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June 18, 1997

Fee increases for building industry take effect June 30

TUMWATER - Fee increases to cover the increased cost of administering Department of Labor & Industries programs that inspect and regulate the building industry will take effect June 30.

The general increase of 4.45 percent applies across-the-board for fees for:

• Inspection and permitting of lifting conveyances, such as elevators, escalators and material lifts.
• Registration of contractors. It will now cost $41.75 to register, up from $40. Labor & Industries maintains this database for consumer protection.
• Factory assembled structure inspections, such as commercial coaches, manufactured homes and recreational vehicles. L&I inspects these structures at the factory to ensure compliance with state and federal building codes.
• Electrical inspections, permits and license examinations.
• Plumber certifications. The department certifies plumbers to ensure competency and safety in this trade.

The purpose of the fee increases is to help offset higher operating costs for the programs they effect, department officials said. It has been several years since the fees were last raised. Plumbing certification fees, for instance, were last raised in 1989, while the last increase for electrical fees was in 1992.

The Office of Financial Management, the state agency that retains budget oversight for all state agencies, provided the 4.45 percent figure to L&I. By statute, 4.45 percent is the maximum allowable fiscal growth rate factor for fiscal year 1997. Numbers were rounded down to the nearest quarter, except for the electrical fees, which are rounded down to the nearest dollar.

Public hearings on the fee increases took place in February.

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For media information, contact: 
L&I Public Affairs at 360-902-5400 or publicaffairs@lni.wa.gov