A controversial bill that aims to place arbitration front and center in the battle over construction defects reform made it through the Senate Business, Labor, and Technology Committee on Monday.
The measure, Senate Bill 156, stipulates that mediation or arbitration be used to resolve disputes over shoddy construction before homeowners associations resort to the courts with a defects lawsuit.
The bill, which heads to the Republican-controlled full Senate next, will have a tougher time making its way through the Democratic-majority House.
SB 156 is one of , all geared to reduce the instances of litigation surrounding construction defects. Reform advocates have blamed the threat of lawsuits and accompanying high insurance costs for scaring developers away from building condominiums in and around the Denver area.