NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1979 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 713

SENATE BILL 693

 

 

AN ACT TO AMEND ARTICLE 1 OF CHAPTER 87 OF THE GENERAL STATUTES RELATING TO GENERAL CONTRACTORS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 87-2 is rewritten to read:

"§ 87-2.  Licensing board; organization. — There is created the State Licensing Board for General Contractors consisting of seven members which include five general contractors and two public members appointed by the Governor for staggered five-year terms. One member shall have as the larger part of his business the construction of highways; one member shall have as the larger part of his business the construction of public utilities; one member shall have as the larger part of his business the construction of buildings; one member shall be either a highway, utility, or building contractor; one member shall have as a larger part of his business the construction of residences; and two members shall be public members who have no ties with the construction industry and who shall represent the interests of the public at large. Members shall serve until the expiration of their respective terms and until their successors are appointed and qualified. Vacancies occurring during a term shall be filled by appointment of the Governor for the remainder of the unexpired term. The Governor may remove any member of the board for misconduct, incompetency, or neglect of duty. No board member shall serve more than two complete consecutive terms."

Sec. 2.  G.S. 87-10 is amended by deleting the word "four" at the end of line 12 of the 2nd paragraph, and inserting in lieu thereof the word "five"; by rewriting the classification in subdivision (1) on line 14 of the 2nd paragraph to read:

"(1)      Building Contractor, which shall include private, public, commercial, industrial and residential buildings of all types;"

and by inserting a new subparagraph (2) to read:

"(2)      Residential Contractor, which shall include any general contractor constructing only residences which are required to conform to the North Carolina Uniform Residential Building Code (Vol 1-B):" and by renumbering subparagraphs (2), (3) and (4) an (3), (4) and (5) respectively.

Sec. 3.  G.S. 87-11 is amended by designating the first paragraph of the section as subsection (a); by designating the remaining paragraphs as subsection (d); and by adding the following new subsections:

"(b)      The board shall adopt and publish guidelines, consistent with the provisions of this Article, governing the suspension and revocation of licenses.

(c)        The board shall establish and maintain a system whereby detailed records are kept regarding complaints against each licensee. This record shall include, for each licensee, the date and nature of each complaint, investigatory action taken by the board, any findings by the board, and the disposition of the matter."

Sec. 4.  Article 1 of Chapter 87 of the General Statutes is amended by adding the following new sections:

"§ 87-13.1.  Board may seek injunctive relief. — Whenever it appears to the board that any person, firm or corporation is violating any of the provisions of this Article or of the rules and regulations of the board promulgated under this Article, the board may apply to the superior court for a restraining order and injunction to restrain the violation; and the superior courts have jurisdiction to grant the requested relief, irrespective of whether or not criminal prosecution has been instituted or administrative sanctions imposed by reason of the violation.

"§ 87-15.2.  Public awareness program. — The board shall establish and implement a public awareness program to inform the general public of the purpose and function of the board."

Sec. 5.  Schedule. Members of the board who are serving on the date of ratification of this act shall continue to serve for the remainder of the terms for which they were appointed. Upon ratification of this act, the Governor shall appoint one public member for an initial term expiring December 31, 1981, and one public member for an initial term expiring December 31, 1983. As the terms of current members and the two new members expire, their successors shall be appointed for terms of five years.

Sec. 6.  G.S. 87-4 is amended by adding at the end of the section a sentence to read as follows:

"Payment of compensation and reimbursement of expenses of board members shall be governed by G.S. 93B-5."

Sec. 7.  G.S. 87-5 is amended by rewriting the second sentence thereof to read as follows:

"The seal shall have the words 'North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors' and the secretary shall have charge, care and custody thereof."

Sec. 8.  G.S. 87-6 is amended by rewriting the last sentence to read as follows:

"Five members of the board shall constitute a quorum."

Sec. 9.  G.S. 143-34.11 is amended by deleting line 6 which reads:

"Chapter 87, Article 1, entitled 'General Contractors'."

Sec. 10.  This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 30th day of May, 1979.