Public Work Bids, AZ Reciprocity, Partnership Licensing and Low Voltage Electrical DOSH

A change in public works bids is coming, and yes, more paperwork is likely going to be required. We ‘power up’ an answer for a ‘low voltage’ question and help another contractor plan for retirement in another state…

Q:  I am aware that employees working for electrical contractors are required to have their electrical certification through California’s Office of Occupational Safety and Health, also known as DOSH.  As a low voltage contractor, are my employees also required to be certified?

A:  As long as they are only performing work within the scope of the “C-7” low voltage classification then no, your employees are not required to obtain their electrical certification.

Q:  My partner (who is also my brother) and I currently have a General Partnership (GP) license.  We’d like to also add my other brother as a Partner.  First of all, can a partnership be made up of three individuals? My second question is this, if the partnership can be made up of three Partners, can we add our brother to our existing contractor’s license?

 

A:  Partnership licenses are issued to a specific General Partnership structure.  A General Partnership can be made up of two or more Partners, however you cannot add or delete them from an existing GP license.  A new license would be required for this new Partnership structure.

 

Q:  I have had a General Contractor’s (“B”) license in California since 1982 and I’m starting to think about retirement.  I want to move to Arizona when I retire but I’d like to get a plumbing license over there just to be able to continue some of my work.  Will I qualify for reciprocity since I’ve been licensed in California for so long?

A:  There are several requirements for qualifying for reciprocity in Arizona.  First, you have to show that you have been actively licensed in one of the reciprocal States for a period of five consecutive years.  Second, you have to show that you took the equivalent trade exam when you originally obtained your license in the reciprocal State.  While you likely meet the first requirement, since it is your desire to obtain a different classification in Arizona, you will not be able to show that you have passed the equivalent exam.  You would likely qualify for reciprocity for a General License in Arizona, however an exam would be required in order for you to obtain that plumbing license in Arizona so plan accordingly. If you need assistance get back in touch we often help contractors in AZ and NV.

Attention Public Works Contractors:

The CSLB recently released an industry bulletin to remind licensees about the new requirement that takes effect on July 1, 2014 with regards to bidding on public works projects.  AB 44 requires contractors to include the license number of each subcontractor listed in any bid or offer for the construction of any public works project.

Currently, the prime contractor is only required to put the name and business location of the subcontractors, however supporters of the new law believe that the name and business location of each sub is not sufficient information to determine the exact identity of the actual subcontractor.  This is especially true in large urban areas where many contractors have the same or similar business names, so the new law requiring the license number be listed seeks to address this problem.