Capitol Connection Q&A for Contractors Week – 12/25/2023

Knowing is one thing, but confirmation ever better! For contractors, working with others  is a given, but forming a partnership is a joint venture surrounded by a common border.  Unfortunately, an ‘injury’ to one leaves a mark on all for those ‘responsible’ on the license…

 

Q: Last year, we had submitted our insurance renewal to the CSLB via their online portal and it was never processed and our license was suspended for a period of time. Your company was instrumental in getting the insurance certificate submitted and processed to put our license back to Active status. How do I ensure there was no break in the license? I know you had said the CSLB would renew the insurance retroactively to the effective date, but I just want to make absolute sure there was no break. Is there a way to confirm?

 A: You can order a Certified License History from the CSLB which will give you the status history of the license. I will go ahead and get one requested for you and let you know when I have it in hand.

 

 

Q: We have been offered to do a project for one of our customers which requires that we have a General Building (“B”) license. We currently hold a General Engineering (“A”) license. One of the companies that we currently work with on other projects has the building license in Arizona, Nevada, and several other States. Is it possible to form a Joint Venture with them and obtain a license in the name of the Partnership/JV so we can accept? How quickly can this be accomplished? 

A: While the process to obtain a JV license in CA is fairly quick, both/all entities which make up the Joint Venture must be licensed in the State of California.

 

 

Q: I am the RMO for two different companies, one of which had a complaint filed against it recently. The other company, who has no complaints, received a letter stating the complaint would also be shown on it’s license, even though the two entities are unrelated except for me being the common owner. Is there a way to get the complaint removed from where it doesn’t belong?

 A: According to B&P Code Section 7124.6, complaints, citations, etc are required to be disclosed on the license for five years after the date of compliance, and any disclosure pursuant to 7124.6 shall also be appear on the license record of any other license that includes a qualifier that is listed as one of the members of personnel of record of the license that was issued a citation. The only way to have the complaint removed from the license which wasn’t directly disciplined would be disassociate yourself as the Qualifying Individual from that license. The company would be required to replace you within 90 days.

 

 While knowledge is power, knowing where to go for the answers is half the battle. Get expert assistance immediately when you call 866-443-0657, email info@cutredtape.com, or write us at Capitol Services, Inc., 3609 Bradshaw Rd, Ste H, #343, Sacramento, CA 95827. Search past columns at www.cutredtape.com.

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CAPITOL CONNECTION Q&A FOR CONTRACTORS – 12/11/23

What’s yours, may actually be their’s, or so license law reads. For another contractor there is no ‘grace’ in answering his many questions! Let’s go wild on dba’s to wrap it up…

 

Q: We are working on changing our Responsible Managing Employee (RME) (our qualifier) on our California contractor’s license.  When we change our RME, will that change our contractor number?  We are trying to determine if we need to update all of our contracts with vendors, etc. in connection with the change.

A: Your license number will not change when you change your Qualifying Individual. The license belongs to the company, not an individual, so the individual does not “take” the number with them when they leave.

 

Q: Is there a grace period for an HIS to be able to sell contracts? For example, can they sell if they have an application submitted but not yet processed by the CSLB? Similarly, is there a grace period for HIS registrations? For example, how long do we have to notify the CSLB of an active HIS? For HIS licenses, what are the parameters to either renew an expired license OR apply for a whole new license? We have some reps that held licenses previously but have expired, some less than, some greater than, 10 years ago.

A: No, there is no grace period for an HIS to be able to sell contracts. You must wait until the CSLB issues an Home Improvement Sales (HIS) number to have them start working as an HIS. When your company hires an HIS, you are required to complete and submit the notification form to the CSLB upon employment of the individual, but submission of that form meets the notification requirement. So as soon as it’s submitted, the person can start acting as home improvement salesperson. With regards to the expiration/renewals, they can renew an HIS registration for up to three years after it expires. After three years have passed, they must apply for a new registration number.

 

Q: How many assumed names (i.e., doing/business/as) can we operate under our license?  Are assumed name assignments based on the specific trade or the name of the entity?   We are thinking about adding plumbing to our business and want to know if we can use a name other than [ex] XYZ A/C (which implies just air conditioning).

A: You can only have one dba attached to your license. You can have as many dba’s as you want, but if you are operating under separate dba’s each one needs it’s own license.

Ex: XYZ Services dba XYZ A/C, license number 1000000

XYZ Services dba XYZ Plumbing, license number 1000001

And yes, the dba name needs to be indicative of the classification the license is holding.

 

While knowledge is power, knowing where to go for the answers is half the battle. Get expert assistance immediately when you call 866-443-0657, email info@cutredtape.com, or write us at Capitol Services, Inc., 3609 Bradshaw Rd, Ste H, #343, Sacramento, CA 95827. Search past columns at www.cutredtape.com.

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DECEMBER ANNIVERSARIES & NOVEMBER NEW MEMBERS!

Thank you to our members for their continued support!

50 Years
SEBASTOPOL CONSTRUCTION SERVICES INC dba L J ConstructionSebastopolhttp://www.ljconstruction.net
30 Years
BERGER CONCRETEVineburghttp://www.bergerconcrete.com
25 Years
DENNY’S ELECTRIC INC.Healdsburg
FURIA HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONINGHealdsburghttp://www.furiahvac.com
15 Years
DANIEL N. BAZZOLICalistoga
NORDBY SIGNATURE HOMES, INC.Santa Rosahttp://www.nordby.net
5 Years
J N M CONSTRUCTIONEureka
MASTER’S TOUCH DRYWALL INCRedding
MT SHASTA MASONRYAnderson
DALE HEATING COOLING & SHEETMETAL ISanta Rosahttp://www.dalehcs.com
DIXON’S BACKHOE & GENERAL ENGINEERIMiddletown
IRON DOG FABRICATION, INC.Santa Rosahttp://www.irondogfab.com
TJM INNOVATIONS, LLCMilwaukeehttp://www.gutterstuff.com
1 Year
CALIFORNIA ENERGY – SMART HOMESFair Oakswww.caenergysmarthomes.com
Kyle Thompson ConstructionUkiah
SONOMA COUNTY CARPENTRY INC.Santa Rosawww.sonomacountycarpentry.com
SILVERIA ELECTRICSebastopolhttp://www.silveriaelectric.com
SKYVIEW TREE EXPERTS, INCSanta Rosawww.skyview-tree.com
November New Members! 
ACE TOP QUALITY PAINTINGSanta Rosa  Ace Top Quality.com
Advance Telecom SolutionsNapaadvancetelecomsolutions.com
ADVISOR CONTRACTING INCRedding
BELKORP AGSanta Rosa
CPI DEVELOPERSSan Rafaelwww.cpidevelopers.com
DUNCAN AND SONS CONSTRUCTION, INCWillits
LUCCHETTI EXCAVATINGUkiahlucchettiexcavating.com
PAYTON ENVIRONMENTAL LLCCotatipaytonasbestostesting.com
WINE COUNTRY REMODEL CORPORATIONSanta Rosa
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CAPITOL CONNECTION Q&A FOR CONTRACTORS – 12/4/23

You may not realize it, but contractors have the world by the tail, as your opportunity is virtually unlimited! However, that doesn’t mean everything is an ‘open book.’ And limits are real so what goes here maybe doesn’t go there. That’s why having expert assistance is always a great idea…

 

Q:  Is there any limit to the number of classifications I can have on my license?  We are considering adding some additional classifications to our “C-20” (HVAC) license to expand our range of services.

A:  No, there is no limit to the number of classifications a license can hold.  Keep in mind for each classification, you are required to have an individual who can document at least four years of full-time work experience in the specific trade you are applying for.

 

Q:  Our corporation is a licensed contractor in Nevada.  We are in the process of changing from a standard ‘S’ Corporation to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).  Do we need to do anything to update our Contractor’s License?

A:  A change in ownership does not require that you update your Nevada Contractors License. However, I am not a tax advisor or attorney so suggest you research changing from an ‘S’ Corporation to an ESOP and if it would warrant a new Federal Identification number. That change may trigger a new application be submitted as your ‘business entity’ is now a different structure.  

If your entity changes or if your Officers change, you are required to report it to the Nevada Contractors Board to update your license.

 

Q: When submitting an application for a new license, approximately how long after the application is submitted should I expect to be approved to sit for the exams? And are the exams open book? I’m trying to plan for study time.

 

A: You will likely be approved to schedule the exams about 6 weeks after the application is submitted, and no such luck on the open book though! You are not permitted to bring any material in to the exam with you.

 

 

Q: My brother-in-law is a “C-10” (Electrical) qualifier. He recently left the company he worked for, and he and I are going to start an electrical company. Does it matter what we name the business? He seems to remember the CSLB having an issue with his former Company’s business name and there being some back and forth which delayed the licensing process. We don’t want to run into any of that!

 

A: The CSLB is very particular about business names. Your business name of course cannot be misleading (i.e., you will not be able to call it “ABC Plumbing”), and it also cannot be too “general” such as “ABC Services” or “Systems Inc”. Most anything with “Electrical”, “Electric”, “Power”, “Controls”, etc. in the name should work for a “C-10” contracting business. You’ll want to check the business name with the CA Secretary of State as well to make sure it’s available for use

 

While knowledge is power, knowing where to go for the answers is half the battle. Get expert assistance immediately when you call 866-443-0657, email info@cutredtape.com, or write us at Capitol Services, Inc., 3609 Bradshaw Rd, Ste H, #343, Sacramento, CA 95827. Search past columns at www.cutredtape.com.

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