Substitute Senate Bill No. 924
          Substitute Senate Bill No. 924

              PUBLIC ACT NO. 97-129


AN ACT CONCERNING  THE  HOME  IMPROVEMENT GUARANTY
FUND.


    Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
    Subsections (c) and  (d)  of section 20-432 of
the  general  statutes   are   repealed   and  the
following is substituted in lieu thereof:
    (c)  Payments received under subsection (b) of
this section shall be  credited  to  the  guaranty
fund  until  the balance in such fund equals seven
hundred fifty thousand dollars. Annually, if  such
fund  has an excess, the first [one hundred fifty]
FOUR HUNDRED thousand dollars of the excess  shall
be   deposited   into   the   Consumer  Protection
Enforcement Fund established  in  section  21a-8a.
Any  excess  thereafter  shall be deposited in the
General Fund. Any money in the guaranty  fund  may
be  invested  or  reinvested in the same manner as
funds of the state  employees  retirement  system,
and  the  interest  arising  from such investments
shall be credited to the guaranty fund.
    (d)   Whenever   an   owner  obtains  a  court
judgment  against   any   contractor   holding   a
certificate  or  who  has held a certificate under
this chapter within the  past  two  years  of  the
effective  date of entering into the contract with
the owner, for loss or damages sustained by reason
of  performance  of  or offering to perform a home
improvement within  this  state  by  a  contractor
holding  a  certificate  under  this chapter, such
owner may, upon the  final  determination  of,  or
expiration  of time for, appeal in connection with
any such judgment, apply to the  commissioner  for
an  order  directing  payment out of said guaranty
fund of the amount unpaid upon  the  judgment  for
actual  damages  and  costs  taxed  by  the  court
against  the  contractor,  exclusive  of  punitive
damages.  The  application  shall be made on forms
provided  by  the  commissioner   and   shall   be
accompanied  by  a  certified  copy  of  the court
judgment obtained against the contractor  together
with a notarized affidavit, signed and sworn to by
the owner, affirming that:  (1)  He  has  complied
with  all the requirements of this subsection; (2)
he has obtained  a  judgment  stating  the  amount
thereof  and  the amount owing thereon at the date
of application; and (3) he has caused to be issued
a  writ  of  execution upon said judgment, and the
officer executing  the  same  has  made  a  return
showing  that no bank accounts or real property of
the  contractor  liable  to  be  levied  upon   in
satisfaction  of  the  judgment could be found, or
that the amount realized on the sale of them or of
such  of  them as were found, under the execution,
was insufficient  to  satisfy  the  actual  damage
portion  of  the  judgment  or  stating the amount
realized and the  balance  remaining  due  on  the
judgment  after  application thereon of the amount
realized, EXCEPT THAT  THE  REQUIREMENTS  OF  THIS
SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT APPLY TO A JUDGMENT OBTAINED
BY THE OWNER IN SMALL CLAIMS  COURT.  A  true  and
attested  copy of said executing officer's return,
WHEN  REQUIRED,  shall   be   attached   to   such
application  and  affidavit. No application for an
order directing payment out of the  guaranty  fund
shall  be made later than two years from the final
determination of, or expiration time  for,  appeal
of said court judgment.

Approved June 13, 1997