Representative Jon Riki Karamatsu
Floor Speech
House Bill 1166
Relating to Mechanics Liens
Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support.
In regards to mechanics liens, Hawaii’s current law requires that any person or association of persons furnishing labor or material in the improvement of real property shall have a lien upon the improvements as well as upon the interest of the owner of the improvement in the real property. The law requires that an Application and Notice setting forth the amount of the claim, the labor or material furnished, and a description of the property be filed not later than forty-five days after the date of completion of the improvement against which it is filed.
It is a custom of the construction industry where the contractor and owner of the property agree to a conditional lien release because the owner wants too insure that there are no unknown material or services to the improvements. However, this situation leaves the contractor who signed a conditional lien release and did not receive his final payment from the owner without any lien right. To address this problem, House Bill 1166 provides an additional twenty days for the contractor to file a mechanics lien in a situation where the contractor has given a conditional release and the owner inspects his property improvements but still does not make final payment to the contractor.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
JON RIKI KARAMATSU 