustee, partnership,
corporation, or other entity purchasing any estate or interest in a new one- or two-family dwelling.
"Contractor" means a state-licensed B general building
contractor whose principal contracting business is in connection with any structure built for residential purposes, requiring in its construction the use of more than two unrelated building trades or crafts, or to do or superintend the whole or any part thereof.
"New dwelling" means a new one- or two-family dwelling, not
previously occupied, and constructed for residential use.
§444-B Residential fire sprinkler cost estimate form. The professional and vocational licensing division of the department shall develop a standard form for new construction for the buyer’s acceptance or denial of a residential fire sprinkler system. The form shall include the cost estimate provided by the contractor and indicate whether or not written information on the benefits of a residential fire sprinkler system was provided to the home buyer by the contractor. The completed form shall be filed with the professional and vocational licensing division. The form or forms may be amended from time to time by the department.
§444-C Violation; penalties. Upon a finding that any licensee has wilfully violated section 444-A, the licensee shall be fined in accordance with section 444-23(c). For purposes of this section, a wilful violation occurs when the person committing the violation knew or should have known that the conduct was of the nature prohibited by section 444-A."
SECTION 3. In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.
SECTION 4. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
|
INTRODUCED BY: |
_____________________________ |
|
|
By Request |
Report Title:
State Fire Council Package; Fire Protection
Description:
Requires contractors building new one- and two-family dwellings to provide buyers with written information on the costs associated with the installation and maintenance of a residential fire sprinkler system as well as information from the State Fire Council on the benefits of such a system.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
