Archive for the ‘Licensing’ Category

California’s Contractors State Licensing Board – Very Useful Tool

On July 12, 2011 Author By Seth Smiley

The Wolfe Law Group, LLC (WLG), has two attorneys (Scott G. Wolfe, Jr., and Seth J. Smiley) that are barred in the state of California. As a California attorney, I want to share some of the excellent resources available to contractors through the licensing board.

California has over 300,000 licensed contractors, all of which had to be licensed through the state licensing board. Many contractors do not know all the resources which this arm of the Department of Consumer Affairs makes available to contractors and the public. Some of the more popular features include:

For the consumer there are tutorials on hiring a licensed contractor, knowing the risks of being an owner/builder, filing complaints, legal issues for construction consumers. California CSLB is also very proud of its SWIFT program. SWIFT stands for Statewide Investigative Fraud Team, where the government performs sting operations to catch unlicensed contractors. This team plays the double roll of protecting the consumers from unlicensed contractors, but it also protects those contractors who are playing by the rules from having business stolen from them by their unlicensed counterparts.

For contractors there are links to leading industry bulletins, the very helpful “Contractors Guide to Licensing” which after taking a look is very informative for all contractors, big or small, in educating them on the licensing process. There are also other links regarding out-of-state contractors obtaining reciprocity.

The hearty list of online services offered by CSLB includes, checking on a license, filing a complaint, the full database of all licensed contractors, processing times, searches for surety bond companies and workers comp insurance companies.

I found that the email alerts are very helpful on keeping up with current events and breaking news. Much of the news thus far has been updates on unlicensed contractors who have been caught by the SWIFT program.

As always seek the advice of legal counsel when contemplating licensing, contracting, and negotiating. The California Contractors State Licensing Board has a very top notch site dedicated to aid both the consumer and its professional contractors. This resource should not be overlooked when deciding to get your license or maintaining it. The attorneys at Wolfe Law Group, LLC are experienced in all areas of construction law including contractor licensing.

Posted in:     Construction News, Law Changes & Updates, Licensing  /  Tags: , ,   /   Leave a comment

One License Enough for Joint Ventures in Washington and Oregon

On December 3, 2010 Author By Scott Wolfe Jr

A few months ago, I posted “Joint Ventures and Contractor Licensing – Not A Simple Topic,” which compared the regulation of joint ventures by construction licensing entities in Washington (one party to joint venture requires license) and Louisiana (all parties to joint venture require license).

I completely overlooked a recent change in the Oregon law related to licensing joint ventures.   A change in ORS §701.021 puts Oregon in Washington’s camp insofar as joint ventures are concerned.  Like in Washington, so long as a single member of the joint venture is licensed, the JV entity will be considered licensed.

The change took effect on July 1, 2010.  Read the full text of ORS §701.021 here. Read a great article discussing details of the changed statute from Steward Sokol & Gray LLC here.

Posted in:     Licensing, Oregon  /  Tags: , , ,   /   Leave a comment

Joint Ventures and Contractor Licensing – Not A Simple Topic

On August 24, 2010 Author By Scott Wolfe Jr

You’re looking to work on a construction project…but you don’t have a license.   Surprisingly, this happens quite often.

Perhaps you’re to the industry, or a company trying to work in a neighboring state to take advantage of an opportunity there.   Before you prepare a bid or sign a contract, the first order of business is getting legal.    And depending on where you are, that usually means becoming a licensed contractor.

When our office is approached with these types of situations, we’re frequently asked if a “joint venture” with a licensed contractor can resolve any licensing deficiencies with the unlicensed party.   The answer to this question depends on where you are, and the circumstances of the project.

In the past, we’ve highlighted Mike Purdy’s Public Contracting Blog (it’s an excellent resource on prevailing wage and public contracting issues – previous posts here).   Last week, Mike discussed this interesting and popular question on the contractor licensing requirements for joint ventures.

His post focuses on Washington law.    In Washington, RCW 18.27.065 provides as follows:

A partnership or joint venture shall be deemed registered under this chapter if any one of the general partners or venturers whose name appears in the name under which the partnership or venture does business is registered.

The key here, as Mike points out in his well-written blog post, is whether the registered member of the venture is in the JV’s name.

Louisiana’s contractor licensing law treats this situation exactly opposite from Washington.    Here is a snippet from the Louisiana State Board of Contractor’s website, on their FAQ page:

I want to do a joint venture with a licensed Louisiana contractor. How does that work?

All parties in a joint venture are required to be licensed at the time the bid is submitted. Each party to the joint venture may only perform within the applicable classifications of the work of which he is properly classified to perform (Section 1103 of the Rules and Regulations of the Board).

So indeed, where you are is critical to the question of whether you can or cannot by-pass contractor licensing or registration requirements by partnering with a registered company.

And this becomes another example of how working on a construction project in one state can be legally much different than working in another state.   What are some of the other examples?    How state laws treat Pay When Paid Clauses, and the different requirements for Mechanic Liens and Preliminary Notices.

Posted in:     Licensing  /  Tags: , , , , ,   /   Leave a comment

Louisiana State Contractors Board Website Gets New Suit

On July 14, 2010 Author By Scott Wolfe Jr

Navigated to the Louisiana State Board of Contractors website this morning, and was surprised to see a new look and some improvements.   Finally!

The old website was far behind the times, and surpassed by its counterparts in other states (i.e. see the Washington and Oregon sites, with tons of information and forms for contractors and consumers).

The new website is an improvement.  It’s cleaner and easier to navigate, and there is the beginning of a section for useful contractor and consumer resources.

And…my favorite improvement?

For those looking to become a licensed Louisiana contractor, you can now download the application forms straight from the web.  Previously, applicants were required to “request” the application materials, and could only apply using the actual forms supplied.   What a waste!

This is much more….1999!!

Check out the new website here:  http://www.lslbc.louisiana.gov/

Posted in:     Licensing  /  Tags: ,   /   Leave a comment

Contractor Violation Rules May Finally Get A Break in Washington

On March 23, 2010 Author By Scott Wolfe Jr

Over the past few years, a joint legislative task force on the underground construction economy has been responsible for a number of changes to the Washington contractor licensing statutes, and all of these changes had made the laws more strict and aggressive against parties performing construction work without a license.

A new bill in the Washington legislature is recommended by the same task force, but this one may finally give the underground construction economy a break (although the bill will tighten areas of regulation as well).

Introduced by Representative Steve Conway, this bill would allow a fine imposed against an unregistered contractor to be reduced if the contractor registers for an approved training course within 10 days of being notified of the infraction.  Notice some key terms:  ”reduced” and not eliminated, and “may” and not shall.

But, for those operating without a license, or those who are operating and just don’t know they need a license…this bill could provide them with a break to allow the violating party to get legal.

Other components of the bill are not as violator friendly.     Read the full text of the bill here.

This article was originally posted on Wolfe Law Group’s topic-specific Northwest Construction Law Blog.

Posted in:     Licensing, Washington  /  Tags: , , , , , ,   /   Leave a comment
« Previous Page
Next Page »