This amendment to House Bill No.

Plain English Breakdown

The official status shows the bill passed, but no effective date is listed in the metadata or summary.

Amendment on Using Home Improvement Dispute Statements

This amendment explains when statements made during home improvement dispute resolution can be used as evidence in later civil or criminal cases.

What This Bill Does

• Allows courts to use statements from the dispute process as evidence in future civil lawsuits if they choose.
• Stops these statements from being used against a contractor in most criminal cases.
• Permits using these statements only if someone is charged with lying under oath or giving false information.
• Lets prosecutors challenge a defendant's honesty by showing earlier conflicting statements, but only after the state finishes its main case and if the defense was given this evidence beforehand.

Who It Names or Affects

• Contractors involved in home improvement disputes
• Courts deciding on evidence rules

Terms To Know

Home Improvement Dispute Resolution Process

A formal system for settling disagreements about home repair or construction work.

Impeaching credibility

Showing that a witness is not telling the truth by proving they said something different before.

Limits and Unknowns

• The text does not say when this law will officially start.
• It is unclear how often courts will choose to allow these statements as evidence in civil cases.

Official Summary Text

This amendment to House Bill No. 89 clarifies that communications made as part of the Home Improvement Dispute Resolution Process may be admitted as evidence for limited purposes in the discretion of the court in subsequent civil litigation, and further clarifies that they may only be admitted in a criminal case where there is a prosecution for perjury or giving a false statement or where the statement is being introduced as a prior inconsistent statement of a testifying defendant that may be used for the limited purpose of impeaching the defendant's credibility if it has been disclosed to the defense in discovery.

Current Bill Text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Morrison

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE AMENDMENT NO. 1

TO

HOUSE BILL NO. 89

AMEND House Bill No. 89 on line 79 by inserting "

civil

" after "

subsequent

" and before "

litigation

" therein.

FURTHER AMEND House Bill No. 89 by inserting the following after line 84 and before line 85 and redesignating accordingly:

"

(c) No statement or other information compelled under the Home Improvement Dispute Resolution Process, or any information directly or indirectly derived from such statement or other information compelled, may be used against the contractor in any criminal case, except as follows:

(1) The statement or information is introduced as evidence in a prosecution for perjury or giving a false statement.

(2) The statement or information is introduced as a prior inconsistent statement of a testifying defendant that may be used for the limited purpose of impeaching the defendant’s credibility subsequent to the State’s case-in-chief, if it has been disclosed to the defense in discovery.

".

SYNOPSIS

This amendment to House Bill No. 89 clarifies that communications made as part of the Home Improvement Dispute Resolution Process may be admitted as evidence for limited purposes in the discretion of the court in subsequent civil litigation, and further clarifies that they may only be admitted in a criminal case where there is a prosecution for perjury or giving a false statement or where the statement is being introduced as a prior inconsistent statement of a testifying defendant that may be used for the limited purpose of impeaching the defendant's credibility if it has been disclosed to the defense in discovery.