HBA Advocacy Update

Minnesota SF1988 and SF3035- Construction Wage Theft

April 28, 2023 - SF1988 would introduce new enforcement provisions that impractically hold contractors and project owners of construction sites liable when a subcontractor(s) is alleged to have committed wage theft. The bill specifies that a contractor entering into a construction contract assumes and is liable for any unpaid wages, fringe benefits, and resulting liquidated damages owed to a claimant or third party. 

The second, SF3035 - the Jobs, Economic Development, Labor, and Industry bill - could potentially include a section (Article 15) that compels businesses to audit and review subcontractors' records to confirm payment of wages and assume liability for something that is fundamentally out of their control. This bill would hold the general contractor as jointly and severally liable along with the subcontractor. 

Status of SF3035: The bill initially passed the Senate without Article 15 (the section regarding wage theft). When sent to the House, the section was included and the overall bill passed by a slim margin. The Senate did not concur with the amendments made by the House so it is now in conference committee- made up of House and Senate members. HBA of F-M sent a Call to Action to a group of members that are Minnesota residents regarding SF1988 and SF3035. This urged them to reach out to Senator Rob Kupec, explaining how this would be detrimental to the industry. 

End of North Dakota's 68th Legislative Assembly - Regular Session and Career and Technical Education Update

The 68th Legislative Assembly - Regular Session adjourned April 30, 2023. With that, there are some updates on CTE funding and the Career Innovation Center. Please read the following update from Kim Nelson, North Dakota State College of Science Foundation executive director to hear where things are at and what steps are coming. 

Click here to read the update. 

Building Industry Connect

In April we were joined by Cass County Commissioner Chad Peterson and County Administrator Rob Wilson for our Building Industry Connect. A great discussion was had around projects in the county, the architect and builder relationship, and much more! 

Thank you to everyone that attended and to Cass County Electric Cooperative for sponsoring these informative events. 

May 17 we'll be visited by Fargo Mayor Mahoney. 

Please register here!

Horace Draft Land Use Code

Last week, the HBA hosted a meeting to receive comments on the Horace's draft Land Use Code. The public comment period is set to close May 5. 

If interested, read the draft here.

News from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry May, 2023

Click here to read the news for May, 2023. It includes reminders on youth summer employment, the new building and trades licensing system launching May 8, and more. 

Building Officials Roundtable Blog Post

In case you missed it, please check out our post on the Building Officials Roundtable! It gives a brief overview of what was discussed and important reminders for each city. 

Read the post here.