Oppose HB 2911: Protect Homeowners' Restitution Rights

I urge you to oppose HB 2911 when it comes before the House Commerce Committee on Tuesday. This bill, sponsored by Representative Laurin Hendrix, would repeal Arizona Revised Statutes section 32-1156.01, eliminating the Registrar of Contractors' authority to order licensed contractors to provide restitution to homeowners when they abandon residential contracts or perform work so defective it warrants license suspension. This repeal strips away a critical consumer protection mechanism. Under current law, homeowners who suffer from contractor abandonment or grossly substandard work can file administrative claims against a recovery fund that contractors themselves finance through licensing fees. While this fund was specifically designed to protect consumers from defective workmanship, the reimbursement process is already notoriously difficult and time-consuming, often taking years to resolve. Even worse, homeowners entitled to claims may receive nothing if the fund lacks sufficient money at the time of their claim. Removing the Registrar's restitution authority would leave Arizona homeowners with even fewer options when contractors fail to fulfill their obligations. For most families, their home represents their largest investment. When a contractor abandons a project or delivers work so poor it threatens structural integrity or safety, homeowners face financial devastation. The current system, while imperfect, at least provides an administrative pathway to recovery without forcing every victim into costly litigation. HB 2911 tilts the playing field decisively toward bad actors in the contracting industry while abandoning the consumers this regulatory framework was meant to protect. Rather than weakening oversight, Arizona should be strengthening protections and streamlining the recovery fund process to better serve homeowners. I ask you to vote against HB 2911 in committee and preserve the Registrar of Contractors' ability to order restitution for Arizona homeowners who have been harmed by contractor misconduct.