RS 2156.1 - Requirements for issuance of a license
A. To become licensed as a contractor, an applicant shall make application to the board on a form adopted by the board and shall state the classification of work the applicant desires to perform from a list of major classifications as follows:
(1) Building construction.
(2) Highway, street, and bridge construction.
(3) Heavy construction.
(4) Municipal and public works construction.
(5) Electrical work.
(6) Mechanical work.
(7) Plumbing work.
(8) Hazardous materials.
(9) Specialty classifications.
(10) Residential construction.
B. The board shall classify contractors according to the type or types of work or contracts which they may perform.
C.(1) The applicant shall furnish the board with a financial statement, current to within twelve months of the date of filing, prepared by an accountant, bookkeeper, or certified public accountant and signed by the applicant before a notary public, stating that the statement of applicant's assets and financial condition is true and correct. The assets shall include a net worth of at least ten thousand dollars. An applicant without the net worth required herein may furnish the board a bond, letter of credit, or other security acceptable to the board in the amount of the net worth requirement plus the amount of the applicant's negative net worth if any, and the furnishing of the bond, letter of credit, or other security shall be deemed satisfaction of the net worth requirement for all purposes. The financial statement and any information contained therein, as well as any other financial information required to be submitted by a contractor, shall be confidential and not subject to the provisions of R.S. 44:1 through 57.
(2) No financial statement is required for a license renewal.
D.(1) The applicant for licensure shall designate a qualifying party who shall be the legal representative for the contractor relative to the provisions of this Chapter. The designated qualifying party shall complete an application supplied by the board and pass any examination required by the board. The board may deny approval of the qualifying party for good cause, which may include the ability of the proposed principal owner or owners, principal shareholder or shareholders, or qualifying party to engage in the business of contracting as demonstrated by his prior contracting business experience. Evidence which may be considered by the board shall be limited to any legal proceedings against the qualifying party or businesses where the qualifying party was in a position of control at the time a problem arose and the ultimate disposition of the proceedings, any financial history of bankruptcies, unpaid judgments, insolvencies, or any similar evidence. When the qualifying party terminates employment with the licensee, the board shall be notified in writing within thirty days of the disassociation and another qualifying party must qualify within sixty days. The qualifying party or parties are:
(a) Sole proprietor or spouse of a sole proprietor.
(b) Any employee of an applicant who has been in full-time employment for one hundred twenty consecutive days immediately preceding the application. The employee may be allowed to be the qualifying party for the licensed company and related entities.
(c) Any stockholder, officer, or incorporator of a corporation.
(d) Any partner of a partnership.
(e) Any member or manager of a limited liability company.
(2) Upon good showing, the board may exempt any qualifying party from the required examinations.
(3) Upon the determination that a person has engaged in deceptive practices when taking or attempting to take any board examination, the person shall be ineligible to serve as a qualifying party for a licensee for a period of one year.
E. Notwithstanding any other law of this state to the contrary, a mechanical, plumbing, or electrical contractor may obtain a license to bid and perform work statewide provided the contractor has successfully passed a standardized, nationally recognized, written examination administered or approved by the State Licensing Board for Contractors.
F.(1) Upon completion of the requirements for licensure and issuance of a state license for the classification of work for which the contractor has applied; mechanical, plumbing, or electrical contractors licensed pursuant to the provisions of this Section are excluded from local, municipal, or parish regulatory authority examination procedures and may bid and perform work within any local jurisdiction upon paying all appropriate fees.
(2) The purpose of this Subsection is to preempt local, municipal, or parish regulatory examination authority for statewide-licensed mechanical, plumbing, or electrical contractors bidding and performing work in multiple jurisdictions. This preemption shall further exclude the employees of statewide-licensed electrical and mechanical contractors from local, municipal, or parish regulatory examination or certification authority as a condition to performing work for the statewide-licensed electrical or mechanical contractor.
G. Any mechanical or electrical contractor who has, prior to July 1, 1985, successfully passed both a state licensing examination administered or approved by the board and a local licensing examination in the same license classification, and who has continuously held such state and local licenses since July 1, 1985, shall be exempted from any requirement for passage of an additional test in that license classification. A mechanical or electrical contractor shall make application to the board for an exemption on a form prepared by the board. The board shall provide a date by which application for exemption forms must be filed.
H. Any plumbing contractor who currently holds a state license shall be exempt from any requirement for passage of an additional examination in that license classification and may bid and perform plumbing work statewide after applying to the board for an exemption on a form prepared by the board.
I. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to permit plumbing contractors to perform plumbing work without first complying with the licensure provisions of Chapter 16 of this Title, R.S. 37:1361 et seq.
J. Each applicant shall pay all fees required for issuance of the license as provided for in this Chapter.
K. Upon completion of the requirements for licensure, the application shall be submitted to the board for review.
L.(1) The examination requirement of this Chapter shall not apply to any arborist who currently holds a valid state license issued pursuant to R.S. 3:3804 in the landscaping, grading, and beautification subclassification. The arborist may bid and perform the arborist work described in R.S. 3:3808(A)(1)(a), statewide, after applying to the board for an exemption on a form prepared by the board.
(2) Nothing in this Subsection shall be construed to permit arborists to recommend or execute arborist work without first complying with the licensure provisions of Chapter 24 of Title 3 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, R.S. 3:3801 et seq.
M. The board may consolidate subclassifications or specialties by rule as it deems appropriate.
N. Repealed by Acts 2019, No. 371, §2.
Added by Acts 1976, No. 82, §2, eff. July 8, 1976. Amended by Acts 1981, No. 668, §1; Acts 1983, No. 295, §1; Acts 1988, No. 635, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1989; Acts 1989, No. 559, §1; Acts 1992, No. 681, §1, eff. July 6, 1992; Acts 1997, No. 148, §1; Acts 1997, No. 769, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1175, §1; Acts 2008, No. 725, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2012, No. 163, §1; Acts 2019, No. 371, §§1, 2.
NOTE: See Acts 1988, No. 635, §§2, 3.