2012 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 37 — Professions and occupations
RS 37:2156 — Unexpired licenses; fees; renewals

§2156. Unexpired licenses; fees; renewals

A. Licenses and renewals issued under the provisions of this Chapter shall expire on the anniversary of the date on which the license was originally issued. Licensees shall elect upon renewal one-, two-, or three-year license renewal terms, and licenses may be issued by the board on a multiple-year basis, not to exceed a three-year renewal term for any license. The license becomes invalid on the last day of the term for which it was issued unless renewed; however, after a license has expired, the person to whom such license was issued shall have fifteen days following the expiration date to file an application for the renewal of such license without the payment of a penalty and without further examination, and any person who makes an application for the renewal of a license after fifteen days following the expiration date of the license may, at the discretion of the board, have his license renewed after paying the required license fees and such penalty, not exceeding the sum of fifty dollars, that the board may impose. New applicants for licensing may elect upon application the renewal term of their license.

B. If a license is not renewed within a period of one year from the date of its expiration, any application for renewal shall be considered and treated as a new application.

C.(1) To defray the cost of issuing licenses and of administering this Chapter, the board shall fix reasonable fees to be assessed under this Chapter, and reasonable penalties to be assessed for late applications for renewal of licenses and other administrative infractions; however, the basic license fee shall be the sum of not more than one hundred dollars and the fee for additional classifications shall be such lesser amount as set by the board.

(2) The board shall have the authority to assess an additional surcharge of no more than four hundred dollars in connection with the application for and issuance of a contractor's license to a contractor not domiciled in the state of Louisiana, to be utilized to defray the additional cost of the investigation of the application of said non-Louisiana contractor, including references supplied by the contractor, work history supplied by the work contractor, and other pertinent information required by the board in connection with an application for a contractor's license.

(3)(a) The board shall include on each license renewal form issued to a contractor an optional election whereby the contractor may choose to donate additional funds to a specified public university or community college foundation within Louisiana that offers an accredited, degreed program in the field of construction management. Any such donated funds received by the board shall be remitted to the foundation chosen by the contractor. Any such donated funds received by the community college foundation shall be used solely for the benefit of their construction management programs.

(b) The board shall provide by rule for accounting and remittance of donations to the appropriate university or community college foundation.

(c) For purposes of this Paragraph, "foundation" shall mean any private nonprofit corporation which supports public higher education institutions as defined by R.S. 17:3390.

D. The licenses issued under the provisions of this Chapter are not transferable.

E. Any other provisions of this Chapter notwithstanding, no license shall be issued to any foreign corporation which has not obtained from the secretary of state a certificate of authority to do business, as provided in Chapter 3 of Title 12 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.

F. Except for the licenses, fees, and assessments authorized by this Chapter, and except for the occupational license taxes authorized by the constitution and laws of this state, and except for permit fees charged by parishes and municipalities for inspection purposes, and except for licenses required by parishes and municipalities for the purpose of determining the competency of mechanical or plumbing contractors, or both, and electrical contractors, no contractor shall be liable for any fee or license as a condition of engaging in the contracting business.

G. No license shall be issued for the subclassification of asbestos removal and abatement under the major classification of hazardous materials as provided in R.S. 37:2156.2(VIII) until the applicant furnishes satisfactory evidence that he or his qualifying party has received certification from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to perform asbestos removal and abatement work.

Added by Acts 1956, No. 233, §6. Amended by Acts 1960, No. 192, §1; Acts 1962, No. 184, §1; Acts 1964, No. 113, §6; Acts 1975, No. 702, §1; Acts 1976, No. 82, §1, eff. July 8, 1976; Acts 1981, No. 668, §1; Acts 1984, No. 915, §1; Acts 1988, No. 635, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1989; Acts 1992, No. 681, §1, eff. July 6, 1992; Acts 1995, No. 473, §1; Acts 2001, No. 968, §1; Acts 2004, No. 352, §1; Acts 2005, No. 240, §1; Acts 2008, No. 576, §1.