IMSCA History

The Illinois Mechanical & Specialty Contractors Association is the principle voice of the rights of subcontracting industry in Illinois. IMSCA has successfully represented subcontractors since 1967 by effectively influencing legislation in Illinois for the benefits of its constituents. It has the potential to be an even more positive force in the Illinois construction industry. IMSCA can enhance its role on behalf of subcontractors by establishing direction for its advocacy program, solidifying its purpose, increasing its recognition as an organization, strengthening its financial position, disseminating useful information to its members and being a source of education for subcontractors.

Legislative Accomplishments

Changes in Mechanics Lien Act
IMSCA has successfully defeated any attempts to increase notification requirements for sub-contractors in the Mechanics Lien Act. We were also successful in getting a change to the Act which allowed for the liening of attorney's fees. In addition IMSCA worked eight years to pass legislation establishing mechanics liens rights for rental equipment used on construction sites.

Construction Dispute Jurisdiction
IMSCA led the effort to establish Illinois jurisdiction in disputes arising from contracts for construction or improvement of Illinois real estate property. In an effort to ease difficulty for Illinois contractors, IMSCA introduced and passed legislation which resolved the jurisdiction issue in favor of Illinois contractors, providing substantial cost savings and increasing uniformity in the decisions for these disputes.

Contractors Prompt Payment
In an effort to assist contractors receive faster payment on pay request IMSCA introduced and passed legislation which was signed into law that required payment within 15 days after the invoice is approved.If there are questions about the invoice the owner must notify the contractor in 25 days of receipt. Failing to notify deems approval and the invoice must be paid within 15 days . Only the unapproved portion of the work can be witheld the remainder of the invoice must be paid in 15 days.The law contains interest as a penality for slow pay.

Establishment of the Illinois Building Commission
IMSCA worked with other interest groups in drafting and passing legislation which established the Illinois Building Commission.

Green Building Act
Represented IMSCA in negotiations to assure IMSCA Members' interests were recognized in the requirements established in the Green Building Act of 2009.

Licensure of Lawn Irrigation Contractors
IMSCA worked with the proponents of legislation that would have allowed unlicensed plumbers to install lawn irrigation systems to require such installers to be licensed under the Illinois Plumbing Code and to require the installation of a back flow prevention device on the system by a licensed plumber.

Maintenance of the Five Prime Contractors in the Illinois Procurement Code
Even though the Illinois Procurement Code was completely re-written during the 1990's and the Auditor General did an extensive study of the economic benefits of single vs. multiple prime contracting, IMSCA has been successful in defeating any attempt to abolish the multiple prime contracting method in Illinois.

Public Construction Bond Act
IMSCA passed legislation which provided that the right to sue under the Public Construction Bond Act on a bond or letter of credit executed by a person furnishing material or performing labor is in addition to and independent of any other rights and remedies provided at law or equity and that a waiver of mechanics lien rights shall not be a waiver of rights under the Public Construction Bond Act unless expressly stated in the waiver.

Registration of Plumbing Contractors
IMSCA successfully passed legislation requiring the registration of all plumbing contractors in Illinois with Department of Public Health.

Structural Work Act
IMSCA worked with other groups in securing the repeal of the Structural Work Act. Since that time we have continued to work successfully in defeating all attempts to re-establish a Structural Work Act in Illinois.

Substance Abuse Testing on Prevailing Wage Jobs
IMSCA introduced legislation that requires an employer to have a substance abuse prevention policy and prohibits use of illegal substances on prevailing wage jobs. During hearings on the bill in the Senate we discovered that there was some opposition from the unions to some of the language in the bill. We were able to successfully negotiate amendments to the bill and pass it through both chambers .The bill was signed into law by the Governor.

Telephone Disconnect for Unlicensed Plumbers
IMSCA successfully passed a bill which allows the Department of Public Health to order the disconnection of telephone numbers used in advertisements for unlicensed plumbers

Unfair Utility Competition
Although we never passed legislation which specifically resolved this issue, IMSCA's efforts in this area caused the Illinois Commerce Commission to scrutinize more carefully the use of ratepayer funds to compete against private contractors.

Last modified: August 26th, 2010 @ 01:03 pm.