Subcommittee approves fix to contractor recovery fund to equalize payments for transition group

The House General Laws subcommittee reported Senate Bill 565 as amended to correct an inequity created when the contractor transaction recovery fund's per-claim cap was raised last session from $20,000 to $30,000.

The sponsor told the subcommittee that roughly 18 claimants filed during a transition period and some had their claims decided under the lower cap because of timing. The bill would revise last year's enactment clause to allow those claimants to receive the higher cap so they are not treated differently from others whose claims were decided after July 1.

Committee members raised a jurisdictional question about whether the board had the authority to reopen cases; the sponsor introduced a line amendment (received earlier that day) to address that concern. The committee adopted the line amendment by motion and second and placed the amended bill before the subcommittee.

Miriam Hople Heinrich, a constituent and one of the affected claimants, described how timing led to unequal treatment among claimants and urged support for the bill. The sponsor clarified funding, saying the recovery fund is not general fund money but is funded by contractor fees; the sponsor recalled DPOR told the committee the fund balance is about $7,000,000 and estimated the amount payable to the transition group would be "under $200,000, at 130" (approximate).

A motion to report the bill as amended was made and seconded, and the clerk opened and closed the roll to report SB 565.