Bill Text: NJ S3190 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes registration requirement for mold inspection and remediation contractors.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-11-26 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Commerce Committee [S3190 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-S3190-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator THOMAS H. KEAN, JR.
District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)
Senator ROBERT W. SINGER
District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Establishes registration requirement for mold inspection and remediation contractors.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning mold inspection, abatement, and remediation, and amending and supplementing P.L.2004, c.16.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.2004, c.16 (C.56:8-137) is amended to read as follows:
2. As used in this act:
"Contractor" means a person engaged in the business of making or selling home improvements and includes a corporation, partnership, association and any other form of business organization or entity, and its officers, representatives, agents and employees.
"Director" means the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
"Division" means the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.
"Home elevation" means any home improvement that involves raising an entire residential or non-commercial structure to a higher level above the ground.
"Home elevation contractor" means a contractor who engages in the practice of home elevation.
"Home improvement" means the remodeling, altering, renovating, repairing, restoring, modernizing, moving, demolishing, or otherwise improving or modifying of the whole or any part of any residential or non-commercial property. Home improvement shall also include insulation installation, home elevation, and the conversion of existing commercial structures into residential or non-commercial property.
"Home improvement contract" means an oral or written agreement for the performance of a home improvement between a contractor and an owner, tenant or lessee, of a residential or noncommercial property, and includes all agreements under which the contractor is to perform labor or render services for home improvements, or furnish materials in connection therewith.
"Mold" means any form of multicellular fungi that lives on plant or animal matter and in indoor environments. Types of mold include, but are not limited to, Cladosporium, Penicillium, Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Trichoderma, Memnoniella, Mucor, and Stachybotrys chartarum, often found in water-damaged building materials.
"Mold inspection" means the inspection and evaluation of the interior of a building for the presence of mold.
"Mold inspection and remediation contractor" means any person engaged in the business of mold inspection or mold remediation or abatement work.
"Mold remediation or abatement work" means any work performed on a building to clean, remove, or contain mold hazards, including demolition, removal, painting, repair, and prevention of water intrusion and leaks.
"Residential or non-commercial property" means any single or multi-unit structure used in whole or in part as a place of residence, and all structures appurtenant thereto, and any portion of the lot or site on which the structure is situated which is devoted to the residential use of the structure.
(cf: P.L.2014, c.34, s.3)
2. (New section) a. In addition to complying with any other requirements of the "Contractors' Registration Act," P.L.2004, c.16 (C.56:8-136 et seq.), no person shall perform, or engage, or attempt to engage in the business of mold inspection or mold remediation or abatement work unless registered with the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs as a mold inspection and remediation contractor.
b. Any person who performs mold inspection or mold remediation or abatement work shall annually register with the director. Application for registration shall be on a form provided by the director and shall be accompanied by a reasonable fee, set by the director in an amount sufficient to defray the division's expenses incurred in administering and enforcing this section.
c. Every person required to register pursuant to this section shall file an amended registration within 20 days after any change in the information required to be included thereon. No fee shall be required for the filing of an amendment.
d. A registered mold inspection and remediation contractor who is not otherwise required to obtain commercial general liability insurance pursuant to section 7 of P.L.2004, c.16 (C.56:8-142) shall secure, maintain, and file with the director proof of a certificate of commercial general liability insurance in a minimum amount of $500,000 per occurrence. A registered mold inspection and remediation contractor whose commercial general liability insurance policy is cancelled or nonrenewed shall submit to the director a copy of the certificate of commercial general liability insurance for a new or replacement policy which meets the requirements of this subsection before the former policy is no longer effective.
e. A registered mold inspection and remediation contractor is prohibited from performing a mold inspection and any mold remediation or abatement work at the same premises.
f. (1) A mold inspection and remediation contractor who performs a mold inspection and mold remediation or abatement work at the same premises shall be liable for a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for the first offense and for any subsequent offense a revocation of registration.
(2) A mold inspection and remediation contractor who violates any other provisions of this section shall be liable for a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for the first offense and up to $10,000 for any subsequent offense.
(3) In addition to any other civil or criminal penalty that may apply, any person who makes a false statement in connection with the process for registration as a mold inspection and remediation contractor pursuant to this section or in regard to any statement required to be made pursuant to subsection d. of this section shall be liable for a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 or more than $25,000.
(4) In addition to any other action that may be authorized by law, the director may suspend or revoke the mold inspection and remediation contractor registration of any person who violates any provision of this section.
(5) The civil penalties may be imposed by the director and shall be collected in a summary proceeding in accordance with the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
3. (New section) The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the provisions of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill) with regard to registration of mold inspection and remediation contractors, and may establish fees for this purpose. Notwithstanding the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to the contrary, the Division of Consumer Affairs may adopt immediately upon filing with the Office of Administrative Law rules and regulations for this purpose, which shall be effective for a period not to exceed 270 days following the date of enactment of this act, and may thereafter be amended, adopted, or readopted, by the division in accordance with the requirements of the "Administrative Procedure Act."
4. This act shall take effect on the 60th day after the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would prohibit any person from performing mold inspection or mold remediation or abatement work unless the person is registered with the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. A registration would be required to be submitted annually, and any mold inspection and remediation contractor not otherwise required to obtain commercial general liability insurance as a registered contractor pursuant to section 7 of P.L. 2004, c.16 (C.56:8-136) would be required to maintain commercial general liability insurance.
The bill would also prohibit a mold inspection and remediation contractor from performing a mold inspection and mold remediation or abatement work at the same premises. A registered mold inspection and remediation contractor who performs mold inspection and mold remediation or abatement work at the same premises would be subject to a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for the first offense and a revocation of registration for any subsequent offense. In addition, the bill would impose a civil penalty of up to 5,000 for a first offense and up to $10,000 for any subsequent offense for any violation of the provisions of the bill. Any person who makes a false statement in connection with the registration process or the liability insurance requirements in the bill would be liable for a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 or more than $25,000.
