Ohio House approves prompt pay bill for workers

State Representative Jon Cross (R-Kenton) recently announced the Ohio House of Representatives has approved House Bill 68, his bipartisan legislation that ensures prime contractors are paid promptly and construction projects can move forward across the State of Ohio.

Under current law, there is no provision on how long owners can pay their prime contractor on private projects. H.B. 68 closes this loophole and requires private sector owners of commercial construction projects to provide payment to the prime contractors no more than 30 days after the prime contractors provide invoices to the owners.

There is a $40 billion impact on the construction industry for carrying forward the fees and costs of slow payments, according to the 2018 Construction Payments Report issued by Rabbet. This same study found that an overwhelming majority of subcontractors must turn to other sources of financing for wages and materials while they wait for payment.

“This issue unfortunately falls on those small businesses who can least afford it,” said Cross. “House Bill 68 aims to get money flowing from, often-times, very large companies to Ohio contractors and focuses on large-scale commercial developers that are not paying their contractors within a reasonable time.”

Joint-sponsored with State Representative Bride Rose Sweeney (D-Cleveland), the proposal is a reintroduction of House Bill 380 from the 133rd General Assembly. A number of statewide associations voiced their support for the bill, including the Ohio Roofers Contract Association, Construction Employers Association, Associated General Contractors of Ohio, and more.

H.B. 68 now advances to the Senate for consideration.