Masonry Magazine February 1964 Page. 34
When You Travel
By Peer Pedersen
A summary of various local requirements which might affect the business operation of a Mason Contractor in a State other than his home State. By Peer Pedersen, Legal Counsel.
A contractor usually has no difficulty meeting the requirements which his home state or municipal government might impose upon him before he qualifies to submit a bid on various types of contracting jobs. The fact that he is a resident and that he is generally familiar with local regulations regarding such matters, usually obviates this problem.
However, unknown local requirements and legal pitfalls may arise when the unwary contractor decides to bid on work outside of his home state. Though the work he plans to do might be similar to other jobs or projects performed at home, the laws of the foreign state under which such work will be awarded and completed might be entirely different. Hence, failure to properly comply with such local requirements could result in the loss of a contract that might otherwise have been awarded to such foreign contractor.
At present, twenty-nine (29) states require that some foreign prospective contractor-bidders obtain from such states a contractor's license. Such license requirement is generally applicable to any firm, partnership, corporation or any combination thereof and is usually dependent upon the type of construction work in which the applicant is engaged, together with the dollar amount of the contract in question. The statutes describe in detail the person with whom such application is to be filed, the amount of the license fee, the term of the license, whether or not an examination is required of the applicant, the bond requirements, if any, and in general, the contractors covered by such legislation. The states presently requiring some form of contractor licenses are:
Alabama Kansas New Mexico
Arizona Kentucky North Carolina
Arkansas Louisiana North Dakota
California Maryland Oregon
Delaware Michigan South Carolina
Florida Mississippi Tennessee
Georgia Montana Utah
Hawaii Nevada Virginia
Idaho New Jersey Washington
Indiana Wyoming
In addition to a contractors' license, further requirements may have to be met if a certain contractor hopes (Continued on next page)
MASONRY . February, 196