What’s the Legislature cooking up to ‘serve’ contractors? Pending legislation and more on the ‘table’ at the latest CSLB Committee meetings held in Sacramento. A couple of “B” questions come first…
Q: I had a couple of questions regarding the licenses and was hoping you could point me in the right direction. First, there is a sole proprietor who holds a “B” license. Another individual with a “C-8” wants to add his license to the “B”. Can this be done? If so, how do I accomplish this?
A: Yes, it can be done. An application for additional classification must be filed with the CSLB. Both the “B” as owner and “C-8” as Responsible Managing Employee (RME) must sign this form. The “C-8” must also inactivate his current license and will need to post a $12,500 Bond of Qualifying Individual.
Q: My second question: An RME holds a “B” license for a company and has had it for seven years. What happens to the “B” license once the RME leaves? In other words, does the “B” license belong to the RME or to the company he worked for? Can the company assume the “B” in any way?
A: The license holder can remove himself but the license stays with the company. The corporation will then have 90-days to replace the RME or the license will become suspended. Since the company has held this license for seven years, a current officer or supervisory employee who has worked for the company for five of the seven years can likely become the new qualifier with no exam.
The CSLB held a series of Committee meetings in Sacramento on April 3rd. A variety of topics were covered including pending legislation, Enforcement activities, partnering with other state agencies to combat the ‘underground economy’ and even two proposals for a new license classification and certification.
There were some minor fireworks regarding a CSLB staff proposal to oppose SB 1698 (Romero). This legislation, sponsored by the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, would require the CSLB to develop and administer an exam covering public works projects. If passed by the State Legislature (and signed by the Governor), a contractor would be prohibited from performing public projects (such as school classrooms, city sewers, highway construction, municipal buildings, etc.) unless the qualifier first obtained a ‘public works certification’. This is similar to the board’s current Asbestos and Hazardous certifications.
The issue was ‘tabled’ to allow for more input from interested parties (several of whom spoke in opposition to the legislation and in support of the staff report).
It bears repeating that the CSLB once again held a number of successful sting operations around the state. On March 12 and 13, the CSLB’s Statewide Investigative Fraud Team (SWIFT) –partnering with various state and local law enforcement agencies, conducted simultaneous stings in seven California cities. In Anaheim home to Disneyland –over 30 unlicensed contractors didn’t find it the ‘happiest place on Earth’. Dubbed the ‘California Blitz’, these operations resulted in the issuance of 175 notices to appear in court and arrest and jail for 15 other individuals.