Regular Session 2015-2016 Senate Bill 1266 P.N. 1834

PRINTER'S NO. 1834

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

No.

1266

Session of

2015

INTRODUCED BY TOMLINSON, BROWNE, RAFFERTY, GREENLEAF, HUGHES,

TARTAGLIONE, YUDICHAK, VULAKOVICH, BAKER, MENSCH AND HAYWOOD,

MAY 18, 2016

REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION AND PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE,

MAY 18, 2016

AN ACT

Amending the act of October 17, 2008 (P.L.1645, No.132),

entitled "An act providing for the regulation of home

improvement contracts and for the registration of certain

contractors; prohibiting certain acts; and providing for

penalties," further providing for registration of

contractors, for home improvement fraud and for prohibited

acts.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Section 3 of the act of October 17, 2008

(P.L.1645, No.132), known as the Home Improvement Consumer

Protection Act, is amended by adding subsections to read:

Section 3. Registration of contractors.

* * *

(e) Nonissuance, suspension or revocation.--The bureau may

refuse to register a person or suspend or revoke a registration

issued to a person upon proof that a person has:

(1) obtained a registration through fraud, deception or

misrepresentation;

(2) engaged in the use or employment of dishonesty,

fraud, deception, misrepresentation, false promise or false

pretense;

(3) engaged in gross negligence, gross malpractice or

gross incompetence;

(4) engaged in repeated acts of negligence, malpractice

or incompetence;

(5) been convicted of a crime involving theft,

deception, fraud, misrepresentation or moral turpitude or a

crime adverse to the provisions of this act. As used in this

paragraph, the term "convicted" shall include a judgment, an

admission of guilt or a plea of nolo contendere;

(6) had a suspended or revoked registration as a

contractor imposed by any other state agency outside of this

Commonwealth for reasons similar to those listed under this

subsection; or

(7) violated or failed to comply with the provisions of

this act.

(f) Administrative procedure.--Actions of the bureau under

this act shall be subject to 2 Pa.C.S. Chs. 5 Subch. A (relating

to practice and procedure of Commonwealth agencies) and 7 Subch.

A (relating to judicial review of Commonwealth agency action).

Section 2. Section 8(a) and (c)(1) of the act are amended to

read:

Section 8. Home improvement fraud.

(a) Offense defined.--A person commits the offense of home

improvement fraud if, with intent to defraud or injure anyone or

with knowledge that he is facilitating a fraud or injury to be

perpetrated by anyone, the actor:

(1) makes a false or misleading statement to induce,

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encourage or solicit a person to enter into any written or

oral agreement for home improvement services or provision of

home improvement materials or to justify an increase in the

previously agreed upon price;

(2) receives any advance payment for performing home

improvement services or providing home improvement materials

and fails to perform or provide such services or materials

when specified in the contract taking into account any force

majeure or unforeseen labor strike that would extend the time

frame or unless extended by agreement with the owner and

fails to return the payment received for such services or

materials which were not provided by that date;

(3) while soliciting a person to enter into an agreement

for home improvement services or materials, misrepresents or

conceals the contractor's or salesperson's real name, the

name of the contractor's business, the contractor's business

address or any other identifying information;

(4) damages a person's property with the intent to

induce, encourage or solicit that person to enter into a

written or oral agreement for performing home improvement

services or providing home improvement materials;

(5) misrepresents himself or another as an employee or

agent of the Federal, Commonwealth or municipal government,

any other governmental unit or any public utility with the

intent to cause a person to enter into any agreement for

performing home improvement services or providing home

improvement materials;

(6) misrepresents an item as a special order material or

to misrepresent the cost of the special order material;

(7) alters a home improvement agreement, mortgage,

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promissory note or other document incident to performing or

selling a home improvement without the consent of the

consumer; [or]

(8) directly or indirectly publishes a false or

deceptive advertisement in violation of State law governing

advertising about home improvement[.]; or

(9) enters into a home improvement agreement, whether or

not the agreement is written or oral, without first

registering with the bureau as provided for under this act.

* * *

(1) A violation of subsection (a)(1), (3), (4), (5),

(6), (7) [or], (8) or (9) constitutes:

(i) a felony of the third degree if the amount

involved exceeds $2,000; or

(ii) a misdemeanor of the first degree if the amount

involved is $2,000 or less or if the amount involved

cannot be satisfactorily ascertained.

* * *

Section 3. Section 9 of the act is amended by adding a

paragraph to read:

Section 9. Prohibited acts.

No person shall:

* * *

(13) Provide false or incomplete information on a

registration application to the bureau.

Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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