Bill Text: NY A03246 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Relates to home improvement contract provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 23-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-06-04 - COMMITTED TO RULES [A03246 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-A03246-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         3246--B
                                                                Cal. No. 260
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 27, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. BRINDISI, BLAKE, GALEF, HOOPER, HYNDMAN, LUPARDO,
          McDONALD, MOSLEY, OTIS, SANTABARBARA, SKOUFIS, SOLAGES, STECK, TITONE,
          D'URSO, QUART, MORELLE -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ABBATE, COOK,
          HIKIND,  RICHARDSON,  SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Consumer Affairs  and  Protection  --  committee  discharged,  bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee -- passed by Assembly and delivered to the Senate,  recalled  from
          the  Senate,  vote  reconsidered,  bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted,
          retaining its place on the order of third reading
        AN ACT to amend  the  general  business  law,  in  relation  to  roofing
          contract provisions
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 770 of the  general  business  law  is  amended  by
     2  adding a new subdivision 8 to read as follows:
     3    8. "Roofing contractor" means a person, firm or corporation, including
     4  but  not  limited to, a person that is a nonresident roofing contractor,
     5  independent contractor, day laborer  or  subcontractor  engaged  in  the
     6  business  of  roofing, gutter, downspout or siding services for a fee or
     7  who offers to engage in or solicits roofing-related services,  including
     8  construction,  installation, renovation, repair, maintenance, alteration
     9  or waterproofing. This definition shall not include a person engaged  in
    10  the  demolition  of a structure or the cleanup of construction waste and
    11  debris that contains roofing material, nor a person engaged in  building
    12  a  new  home  or  housing  development.  "Roofing  contractor" shall not
    13  include:
    14    (a) an owner or farm property owner who physically  performs,  or  has
    15  employees  who  perform  repairing, remodeling, altering, converting, or
    16  modernizing of, or adding to, their own dwelling  or  another  structure
    17  located  on the property owned by the person without the assistance of a
    18  roofing contractor.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01971-04-8

        A. 3246--B                          2
     1    (b) any authorized employee or representative  of  the  United  States
     2  government, the state of New York, or any political subdivision perform-
     3  ing  the repairing, remodeling, altering, converting, or modernizing of,
     4  or adding to, government property.
     5    § 2. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 771-b
     6  to read as follows:
     7    §  771-b.  Responsibilities  of  roofing contractors. 1. Every roofing
     8  contractor shall enter into a written contract with an owner pursuant to
     9  all of the provisions of section seven hundred seventy-one of this arti-
    10  cle before engaging in the business of  roofing,  gutter,  downspout  or
    11  siding  services  for such owner. In addition, the contract entered into
    12  under this section shall contain the name of the insurer, type of insur-
    13  ance coverage as required by subdivision nine of this section,  and  the
    14  insurance policy limits obtained by the roofing contractor.
    15    2.  A  roofing  contractor  shall  not  advertise or promise to pay or
    16  rebate all or any portion of any insurance deductible as  an  inducement
    17  to  the sale of goods or services. As used in this section, a promise to
    18  pay or rebate includes granting any allowance or offering  any  discount
    19  against  the  fees  to  be  charged  or paying the insured or any person
    20  directly or indirectly associated with the property any form of  compen-
    21  sation,  gift, prize, bonus, coupon, credit, referral fee, or other item
    22  of monetary value for any reason.
    23    3. An owner who has entered into a written  contract  with  a  roofing
    24  contractor  to provide goods or services to be paid under a property and
    25  casualty insurance policy may cancel the contract prior to  midnight  on
    26  the  third  business  day  after  the insured party has received written
    27  notice from the insurer that all or any part of the claim or contract is
    28  not a covered loss under the insurance policy.  Cancellation occurs when
    29  written notice of cancellation  is  given  to  the  roofing  contractor.
    30  Notice  of cancellation, if given by registered or certified mail, shall
    31  be deemed given when deposited in a mailbox properly addressed and post-
    32  age prepaid. Notice of cancellation shall be sufficient if it  indicates
    33  the  intention of the owner not to be bound. Notwithstanding the forego-
    34  ing, this subdivision shall not apply to  a  transaction  in  which  the
    35  owner  has  initiated  the contact and the roofing contract is needed to
    36  meet a bona fide emergency of the owner, and  the  owner  furnishes  the
    37  roofing  contractor  with a separate dated and signed personal statement
    38  in the owner's handwriting describing the situation requiring  immediate
    39  remedy  and  expressly acknowledging and waiving the right to cancel the
    40  roofing contract within three business days. For the  purposes  of  this
    41  subdivision  the  term "owner" shall mean an owner or any representative
    42  of an owner.
    43    4. Within ten days after a contract referred to in  subdivision  three
    44  of  this section has been cancelled, the roofing contractor shall tender
    45  to the owner any payments, partial payments, or deposits  made  and  any
    46  note  or  other  evidence  of  indebtedness.  If,  however,  the roofing
    47  contractor has performed any emergency  services,  acknowledged  by  the
    48  owner  in writing to be necessary to prevent damage to the premises, the
    49  roofing contractor shall be entitled to the  reasonable  value  of  such
    50  services.  Any  provision  in a contract referred to in this subdivision
    51  that requires the payment of  any  fee  for  anything  except  emergency
    52  services  shall not be enforceable against the owner who has cancelled a
    53  contract pursuant to this section.
    54    5. A roofing contractor shall not require an owner to provide a depos-
    55  it for the work and materials. A roofing contractor  shall  not  mandate
    56  that  a particular form of payment be made in order to commence perform-

        A. 3246--B                          3
     1  ance of the home improvement.  A  roofing  contractor  may  invoice  for
     2  payment  of  the  materials  portion of the project upon delivery of the
     3  materials to the owner of  the  property.  The  material  cost  must  be
     4  disclosed  to  the  property  owner  in writing in advance of payment. A
     5  roofing contractor  may  invoice  the  remainder  of  the  project  upon
     6  successful completion of all contracted work.
     7    6. A roofing contractor shall not abandon, or fail to perform, without
     8  justification,  any  roofing  contract, nor shall the roofing contractor
     9  deviate from or  disregard  plans  or  specifications  in  any  material
    10  respect  without  the  consent  of the owner. A roofing contractor shall
    11  abide by the applicable building code for  the  jurisdiction  where  the
    12  residential property is located.
    13    7.  A  roofing  contractor  shall  not  fail  to  pay for materials or
    14  services rendered in  connection  with  a  roofing  contract  where  the
    15  contractor  has  received sufficient funds as payment for the particular
    16  contract for which the services or material were rendered or purchased.
    17    8. A roofing contractor shall not perform the reporting, adjusting, or
    18  negotiating a claim on behalf of the owner and shall not receive compen-
    19  sation for the referral to any entity that reports, adjusts  or  negoti-
    20  ates  a  claim  on behalf of an owner. Nothing herein prevents a roofing
    21  contractor from communicating with an insurance  company  representative
    22  and  sharing  his  or her technical knowledge when the insurer initiates
    23  the communication.
    24    9. (a) A roofing contractor shall provide to the owner adequate  proof
    25  of insurance of the types and amounts set forth in this subdivision:
    26    (1)  A  certificate of workers' compensation covering all employees of
    27  the roofing contractor. If the roofing  contractor  does  not  have  any
    28  employees, then the contractor must provide a certificate of attestation
    29  exemption (CE-200) form from the workers' compensation board; and
    30    (2) Certificates of general liability and property damage insurance in
    31  the  amount  of  one  hundred thousand dollars per person, three hundred
    32  thousand dollars per  occurrence,  bodily  injury;  and  fifty  thousand
    33  dollars for each occurrence and aggregate, property damage.
    34    (b)  The  insurance  requirements  set forth in this subdivision shall
    35  apply to roofing contracts performed in all political subdivisions  that
    36  do not contain any insurance requirements for such contracts.
    37    § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    38  it shall have become a law.
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