S.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 714.16D Home repair fraud. 1 1. For purposes of this section, unless the context 2 otherwise requires: 3 a. “Elderly person” means a person who is sixty-five years 4 of age or older. 5 b. “Home repair” means the fixing, replacing, altering, 6 converting, modernizing, or improving of, or making an 7 addition to, any real property primarily designed or used as a 8 residence. 9 (1) “Home repair” includes the construction, installation, 10 replacement, or improvement of improvements to residential 11 structures or upon the land adjacent to residential structures, 12 including but not limited to driveways, swimming pools, 13 porches, roofs, siding, kitchens, chimneys, chimney liners, 14 garages, fences, fallout shelters, central air conditioning, 15 central heating, boilers, furnaces, hot water heaters, 16 electrical wiring, sewers, plumbing fixtures, storm doors, 17 storm windows, and awnings. 18 (2) “Home repair” does not include any of the following: 19 (a) Original construction of a residence. 20 (b) The sale of goods or materials by a merchant who does 21 not directly or through a subsidiary perform any work or labor 22 in connection with the installation or application of the goods 23 or materials. 24 (c) The repair, installation, replacement, or connection 25 of home appliances including but not limited to disposals, 26 refrigerators, ranges, garage door openers, washing machines, 27 telephones, television cables, television antennas, or 28 satellite dishes, when the person replacing, installing, 29 repairing, or connecting such home appliance is an employee or 30 agent of the merchant that sold the home appliance. 31 (d) Landscaping. 32 (e) The sale, installation, cleaning, or repair of carpets. 33 (f) Home repair made by a not-for-profit charitable 34 organization. 35 -1- LSB 2465XC (2) 85 je/nh 1/ 4

S.F. _____ c. “Residence” means a single-family or multiple-family 1 dwelling, located in this state, occupied or used or intended 2 to be occupied or used for residential purposes. 3 2. A person commits the offense of home repair fraud if the 4 person knowingly does any of the following: 5 a. Enters into a contract or agreement for home repair and 6 does any of the following: 7 (1) Misrepresents a material fact relating to the terms 8 of the contract or agreement or the preexisting or existing 9 condition of any portion of the property involved. 10 (2) Creates or reinforces an impression relating to the 11 terms of the contract or agreement that is false and that the 12 person does not believe to be true. 13 (3) Promises performance under the terms of the contract or 14 agreement that the person does not intend to perform or that 15 the person knows will not be performed. 16 (4) Uses or employs any deception, false pretense, or false 17 promise in order to induce, encourage, or solicit another 18 person to enter into the contract or agreement. 19 (5) Misrepresents or conceals the person’s legal name or the 20 legal name or address of the person’s business. 21 b. Damages the property of another person with the intent to 22 enter into a contract or agreement for home repair. 23 c. Misrepresents themselves to be an employee or agent of 24 any governmental agency or a public utility with the intent to 25 cause another person to enter into a contract or agreement for 26 home repair. 27 3. A person commits the offense of aggravated home repair 28 fraud if any of the following apply: 29 a. The person commits home repair fraud against an elderly 30 person or a person with a physical or mental disability. 31 b. The person commits home repair fraud and has previously 32 been convicted of home repair fraud or aggravated home repair 33 fraud. 34 4. a. A person who commits home repair fraud is guilty of 35 -2- LSB 2465XC (2) 85 je/nh 2/ 4

S.F. _____ an aggravated misdemeanor. 1 b. A person who commits aggravated home repair fraud is 2 guilty of a class “D” felony if the contract or agreement 3 price is five thousand dollars or less. A person who commits 4 aggravated home repair fraud is guilty of a class “C” felony 5 if the contract or agreement price is more than five thousand 6 dollars. 7 EXPLANATION 8 This bill establishes the criminal offense of home repair 9 fraud. A person commits home repair fraud if the person 10 knowingly enters into a contract or agreement for home repair 11 and engages in certain activities. These activities are 12 misrepresenting a material fact relating to the terms of 13 the contract or agreement or the preexisting or existing 14 condition of any portion of the property involved; creating 15 or reinforcing an impression relating to the terms of the 16 contract or agreement that is false and that the person does 17 not believe to be true; promising performance under the terms 18 of the contract or agreement that the person does not intend to 19 perform or that the person knows will not be performed; using 20 or employing any deception, false pretense, or false promise 21 in order to induce, encourage, or solicit another person to 22 enter into the contract or agreement; or misrepresenting or 23 concealing their legal name or the legal name or address of 24 their business. A person also commits home repair fraud if 25 the person knowingly damages the property of another person 26 with the intent to enter into a contract or agreement for home 27 repair, or misrepresents themselves to be an employee or agent 28 of any governmental agency or a public utility with the intent 29 to cause another person to enter into a contract or agreement 30 for home repair. 31 A person commits the offense of aggravated home repair fraud 32 if the person commits home repair fraud against a person 65 33 years of age or older or a person with a physical or mental 34 disability, or if the person commits home repair fraud and has 35 -3- LSB 2465XC (2) 85 je/nh 3/ 4

S.F. _____ previously been convicted of home repair fraud or aggravated 1 home repair fraud. 2 The bill defines “home repair” as the fixing, replacing, 3 altering, converting, modernizing, or improving of, or making 4 an addition to, any real property primarily designed or used 5 as a residence. “Home repair” includes the construction, 6 installation, replacement, or improvement of improvements 7 to residential structures or upon the land adjacent to 8 residential structures. Various activities are excluded from 9 the definition of “home repair”: original construction of a 10 residence; the sale of goods or materials by a merchant who 11 does not directly or through a subsidiary perform any work or 12 labor in connection with the installation or application of 13 the goods or materials; the repair, installation, replacement, 14 or connection of home appliances when the person replacing, 15 installing, repairing, or connecting the home appliance is an 16 employee or agent of the merchant that sold the home appliance; 17 landscaping; sale, installation, cleaning, or repair of 18 carpets; and home repair made by a not-for-profit charitable 19 organization. The bill defines “residence” as a single-family 20 or multiple-family dwelling, located in this state, occupied 21 or used or intended to be occupied or used for residential 22 purposes. 23 Home repair fraud is an aggravated misdemeanor. An 24 aggravated misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more 25 than two years and a fine of at least $625 but not more than 26 $6,250. 27 Aggravated home repair fraud is a class “D” felony if the 28 contract or agreement price is $5,000 or less. A class “D” 29 felony is punishable by confinement for no more than five 30 years and a fine of at least $750 but not more than $7,500. 31 Aggravated home repair fraud is a class “C” felony if the 32 contract or agreement price is more than $5,000. A class “C” 33 felony is punishable by confinement for no more than 10 years 34 and a fine of at least $1,000 but not more than $10,000. 35 -4- LSB 2465XC (2) 85 je/nh 4/ 4