An Act to authorize the bonding of persons engaging in the home improvement business, and for other purposes.
PL 86-715 (S.3727), enacted 09/06/1960

74 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 86-715-8EPT. 6, 1960 
815 
Public Law 86-715 
AN ACT 
September 6, 1960 
To authorize the bonding of persons engaging in the home improvement business, 
^^ ^^^'^^ 
and for other purposes. 
A u t h o r i t y 
Cominissioners. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That the Commis-
sioners of the District of Columbia are authorized, in connection with ness. 
the licensing of persons engaged in the home improvement business, 
^onds. 
whether as princij)al, agent, salesman, employee, or otherwise, to 
require the furnishing of bond as a condition to the issuance of such 
license. For the purposes of this Act, the term "home improvement 
business" means the repair, remodeling, alteration, conversion, or 
modernization of, or addition to, residential property, all ais may be 
more particularly defined in regulations promulgated by the Commis-
sioners. Such bonding may be required notwithstanding the fact that 
a person may also be subject to the bonding requirements of any other 
law. 
SEC. 2. (a) The Commissioners may, from time to time, and in 
their discretion, establish classes and subclasses of persons licensed 
to engage in the home improvement business and specify the amount 
and conditions of the bond or other security acceptable to the Com-
missioners to be deposited by each of the members of any such class 
or subclass. In connection with the licensing of persons to engage 
in the home improvement business, and the bonding of the members 
of any such class or subclass of such persons, the Commissioners, in 
their discretion, may by regulation require applicants for licenses 
or licensees— 
(1) to furnish and keep in force a bond or bonds running to 
the District, or other security acceptable to the Commissioners, 
to protect members of the public against financial loss by reason 
of the failure of the licensee or of any officer, agent, employee, 
salesman, or other person acting on behalf of said licensee, to 
observe any law or regulation in force in the District of Colum-
bia applicable to the licensee's conduct of the licensed business; 
(2) to procure and keep in force public liability insurance 
or property damage insurance, or both; and 
(3) to appoint the Commissioners as their true and lawful 
attorney upon whom all judicial and other process or legal notice 
directed to such person may be served. 
(b) The bonds authorized by this section shall be corporate surety 
bonds in amounts to be fixed by the Commissioners, but no bond 
shall exceed $25,000, and such bond shall be conditioned upon the 
observance by the licensee and any officer, agent, employee, salesman, 
or other person acting on behalf of said licensee, of all laws and regu-
lations in force in the District applicable to the licensee's conduct 
of the licensed business, for the benefit of any person who may suffer 
damages resulting from the violation of any such law or regulation 
by or on the part of such licensee or any officer, agent, employee, sales-
man, or other person acting on behalf of the licensee. 
(c) Any person aggrieved by the violation of any law or regulation 
applicable to the licensee's conduct of the licensed activity shall have, 
in addition to his right of action against such licensee^ a right to bring 
suit against the surety on a bond authorized by this section, either 
alone or jointly with the principal thereon, and to recover in an 
amount not exceeding the penalty of the bond any damages sustained 
by reason of any act, transaction, or conduct of the licensee, or of any 
officer, agent, employee, salesman, or other person acting on behalf of 
said licensee, which is in violation of law or regulation in force in the 
D. C , home im-
provement 
b u s i-
Definition. 
Bonds. 
S u i t 
a g a i n s t 
siorety on bonds. 
PUBLIC LAW 86-716-SEPT. 6, 1960 
[74 S T A T . 
Defense against 
certain liens. 
Violations. 
Penalty. 
Prosecutions, 
Power of C o m-
missioners. 
Savings clause. 
Effective date. 
District relating to the licensed activity. The provisions of the second, 
third, and fifth subparagraphs of paragraph (b) of the first section 
of the Act entitled "An Act to grant additional powers to the Com-
missioners, and for other purposes", approved December 20, 1944 
(58 Stat. 820; sec. l-244(b), D.C. Code, 1951 edition), shall be applica-
ble to each bond authorized by this section as if it were the bond 
authorized by the first subparagraph of such paragraph (b) of the 
first section of said Act approved December 20,1944: Provided^ That 
nothing in this subsection shall be construed to impose upon the surety 
on any such bond a greater liability than the total amount thereof 
or the amount remaining unextinguished after any prior recovery 
or recoveries. 
SEC. 3. In any case in which a property owner or occupant has en-
tered into a contract with a person offering to perform or to arrange 
for the performance of home improvement work, and such property 
owner or occupant makes payment for such work to the person offer-
ing to perform or arrange for the performance of the same, proof of 
such payment shall constitute a defense against, and render void, any 
lien sought to be asserted under the authority of sections 1237, 1238, 
and 1239 of the Act approved March 3, 1901 (31 Stat. 1384; sees. 
38-101,102, and 103, D.C. Code, 1951 edition). 
SEC. 4. Any person who shall violate any provision of this Act or of 
any regulation promulgated by the Commissioners under the authority 
of this Act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished 
by a fine not exceeding $300 or by imprisonment for not more than 
ninety days, or both. 
SEC. 5. Prosecutions for violations of this Act, or of the regulations 
made pursuant thereto, shall be conducted in the name of the District 
by the Corporation Counsel or any of his assistants. As used in this 
Act the term "Corporation Counsel" means the attorney for the Dis-
trict, by whatever title such attorney may be known, designated by 
the Commissioners to perform the functions prescribed for the Cor-
poration Counsel in this Act. 
SEC. 6. The authority and power vested in the Commissioners by 
any provision of this Act shall be deemed to be additional and supple-
mentary to authority and power now vested in them, and not as a 
limitation. 
SEC. 7. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to 
any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not 
affect other provisions or the application of this Act which can be 
effected without the invalid provision or application, and to this 
end the provisions of this Act are severable. 
SEC. 8. This Act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
Approved September 6, 1960. 
September 6, 1960 
[H. R. 12563] 
Public Law 86-716 
AN ACT 
To amend the Act entitled "An Act to provide additional revenue for the 
District of Columbia, and for other purposes", approved August 17, 1937, as 
amended. 
D. C. motor ve-
hicles. 
I d e n t i f i c a t i o n 
tags. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That subsection 
(a) of section 3 of title IV of the Act entitled "An Act to provide 
additional revenue for the District of Columbia, and for other pur-
poses", approved August 17, 1937 (50 Stat. 681), as amended (sec.