A Brief History of Builders’ Association Legislative Accomplishments
Less than one bill in ten becomes law in any given year. Given the fact that it is always easier to defeat legislation than it is to have it passed, the number of Builders’ Association proposals that have become law is impressive by any standard. Each year the Association also works to amend, support or defeat legislation that is introduced by others. While the Association has defeated many harmful proposals over the years, the following focuses on legislation that became law in Missouri and Kansas.
Authorization for Workers Comp Pools –gained regulatory approval for the Builders’ Association Self Insurers’ Fund (BASIF) in Missouri in 1982 and successfully co-sponsored Kansas legislation that allows contractors and other employers to self-insure their workers compensation liabilities in 1983.
Subrogationfor Workers Comp Pools –successfully co-sponsored legislation that gave qualified workers’ compensation pools the same rights of subrogation as insurance companies and individual self-insureds in Kansas in 1984.
Reciprocal Bidding Preference Law –successfully co-sponsored legislation which expanded the scope of Kansas’ reciprocal bidding preference statute in 1984. This legislation led to the repeal of Oklahoma’s bidding preference law the following year.
Huge Contractor Sales Tax Liability Avoided –drafted the legislation and successfully led the1998 effort to overturn a newMissouri Department of Revenue policy which retroactively imposedmillions of dollars of sales tax liability on contractors for materials used intax-exempt projects.
Adoption of Four-Sevenths Rule– served asa key proponent of a legislative resolution and a primary financial contributor to the campaign for a constitutional amendment that changed Missouri’s two-thirds majority requirement for voter approval of bond issues to a four-sevenths rule in 1988.
Avoiding Double Taxation – successfully amended 1989 Kansas “sales tax situs” legislation so that Missouri contractors who work regularly in Kansas and move equipment back and forth on a regular basis will avoid double taxation on such equipment.
Contractor Licensing Reciprocity – successfully co-sponsored legislation in 1989 which provides for reciprocity between those cities and counties in Kansas that require certification or licensure for general contractors and specialty subcontractors.
Public Prompt Payment – drafted and successfully lobbied for Missouri “public prompt payment” legislation in 1990 which provides for prompt payment of undisputed progress payments and final payment, early release of retainage, limits retainage to 5 percent unless public owner and design professional deem more is needed (but no more than 10 percent), provides for interest penalties on late payments and reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party in a lawsuit or arbitration.
“No Damage for Delay” – drafted and successfully lobbied for 1990 Missouri legislation which renders void and against public policy any clause in a public works contract that would extinguish a contractor’s right to recover costs or damages for delays caused by the public entity.
“One Call” Legislation – helped draft and co-sponsored successful 1991 Missouri legislation that enhances employee and public safety, improves procedures for accurately locating underground service lines, and provides for fair treatment of contractors when such lines are damaged.
Construction Management on Public Works – drafted and successfully lobbied for1993 Missourilegislation whichoutlinesthe preconstruction and construction services provided by a CM, provides for advertising of CM opportunities and establishes qualifications to be considered when selecting a CM.
Workers’ Compensation Reform – together with other key business groups, successfully lobbied for major comprehensive reform of Kansas workers compensation statutes in 1993 which resulted in significant savings to employers in subsequent years.
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Sales Tax Exemption Certificates – drafted successful 1994 Missouri legislation which allows materials to be purchased for tax-exempt projects with project exemption certificates thus eliminating the prior requirement that materials had to be billed directly to, and be paid directly by, the tax-exempt owner.
Repeal of “Labor Services” Tax– led the formation of a broad-based business coalition in support of repealing the state and local sales taxesimposed on new construction labor services and successfully lobbied for legislation that repealed the tax on new commercial and residential construction in 1995.
Private Prompt Payment – successfully co-sponsored 1995 Missourilegislation which enforces the payment provisions of private construction contracts by allowing a prevailing party in a lawsuit or arbitration to recover reasonable attorney fees and interest up to 18 percent per annum in addition to damages.
More Labor Services Tax Repeal – drafted legislation and led the 1998 effort to repeal the labor services tax on both commercial and residential remodeling construction in Kansas. Whilelegislators removed commercial remodeling from the bill, the exemption for residential remodeling became law.
Liability for Misusing Exemption Certificates – drafted successful 1998 Missourilegislation which clarifies that tax-exempt owners, not contractors, are liable for sales tax when they issue exemption certificates without statutory authority or for work not properly connected to theirtax-exempt functions.
Indemnification –successfully co-sponsored 1999 Missourilegislation which protects contractors from catastrophic losses of company assets by mandating that a contractor can only be required to indemnify others up to specified limits of insurance.
Contractor/Retailers –co-sponsored successful legislation in 2000 which clarifies Kansas sales tax law relating to “dual operator” contractors who also sell property at retail.
Mandatory Participation in “One Call” –successfully co-sponsored 2001 Missourilegislation which provided for mandatory participation of all owners and operators of underground facilities.
Retainage – supported successful2002 Missouriretainage legislation whichlimits retention on private construction to 10 percent, allows for acceptable substitute securities in lieu of retention, provides for prompt payment and early release of retainage and provides interest penalties for improperly withholding retainage.
Lien Filing Extension – successfully lobbied for 2003 Kansas legislationwhich extends the time period after which contractors, subcontractors and suppliers may file a lien on non-residential property to five months after they last furnish labor, equipment, materials or supplies to a job site.
Indemnification – successfully lobbied 2004 Kansas legislation which renders void and unenforceable any construction contract provision which requires the indemnitor to hold harmless, indemnify or defend the indemnitee from liability caused by the indemnitee’s own negligence.
Private Prompt Payment – in 2005, worked to reach consensus on and successfully lobbied for fair private construction prompt payment law in Kansas whichprovides for prompt payment of undisputed progress payments and final payment, limits retainage to 10 percent, establishes interest penalties on late payments and provides that reasonable attorney fees shall be awarded to the prevailing party in a lawsuit or arbitration.
Public Prompt Payment – in 2007, worked to reach consensus on and successfully lobbied for fair Kansas public construction prompt payment law which provides for prompt payment of undisputed progress payments and final payment, renders void “no damage for delay” clauses and other provisions that waive certain rights, limits retainage to 10 percent and allows for early release, establishes interest penalties on late payments, and provides that reasonable attorney fees shall be awarded to the prevailing party in a lawsuit or arbitration that would be held in the county where the real property is located.
Liability for Unpaid UC Contributions – successfully lobbied for 2007 Kansaslegislation which eliminates general contractors’liability fortheir subcontractors’ unpaid unemployment compensation contributions.