Law changes effective in 2017
Temporary Responsible Managing Individual (effective Jan. 1, 2018)
Under current law, most construction contractors must have
at least one responsible managing individual (RMI) associated with their
license. An RMI is an owner or
supervisory employee of the business.
Ordinarily, an RMI qualifies by completing the training and testing required
for the license.
When an RMI leaves the business, the business has to appoint
a new RMI and notify CCB. Unfortunately,
a business may not always have a qualified individual immediately
available. If the business does not
appoint a new RMI, CCB may suspend its license.
The legislature changed the law to allow a construction
contractor to operate with a temporary RMI for up to 14 days, provided that the
business notifies CCB of the temporary appointment. To appoint a temporary RMI, a contractor must:
- Notify the CCB within three calendar days of
appointing a temporary RMI by submitting the Temporary
RMI Request form found on the CCB website.
- Within 14 calendar days of the notification to the board,
the contractor must appoint a permanent RMI and notify the board that they have
done so by submitting the RMI
Change form found on the CCB website.
- If the contractor does not appoint a permanent RMI within 14
calendar days, the license will be referred to Enforcement for disciplinary
action.
The way to avoid problems is to have multiple RMIs!
Questions? Contact the Customer Service Unit at
503-378-4621.
Prohibits Dividing Public Works Projects to Avoid Prevailing
Wage Law
This law prohibits anyone (not just public agencies) from
dividing public works projects into more than one contract to avoid prevailing
wage laws. The law clarifies the factors
that the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) may consider
in determining when a project was improperly divided. BOLI may inspect the contractor’s records at
any time to determine whether the prevailing wage is actually being paid.
The law also clarifies the requirement that every public
works contract and subcontract must specify that every contractor and
subcontractor (unless exempt) must file a bond with CCB. Exempt contractors that violate prevailing
wage requirements may be required to subsequently file a bond with CCB. The law also provides that a failure to pay a
required prevailing wage rate and a failure to pay required fringe benefits are
separate violations.
This law contained an emergency clause and took effect June
14, 2017.
Cities May Require Permits to Demolish Buildings that
Contain Lead or Asbestos
This new law allows a city to establish a program for the
demolition of certain residential buildings.
If the person demolishing the building is a contractor and the building
was built before 1978, the contractor must submit proof that it is certified,
by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), to engage in lead-based paint activities.
The person performing the demolition must
also follow best practices developed by OHA, the Department of Environmental
Quality and the CCB. (These requirements
do not apply if a qualified person determines that the building does not contain
lead-based paint.) The person performing
the demolition will also need to provide a copy of an asbestos survey.
The bill was supported by the City of Portland. The law was effective Jan.1, 2018.
Certain Contractors Must Employ Apprentices to Perform Work
This new law requires state contracting agencies (other than
the Oregon Department of Transportation) that award contracts in excess of $5
million, or subcontracts in excess of $1 million or 25 percent of the contract price, to
require contractors to employ apprentices to perform at least 10 percent of the
work. Apprentices must be paid the
hourly rate provided by the apprenticeship agreement or the apprenticeship
training program.
The requirement changes in 2022 to apply to contracts in
excess of $3 million. Apprentices must
then perform at least 12 percent of the work.
The requirement for subcontractors does not change.
The new law became operative Jan. 1, 2018.
Construction Standards for “Tiny” Houses
This new law requires the Building Codes Division to adopt
construction standards for “small homes,” meaning a dwelling of not more than
600 square feet. The new standards must
include allowing sleeping lofts and allowing the use of ladders (or alternative
tread devices) as the primary means of egress from a sleeping loft.
Law changes effective in 2014
Continuing education requirements: residential contractors
All residential contractors except those listed below must take at least eight hours of classes during each two-year licensing period.
Contractors licensed less than six years without a responsible managing individual with at least six years’ experience need an additional eight hours, for a total of 16 hours.
These residential contractors do not need to complete any continuing education:
- Residential developers
- Residential locksmith contractors
- Home inspection contractors
- Home services contractors
- Home energy performance score contractors
- Plumbing contractors and electrical contractors that have an active business license with Oregon Building Codes Division
- Contractors that are owned by, or have an officer or manager who is a registered architect or a licensed professional engineer
Required classes
- All contractors: Three hours of CCB-developed courses in laws, regulations and business practices.
- All contractors: Five hours of Series A courses. These are business management courses (marketing, accounting, bidding, etc.) and code or safety classes.
- Newer contractors: Contractors who need an additional eight hours of classes can take any combination of Series A and/or Series B classes to meet the requirement. Series B courses are specific to your trade or craft (roofing, excavation, etc.) and include energy efficiency.
The CCB must now approve all continuing education providers and approve or register all courses. Ifyou cannot find a class in the CCB’s online course catalog, it does not count for credit.
Residential contract content
Certain wording is no longer required. Contracts no longer need to:
- Include a statement that you are licensed since the contract already has your license number.
- List notices you must provide.
Learn more about what contracts must contain.
License endorsements and certification
The 2013 legislature created new license endorsements:
- Residential locksmith services contractor
- Home inspector services contractor
- Home services contractor
- Home energy performance services contractor (assigns home energy performance scores)
Contractors selecting one of the new, limited scope endorsements are not required to complete pre-license training, pass the pre-license test or complete continuing education.
The 2013 legislature also created an individual certification for a home energy assessor. These individuals must complete a training program authorized by the Department of Energy to obtain a certificate from CCB. They must renew their certificates each year.
Workers’ compensation
Contractors using leased workers are now categorized as nonexempt contractors. A nonexempt commercial contractor does not need to have (personal election) workers’ compensation insurance for its owners or officers. The leasing company provides workers’ compensation insurance for the workers.
Learn more here. If you are currently using leased workers and listed as an exempt contractor, you need to contact CCB and change your status.
Handyman exemption
The threshold for performing certain work without a contractor license increased from $500 to $1,000. To qualify for the exemption, a contractor must perform work that is casual, minor or inconsequential. This means that the work cannot:
- Be structural in nature
- Affect health or safety (this includes work on target housing built before 1978 or child-occupied facilities that may contain lead-based paint)
- Include work performed as a subcontractor to a licensed contractor