Legislative Updates
INLA members contribute $10 from their membership
fees toward ANLA's Lighthouse fund. The Lighthouse Program is
the nursery and landscape industry's national grassroots program.
This new program is a partnership between state and regional nursery/landscape
associations and ANLA to increase the industry's impact on Congress
and the federal government by
• informing green industry businesses
on emerging federal legislation and national issues;
• equipping owners and managers with the knowledge
and tools to have maximum impact with minimum time and effort;
• building a grassroots base that truly captures
the power potential of this growing industry.
To find out what is happening federally,
in the Lighthouse Program, concerning the Green Industry,
click
here.
To Contact Senator Larry Craig, click
here.
To contact Senator Mike Crapo, click
here.
To contact Representative Mike Simpson, click
here.
For State Issues and a quick way to be
heard and voice your opinion, follow the links below for State
Legislators.
Idaho
Senators
Idaho
House of Representatives
Idaho State Nursery & Florist License
The legislature and the Idaho nursery and florist
industry found that the propagation and raising of nursery and
florist stock is an agricultural pursuit that should be regulated
and assisted by the Department of Agriculture to provide a high-quality
and pest-free product to the citizens of Idaho and Idaho's external
trading partners.
Anyone who engages in, conducts, or carries on
the business of propagating, growing, selling, dealing in, or
importing into Idaho, for sale or distribution, any nursery or
florist stock, or engages in the installation of landscape plants,
or acts as an agent, salesman, or solicitor for any nurseryman,
florist, landscape contractor, or dealer in nursery or florist
stock must first obtain a license to do so from the Idaho State
Department of Agriculture (ISDA).
Note: This license does not include Landscape
Architects. To obtain information about a Landscape Architect
license, please contact the Bureau of Occupational Licenses at
(208) 334-3233 or visit their homepage at: www.ibol.idaho.gov.
The license fee is $75.00 for each calendar year.
The license expires January 1 of every year, no matter when in
the calendar year the license is issued. The ISDA inspects as
many licensed nurseries and florists as possible and as often
as the department considers necessary to facilitate exports and
to detect and control pests and diseases.
Application
forms can be completed with this fillable PDF and
printed off. Please mail the completed application form with a
check for $75.00 to P.O. Box 790, Boise, ID 83701 or bring the
application form into the Idaho State Dept. of Agriculture Office
at 2270 Old Penitentiary Road, Boise with a check or exact change.
Sorry, credit cards cannot be accepted at this time.
Federal Tax Basics for Businesses
View the IRS One-Stop
Resource Guide for Small Businesses here in Microsoft Word.
Shipping Regulations for Growers
Navigating through the shipping regulations for
horticulture businesses can be a nightmare. Please see the regulations
on the following site for access to the regulations accordiing
to all 50 states in the US. The
National Plant Board has orgainzed the rules and regulations
into a site that is user friendly. When you get to the site, select
the Laws and Regulations category, then scroll down to find the
state you'd like to know about. You can select the information
in Word or Pdf format.
Lien Law Changes
The INLA is providing members with sample forms
to help contractors comply with the lein laws, Idaho Code Section
(45-525). Although this law was first put in place in 2002, many
contractors have not been complying. While the lein law gives
contractors five business days instead of 24 hours to serve the
property owner, it also contains specific disclosure requirements
on the part of the contractor.
General contractors (anyone entering into a contract
for more than $2,000 to construct, alter or repair any improvements
on residential real property) with a residential property owner
or potential purchaser must provide the following information:
1. Before entering into a contract, the contractor
must provide an initial disclosure statement with an acknowledgement
of receipt by the homeowner or purchaser that contains notification
of the following rights:
· The right at reasonable expense of the homeowner to require
the general contractor obtain lien waiver from any subcontractors….
· The right to receive proof that the general contractor
has a general liability insurance policy including proof of worker’s
compensation insurance for his employees,
· The right of the homeowner to purchase an extended policy
of title insurance covering certain unfilled or unrecorded liens,
and
· The right of the homeowner to require, at homeowner’s
expense, a surety bond in an amount up to the value of the construction
project
2. A signed disclosure statement listing the business
names, addresses and telephone numbers of all subcontractors,
materialmen and rental equipment providers in direct relationship
with the general contractor who provide goods or services in excess
of $500.00. This must be provided “within a reasonable time”
prior to closing or final payment.
You must keep proof of receipt of the disclosure
of rights form. This is best accomplished by keeping the original
of the signed form with a copy to your customer. Upon request
from your customer, you must provide balances owed on the job
or on the account for all subcontractors, materialmen or rental
equipment providers. Failure to make the required disclosures
constitute an unlawful and deceptive act or practice and may affect
your ability to file or collect on a lien. In addition, you could
be fined up to $1,000.
Sample
of Lien Law Form 1
Sample
of Lien Law Form 2
Contractor Registration
Beginning January1, 2006, all landscape contractors
performing work, as development or improvement to real property,
in an amount that exceeds $2,000, will be required to register
with the State of Idaho Bureau of Occupational Licenses.
In Idaho there was no requirement to become a
landscape contractor. Legally, anyone could do it as long as they
obtained an Idaho Nursery and Floral License which allows the
person to sell plant material. The State of Idaho had no way to
stop a bad or dishonest landscaper. This registration act may
not actually have the ability to stop this kind of work, but at
least there will be a place that homeowners can go to and check
to see that the business is registered.
A landscape contractor that doesn't pay puts a
heavy burden on his suppliers or subcontractors who have unpaid
bills, which in turn, exposes the homeowner to liens and foreclosure
actions. As often happens, an unprincipled landscaper can change
the name of his business as a 'shell game' and stay one step ahead
of homeowners and creditors. Because there was no registration
system, Idaho became a safe-haven for landscape contractors who
have been kicked out of their home state where there were such
laws.
The Contractor Registration Law requires the landscape
contractor to make a statement under oath that they have never
had their registration revoked or suspended in Idaho or any other
state. It requires proof that the landscape contractor has Worker's
Compenstation Insureance and general liability insurance. The
registration fee will be set by the Idaho Contractor's Board,
but can not exceed $150 per year.
This legislation will only apply to true contractors
and subcontractors. It exempts volunteers, suppliers, employees,
farmers, ranchers, projects less than $2,000, and private landowners
doing work on their own property. It would allow the state to
revoke or suspend the registration of a contractor who violates
the consumer protection act, engages in dishonest or dishonorable
dealings, makes material misrepresentations of fact, or who recklessly
or with gross negligence performs construction. The registration
does not apply to persons who only furnish materials, supplies
or equipment without installation.
For information go to the Idaho Bureau of Occupational
Licenses, please follow this link www.ibol.idaho.gov/CONT/Procedures/con%20registration.htm
For a complete copy of House Bill #163 click here
at http://www3.state.id.us/oasis/2005/H0163.html
Contact the
INLA, P.O. Box 2065, Idaho Falls, ID 83403 |
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