SB2612_H_Cmte_Amend

SECTION 1. Section 73-59-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

73-59-5. (1) (a) Any corporation, partnership or individual seeking to be licensed and examined under this chapter shall file with the board a written application on such form as may be prescribed by the board. Such application shall be accompanied by the payment of the license fee. If the application sufficiently contains the information required pursuant to this chapter, the applicant shall be examined by the board at its next meeting using a uniform written examination prescribed by the board. The board shall administer an oral examination to applicants who are unable to take the written examination. In addition, the board, in examining such applicant, shall consider the following:

( * * *ai) Experience;

( * * *bii) Complaints; and

( * * *ciii) Other pertinent information the board may require.

(b) If, as a result of the examination, the board finds that the applicant is qualified to engage in residential construction or residential improvement in Mississippi, the applicant shall be issued a license. Any applicant rejected by the board shall be given the opportunity to be reexamined at the next regularly scheduled examination date after a new application has been filed and the license fee has again been paid.

(c) The board shall make and preserve a record of each examination of an applicant and the findings of the board pertaining to such examination. A certified copy of such record, omitting confidential test questions, shall be furnished to the applicant so requesting such record upon the payment of a fee to the board that reasonably reflects the cost of furnishing such record to the applicant.

(d) Each application or filing made under this section shall include the social security number(s) of the applicant in accordance with Section 93-11-64, Mississippi Code of 1972.

(e) Each application for a license under this chapter shall reveal any other states in which the applicant or any partner or business associate of the applicant is licensed and whether the applicant, partner or business associate has had a license revoked or suspended in any other state. If the applicant fails to provide this information, the board may deny or revoke the applicant's license. If the applicant has had a license revoked in another state, the board may deny the application for a license in this state.

(2) As an alternative to the examinations provided for under subsection (1) of this section, an applicant who is a person or entity required to be licensed by Section 73-59-3(1) may be issued a license by the board if the applicant:

(a) (i) Is licensed by a municipality and/or county and submits documentation that the applicant has passed a standardized examination such as an International Code Council (ICC) examination or a municipality or county administered examination; or

(ii) Can demonstrate, by notarized affidavit, that the applicant has been acting in the applicable capacity described in Section 73-59-3(1)(d) for not less than five (5) years and the applicant submits all of the following:

1. One (1) reference letter from a building official or board licensed contractor specifying the classification of work for which the applicant is seeking a license,

2. One (1) reference letter from a bank or other financial institution, and

3. One (1) general reference letter from a project owner, architect, supplier or similar person or entity; and

(b) Completes any applicable video course made available by the board and submits a certificate of completion for the course to the board.

No person required to be licensed under Section 73-59-3(1) may be issued a license under this subsection after December 31, 2023.

SECTION 2. Section 73-59-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

73-59-3. (1) Except as otherwise provided in Section 73-59-15 or Section 33-1-39, the following persons or entities shall be licensed by the board annually as an active licensee or inactive licensee, as appropriate:

(a) Persons or entities acting in the capacity as a residential builder;

(b) Persons or entities acting in the capacity as a residential remodeler;

(c) Persons or entities acting in the capacity as a construction manager through a contract or an agreement with the owner of the property being improved or constructed upon;

(d) Any subcontractor, of any tier, performing the following work or within the following trade, on any residential construction or residential improvement project, no matter the dollar amount of the construction or improvements:

(i) Electrical;

(ii) Plumbing;

(iii) Mechanical; and/or

(iv) Heating, ventilation and/or air conditioning; and

(e) Persons or entities acting in the capacity as a residential solar contractor.

(2) As a prerequisite to obtaining a license or renewal thereof, each of the persons or entities in subsection (1) of this section shall submit to the board:

(a) Proof of workers' compensation insurance, if required by applicable law; however, workers' compensation insurance shall not be required for inactive licensees;

(b) A federal employment identification number or social security number.

(3) The board may require liability insurance to be licensed under this chapter and it shall be reflected on the certificate of licensure; however, liability insurance shall not be required for inactive licensees.

(4) The board shall issue or renew a license to persons or entities required by subsection (1) of this section to be licensed, upon payment to the board of the license fee. The initial license fee shall be Fifty Dollars ($50.00). The license fee may thereafter be increased or decreased by the board and cannot exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00); however, the receipts from fees collected by the board shall be no greater than the amount required to pay all costs and expenses incurred by the board in enforcing the provisions of this chapter. Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) of the fee required by this section which is assessed to residential builders licensed under the provisions of Section 73-59-1 et seq. shall be deposited to the Construction Education Fund created pursuant to Section 31-3-14 and shall be distributed to the Mississippi Housing Institute. The remaining fees collected under this chapter shall be deposited into the special fund in the State Treasury known as the "State Board of Contractors Fund" created pursuant to Section 31-3-17 and shall be used for the administration and enforcement of this chapter and as provided in Section 31-3-14. Amounts in such fund shall not lapse into the State General Fund at the end of a fiscal year. Interest accrued to such fund shall remain in the fund. All expenditures from the special fund shall be by requisition to the Department of Finance and Administration, signed by the executive director of the board and countersigned by the chairman or vice chairman of the board.

(5) Except as provided in Section 33-1-39, the license shall expire on the last day of the twelfth month following its issuance or renewal and shall become invalid unless renewed. The board may notify by mail or email every licensee under this chapter of the date of the expiration of his license and the amount of the fee required for renewal of the license for one (1) year. To receive notification by email, a licensee must notify the board of his desire to receive notification by email and provide an email address. Such notice may be mailed or emailed within thirty (30) days prior to the expiration date of the license. The failure on the part of any licensee to renew his license annually in such twelfth month shall not deprive such licensee of the right of renewal, provided that renewal is effected within one hundred eighty (180) days after the expiration date of the license by payment of the license fee plus a penalty of ten percent (10%) of the license fee. A new license required to replace a revoked, lost, mutilated or destroyed license may be issued, subject to the rules of the board, for a charge of not more than Fifty Dollars ($50.00). An inactive licensee may become an active licensee upon application meeting all the requirements of this section.

(6) Any person who is not a resident of the State of Mississippi who desires to perform residential construction or residential improvement shall be licensed to perform such construction or improvement as provided by this chapter.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.