Senators Vernon Sykes (left) and Jay Hottinger offer sponsor testimony for SB49 to the Senate Judiciary Committee

Senate Bill 49, AIA Ohio’s Payment Assurance Legislation (PAL), received its first hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 23. The bill’s joint sponsors Sen. Vernon Sykes (D, Akron) and Sen. Jay Hottinger (R, Newark) testified that the bill would create a design professional lien right modeled after the brokers’ lien.

If passed, this legislation would establish a payment assurance program for registered design professionals. The design professional lien will:

  • Apply only to commercial property, and not to residential property;
  • Apply only to private work, and not to public construction; and
  • Will be subordinate to any real estate mortgage previously filed.

A proponent hearing has yet to be scheduled. Click here to read the full testimony of Senators Sykes and Hottinger.