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. LBD01971-04-8A. 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.
