Comment submitted by Craig Knott, Houseworks Unlimited, Inc.

Come on guys.....enough is enough! All of these rules and regulations are doing nothing but raising the cost in an industry that's already been hit pretty hard. We feel like you're continuing to kick us while we're already down. Consumers are still scared to do any unnecessary renovation projects in fear of where the current economy is going. We all hoped (consumers, contractors, sub-contractors, suppliers, etc.) that the opt out would have stayed in place. This at least would have given homeowners that are struggling financially a option to get needed repairs done without borrowing MORE money! A lot of our clients are older, retired and on fixed incomes. These additional cost mean the work doesn't get done. We had to tell a 85 year old woman recently that is was going to cost another $3-4,000 to complete the "Lead-Safe" practices on her exterior paint job. Oh, and by the way, this doesn't include replacing all the plants and shrubs that will be burned by the sun because we're covering them with plastic while we work! We have also heard of consumers deliberately setting out to sue contractors if they don't follow the lead-safe practices to a tee. It's not going to end if you continue to add more regulations. Please, please make this stop!!!! If you don't, many businesses like ours aren't going to make it.