AIA Maine's Legislative Committee Supports the Majority Ought to Pass as Amended Report for LD 1929 to License Home Building Contractors
If you would like to support LD 1929, An Act to Protect Consumers by Licensing Home Building Contractors, contact your legislator today (listed alphabetically by town name below).
Find your House Representative
Tell them you support LD 1929 because it will ensure accountability for residential home builders and promote health, safety and welfare in our buildings and homes. Below are talking points for your outreach and a summary of the proposed legislation.
Ask them to vote YES on the majority report for LD 1929!
Talking Points
LD 1929 will establish a licensing requirement for residential home contractors to promote the health, safety, and welfare of both homeowners and construction workers in the building and renovation of residential buildings.
Home construction is an essential extension of an architect’s job. Architects are required to be licensed and are responsible for the safety of the plans they draw.
If architects are required to be licensed to promote building safety and fair consumer practices, it only makes sense for the builders who execute our plans to be licensed as well.
We have seen and heard too many stories of contractors who don’t arrive on the job, do the work on an unfair timeline, don’t do the work at all, or don’t do it properly. Today, the recourse for such bad action is insufficient – LD 1929 seeks to solve that problem.
By requiring residential home builders to be licensed, we can ensure that both the homeowner and the licensee are treated fairly and promote a strong and safe building marketplace for our state.
Summary of LD 1929 as proposed and amended by sponsor’s amendment:
Beginning January 1, 2026, LD 1929 would require residential construction (construction on a building with 2 or fewer residential units) valued at over $10,000 to be performed only by a licensed residential general contractor.
A homeowner and contractor may exempt themselves from the requirements of this new law if they do not have a construction contract (which is amended to apply to projects that exceed $10,000).
Once effective, the law will require an individual to demonstrate, amongst other things, evidence that they have general liability insurance of at least $100,000 in aggregate, evidence of worker’s compensation coverage for employees, and proof that the individual applicant has satisfied the education requirements of the law.
The law will require licensed individuals to have at least 6 hours appropriate education and a passing score on an examination.
If the applicant meets the requirements, they will be granted a license by a newly established Residential Construction Board (RC Board). The RC Board is also responsible for issuing rules related to the education requirements, designing the test, and collecting an annual license renewal fee, which cost will be set by rule (between $100 and $250).
This new law would constitute an unfair trade practice, subject to a civil penalty of not more than $10,000. Additionally, the law establishes that a person who does not have a license may not acquire a construction lien on the property.