Chapter 348
2012 -- S 2341 AS AMENDED
Enacted 06/20/12
A N A C T
RELATING TO
BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- CONTRACTORS' REGISTRATION BOARD
Introduced By: Senators McCaffrey, Goodwin, Jabour, Doyle, and Miller
Date Introduced: February 07, 2012
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 5-65-10 of the General Laws in Chapter
5-65 entitled "Contractors'
Registration and Licensing
Board" is hereby amended to read as follows:
5-65-10. Grounds
for discipline -- Injunctions. -- (a) The
board or commission may
revoke, suspend, or refuse to issue, reinstate, or reissue a
certificate of registration if the board or
commission determines after notice and opportunity for a
hearing:
(1) That the registrant
or applicant has violated section 5-65-3.
(2) That the insurance
required by section 5-65-7 is not currently in effect.
(3) That the
registrant, licensee or applicant has engaged in conduct as a contractor that
is dishonest or fraudulent that the board finds
injurious to the welfare of the public.
(4) Has violated a rule
or order of the board.
(5) That the registrant
has knowingly assisted an unregistered person to act in violation
of this chapter.
(6) That a lien was
filed on a structure under chapter 28 of title 34 because the registrant
or applicant wrongfully failed to perform a contractual
duty to pay money to the person claiming
the lien.
(7) That the registrant
has substantially violated state or local building codes.
(8) That the registrant
has made false or fraudulent statements on his or her application.
(9) That a registrant
has engaged in repeated acts in violation of this chapter and the
board's rules and regulations inclusive of substandard
workmanship and any misuse of
registration.
(10) The board may take
disciplinary action against a contractor who performed work or
arranged to perform, while the registration was suspended,
invalidated or revoked. Deposits
received by a contractor and ordered returned are not
considered a monetary award when no
services or supplies have been received.
(11) That the
registrant breached a contract.
(12) That the
registrant performed negligent and/or improper work.
(13) That the
registrant has advertised with a license number instead of using a
registration number.
(14) That the
registrant has failed to complete a project(s) for construction or a willful
failure to comply with the terms of a contract or written
warranty.
(15) That the
registrant has misrepresented his registration status as valid when said
registration is suspended, revoked, invalidated, inactive or
unregistered as required by the board.
(16) That the
registrant has failed to pay a fine or comply with any order issued by the
board.
(17) That the
registrant has failed to obtain or maintain the required continuing
education/units required by the board, or failed to sign the
affidavit required by the board for
registration or renewal.
(18) When a violation
for hiring a non-registered contractor, working as a non-registered
contractor, or not maintaining the insurance required is issued,
the registration may become
invalidated until the violation is resolved or hearing is
requested on this offense.
(19) That the
registrant has violated any of the provisions of chapters 25-3, 28-3, 28-12,
28-14, 28-36, 28-50, and/or
37-13. A finding that the
registrant has violated any of those chapters
shall not be grounds for imposition of a monetary penalty
under subsection (c) below.
(b) In addition to all
other remedies, when it appears to the board that a person has
engaged in, or is engaging in, any act, practice or transaction
which violates the provisions of this
chapter, the board may direct the attorney general to apply
to the court for an injunction
restraining the person from violating the provisions of this
chapter. An injunction shall not be
issued for failure to maintain the list provided for in
section 5-65-3(h) unless the court determines
that the failure is intentional.
(c) (1) For each first violation of a particular section of this
chapter or any rule or
regulation promulgated by the board, a fine not to exceed five
thousand dollars ($5,000) may be
imposed after a hearing by the board. Provided, further, that
the board at its discretion may, after
a hearing, impose an additional fine up to but not to
exceed the face value of the contract or the
actual damages caused by the contractor, whichever shall be
greater. Where the claim is for actual
damages the board shall require proof satisfactory to the
board indicating said damages. Where
corrective work is completed as ordered by the board, the fine
assessed may be reduced as
determined by the board. Fines and decisions on claims or
violations inclusive of monetary
awards can be imposed against registered as well as
contractors required to be registered by the
board.
(2) For each subsequent
violation of a particular subsection of this chapter or of a rule or
regulation promulgated by the board, a fine not to exceed ten
thousand dollars ($10,000) may be
imposed after a hearing by the board. All fines collected by
the board shall be deposited as
general revenues until June 30, 2008 to be used to enforce
the provisions of this chapter.
Beginning July 1, 2008, all fines collected by the
board shall be deposited into a restricted receipt
account to be used to enforce the provisions of this chapter.
(3) For the first
violation of section 5-65-3, only for non-registered contractors, a fine of
up to five thousand dollars ($5,000) for a first offense
and up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000)
for each subsequent offense shall be imposed.
(d) The hearing
officer, upon rendering a conclusion may require the registrant, in lieu of
a fine, to attend continuing education courses as
appropriate. Failure to adhere to the requirement
could result in immediate revocation of registration.
(e) The expiration of a
registration by operation of law or by order or decision of the
board or a court, or the voluntary surrender of
registration by the registrant, does not deprive the
board of jurisdiction, an action or disciplinary proceeding
against the registrant or to render a
decision suspending or revoking a registration.
(f) In emergency
situations, when a registrant is acting to the detriment of the health,
welfare and safety of the general public, the board's
executive director may revoke or suspend a
registration without a hearing for just cause for a period of
thirty (30) days.
(g) A registrant may
petition the board to partially or completely expunge his or her
record provided that notice of said expungment
proceedings has been provided to the claimant
who was the subject of the violation. For purposes of
this subsection "notice" shall consist of a
mailing to the last known address of the claimant and need
not be actual notice.
(h) Any person or
contractor, registered or not, who uses another contractor's
registration, contractor's registration identification card, or
allows another person to use their
contractor's registration fraudulently in any way, will be subject
to a fine not exceeding ten
thousand dollars ($10,000).
(i)
When the use of fraudulent advertising entices an individual to hire an
unregistered
contractor, a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000) may
be imposed by the board.
(j) It shall be
unlawful to retain a social security number or copy of the driver's license
from a registrant by a building official as a condition of
obtaining a permit.
(k) The board is
further authorized upon certain findings or violations to:
(1) Put a lien on
property held by a contractor.
(2) Take action on
registrant when the continuing education requirements have failed to
be attained as required in rules and regulations.
(3) When upon
investigation a complaint reveals: serious code infractions; unsatisfied
mechanic's liens; abandonment of a job for a substantial period
of time without apparent cause; or
any other conduct detrimental to the public, the board
can double the fines.
(4) Suspend, revoke or
refuse to issue, reinstate or reissue a certificate of registration to
any registrant who has contracted, advertised, offered to
contract or submitted a bid when the
contractor's registration is suspended, revoked, invalidated or
inactive or unregistered as required
by the board.
(l) No person shall register
as a contractor with the contractors' registration board for the
purpose of deceiving or circumventing the registration
process by enabling a person whose
registration has been suspended or revoked to conduct business.
Provided, further, that any person
who, in good faith relies on the board or the
contractor's registration website for information
regarding registration status of another shall be exempt from
violations pursuant to this section if
the information is not correct. Violators of this section
shall be jointly and individually liable for
damages resulting from their activities as contractors
pursuant to this chapter. Violations of this
subsection may result in a revocation of registration and/or
fines not to exceed ten thousand
dollars ($10,000) and/or up to one year in jail. Furthermore,
the director shall require that all
applicants for registration shall swear by way of affidavit that
they are aware of this provision and
its implications.
(m) Upon receipt of
notice of a final determination, after the exhaustion of all appeals, by
the department of labor and training, consent agreement,
or court order that a registered
contractor violated any of the provisions of chapters 25-3,
28-3, 28-12, 28-14, 28-36, 28-50,
and/or 37- 13 and owes any wages, benefits or other sums
arising out of such violation, the board
shall immediately suspend the contractor’s registration of
such contractor in accordance with this
subsection. The suspension shall continue until all wages,
benefits, or other sums owed have been
paid or the contractor has entered into a written, binding
agreement to pay the same acceptable to
the department of labor and training and is not in
default in payment under such agreement. If the
contractor fails to remain current in payment under any such
agreement, the department of labor
and training shall notify the contractors’ registration
board and the suspension shall be imposed or
reinstated as the case may be. The foregoing sanction is
mandatory, but shall not be grounds for
imposition of a monetary penalty under subsection (c) above.
(n) When the
registration of a contractor has been revoked or suspended, neither the
contractor nor any successor entity or sole proprietorship that:
(1) Has one or more of the same
principals or officers as the partnership, limited partnership,
limited liability partnership, joint
venture, limited liability company, corporation, or sole
proprietorship as the subject contractor;
and (2) Is engaged in the same or equivalent trade or
activity shall be qualified to register or
retain a registration as a contractor under this chapter,
unless and until the board shall determine
that the basis of the revocation or suspension has been satisfied
or removed and that the registrant
or applicant otherwise satisfies the requirements for
registration under this chapter.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, a natural person may
obtain relief from the application and
enforcement of this subsection as to him or her, if he or she can
establish that he or she was not
responsible for, and did not acquiesce to the misconduct which is
the basis of the revocation,
suspension or denial of registration.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01279
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