Hawaii Revised Statutes 444. Contractors

  • 444-1 Definitions.
    As used in this chapter: "Board" means the contractors license board. "Chlorofluorocarbon" or "CFC" means any member of the family of substances containing carbon,...
  • 444-2 Exemptions.
    This chapter shall not apply to: (1) Officers and employees of the United States, the State, or any county while in the performance of...
  • 444-2.5 Owner-Builder Exemption.
    (a) This chapter shall not apply to owners or lessees of property who build or improve residential or farm buildings or structures on property...
  • 444-3 Contractors License Board.
    (a) There shall be a contractors license board of thirteen members. (b) Of the board members: (1) Ten shall be contractors who have been...
  • 444-4 Powers and Duties of Board.
    In addition to any other powers and duties authorized by law, the board shall: (1) Grant licenses, including conditional licenses, to contractors pursuant to...
  • 444-5 Other Assistants.
    Subject to chapter 76 the department may employ and remove such administrative and clerical assistants as the contractors license board may require. [L 1957,...
  • 444-6 Repealed.
    L 1992, c 202, §199.
  • 444-7 Classification.
    (a) For the purpose of classification, the contracting business includes any or all of the following branches: (1) General engineering contracting; (2) General building...
  • 444-7.5 Asbestos Contractors.
    (a) The board shall provide for the licensure or permitted activities as a specialty contractor of any person who engages in any activity involving...
  • 444-8 Powers to Classify and Limit Operations.
    (a) The contractors license board may adopt rules and regulations necessary to effect the classification of contractors in a manner consistent with established usage...
  • 444-9 Licenses Required.
    No person within the purview of this chapter shall act, or assume to act, or advertise, as general engineering contractor, general building contractor, or...
  • 444-9.1 Issuance of Building Permits; Owner-Builder Registration.
    (a) Each county or other local subdivision of the State which requires the issuance of a permit as a condition precedent to the construction,...
  • 444-9.2 Advertising.
    (a) It is a misdemeanor for any person, including a person who is exempt by section 444-2 from this chapter, to advertise with or...
  • 444-9.3 Aiding or Abetting.
    Aiding or abetting an unlicensed person to evade this chapter or knowingly combining or conspiring with an unlicensed person, or allowing one's license to...
  • 444-9.5 Licensing of Electrical or Plumbing Workers
    . (a) At least half of all individuals performing electrical or plumbing work employed on a construction job site by an electrical or plumbing contractor...
  • 444-10 Investigation Permitted.
    The contractors license board may investigate, classify, and qualify applicants for contractors licenses. [L 1957, c 305, §1(s 9); Supp, §166A-9; HRS §444-10]
  • 444-10.5 Citation for Unlicensed Activity.
    (a) In addition to any other remedy available, the investigator may issue citations to persons acting in the capacity of or engaging in the...
  • 444-10.6 State of Emergency or Disaster; Emergency Licensure; Penalties.
    (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the board may issue emergency contractor's licenses during a state of emergency or disaster...
  • 444-10.7 Enhanced Penalties When Elderly Persons are Targeted.
    If any person is found to have violated section 444-9 and the violation is committed against elderly persons, in addition to any other penalty...
  • 444-11 No License Issued When.
    (a) No license hereunder shall be issued to: (1) Any person unless the person has filed an application and paid the applicable fees; (2)...
  • 444-11.1 Requirements to Maintain License.
    (a) A licensed contractor shall have and maintain in full force and effect the following: (1) Workers' compensation insurance; unless the licensee is authorized...
  • 444-12 Application; Fees.
    (a) Every applicant for a license under this chapter shall complete and file an application provided by the board and shall furnish any additional...
  • 444-13 Form for Licenses.
    The form of every license shall be prescribed by the contractors license board and shall be issued in the name of the board. [L...
  • 444-14 Place of Business and Posting of License.
    (a) A licensed contractor shall have, maintain, and operate from a definite place of business in the State and shall display therein his or...
  • 444-15 Fees; Biennial Renewals; Inactive License.
    (a) The biennial renewal fee or inactive license fee, and the recovery fund, education fund, and compliance resolution fund fees shall be paid to...
  • 444-16 Action on Applications.
    Within one hundred and twenty days after the filing of a proper application for a license and the payment of the required fees, the...
  • 444-16.5 Bond.
    The contractors license board may require each licensee, applicant, individual or corporate, who is a specialty contractor to put up bond in the sum...
  • 444-17 Revocation, Suspension, and Renewal of Licenses.
    In addition to any other actions authorized by law, the board may revoke any license issued pursuant to this section, or suspend the right of...
  • 444-18 to 444-20 Repealed.
    L 1992, c 202, §§200 to 202.
  • 444-21 Death or Dissociation.
    No copartnership, joint venture, or corporation shall be deemed to have violated any provision of this chapter by acting or assuming to act as...
  • 444-22 Civil Action.
    The failure of any person to comply with any provision of this chapter shall prevent such person from recovering for work done, or materials...
  • 444-23 Violation; Penalties.
    (a) Any licensee who contracts outside the appropriate scope of classification for which the licensee is licensed shall be fined $500 for the first...
  • 444-23.5 Forfeiture of Property for Unlicensed Activity.
    (a) If an investigator finds that a person has acted in the capacity of, or engaged in the business of a contractor within this...
  • 444-24 Injunction.
    The contractors license board may, in addition to any other remedies available, apply to a circuit judge for a preliminary or permanent injunction restraining...
  • 444-25 Payment for Goods and Services.
    A contractor shall pay the contractor's subcontractor for any goods and services rendered within ten days after receipt of an invoice by the subcontractor...
  • 444-25.5 Disclosure; Contracts.
    (a) Prior to entering into a contract with a homeowner, or at the time a homeowner signs a contract, involving home construction or improvements,...
  • 444-25.7 Roofing Contractors Guarantee Bond.
    (a) Every contract executed for the purpose of constructing, repairing or improving a roof covering, which contract states a guarantee for workmanship for a...
  • 444-26 Contractors Recovery Fund; Use of Fund; Person Injured; Fees.
    (a) The board is authorized to establish and maintain a contractors recovery fund from which any person injured by an act, representation, transaction, or...
  • 444-27 Additional Payments to Fund.
    (a) At any time when the balance remaining in the contractors recovery fund is less than $250,000, the board may assess every contractor a...
  • 444-28 Statute of Limitations; Recovery From Fund.
    (a) No action for an arbitration award or for a judgment which may subsequently result in an order for collection from the contractors recovery...
  • 444-29 Management of Fund.
    The sums received by the contractors license board for deposit in the contractors recovery fund shall be held by the contractors license board in...
  • 444-30 False Statement.
    It shall constitute a misdemeanor for any person or the person's agent to file with the contractors license board any notice, statement, or other...
  • 444-31 the Contractors License Board Has Standing in Court.
    When the contractors license board receives notice, as provided in section 444-28(a), the contractors license board may enter an appearance, file an answer, appear...
  • 444-32 Subrogation to Rights of Creditor.
    When, upon the order of the court, the contractors license board has paid from the contractors recovery fund any sum to the judgment creditor,...
  • 444-33 Waiver of Rights.
    The failure of an injured person to comply with all of the provisions of this chapter relating to the contractors recovery fund shall constitute...
  • 444-34 Maximum Liability.
    Notwithstanding any other provision, the liability of the contractors recovery fund shall not exceed $25,000 for any licensed contractor. [L 1973, c 170, pt...
  • 444-35 Disciplinary Action Against Licensee.
    Nothing contained herein shall limit the authority of the contractors license board to take disciplinary action against any licensee for a violation of any...
  • 444-36 Prosecution of Criminal Violations.
    The regulated industries complaints office shall report any criminal violation of this chapter, including, but not limited to, criminal contempt of court, to the...

Cross References

Sunset evaluations modified, see 26H-4 and 26H-5.

Contractor repair act, see chapter 672E.

Case Notes

Defendant's motion to dismiss denied; because it was feasible that plaintiff's actions constituted that of a "professional engineer acting solely in [its] professional capacity", it was not apparent that [this chapter] barred plaintiff from bringing lawsuit. 216 F. Supp. 2d 1133 (2001).

Applying the ordinary meaning of "incidental and supplemental" to subsection (c), the legislature meant to provide specialty contractors with a limited ability to perform work outside of their licensed specialty area. However, the "incidental and supplemental" work must not make up the majority of the project, and must instead be "subordinate" and in addition to licensed work "of greater importance"; thus, contractors license board's refusal to consider cost and extent of work done by petitioner when determining whether that work qualified as "incidental and supplemental" was plainly erroneous in light of the clear meaning of "incidental and supplemental" in subsection (c). 129 H. 281, 298 P.3d 1045 (2013).

Where plaintiffs had no standing, as a labor union and subcontractor, to invoke the provisions of the procurement code because they were neither contractors nor bidders for the contract in question, and neither the procurement code nor this chapter authorized the circuit court to grant the remedies plaintiffs sought, and the court was presented with no other basis for granting the requested relief, the court correctly dismissed the suit. 121 H. 182 (App.), 216 P.3d 108 (2009).

Last modified: October 27, 2016