PITTSBURGH -- A new law requiring home improvement contractors in Pennsylvania to register with the state attorney general's office is in effect.

The requirement began Wednesday and applies to any contractor who does more than $5,000 worth of home improvements annually.

"This legislation gives us new tools to identify and prosecute problem contractors," Attorney General Tom Corbett said during a Thursday news conference at his downtown Pittsburgh office.

Homeowners can check to see if a contractor is registered at www.attorneygeneral.gov or by calling 1-888-520-6680.

"Is there an independent background check on everything that is submitted -- once it's submitted -- before they're given a license or a registration number?" Call 4 Action reporter Aaron Saykin asked.

"No. They'll be given a temporary registration number right in the very beginning," Corbett said. "But I will tell you, they will have committed an offense if they give us false information."

"I think it takes quite a few jobs -- quite a few complaints -- before the attorney general's office will actually act on it, and that's part of the problem," home inspector Tom O'Connor said.

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