[Added 6-11-1996 by L.L. No. 14-1996]
A.
This Legislature hereby finds that painters of residential structures are already licensed under the County's requirements for home improvement contractors. (See Article II of this chapter.)
B.
This Legislature also finds and determines, after input from consumers
and persons in the industry, that the health, safety and general welfare
of the consumers of Suffolk County will be enhanced if provision is
made for the licensing of persons engaged in painting commercial and
industrial structures.
C.
This Legislature further finds that licensing requirements for commercial
and industrial painters should be consistent with the requirements
for licensing of residential painters.
D.
Now, therefore, the purpose of this article is to establish a licensing
program for painters of commercial and industrial structures.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A business engaged in painting, including but not limited
to preparation for painting, of any commercial or industrial building
or structure within the County of Suffolk.
An oral or written agreement contained in one or more documents
for the performance of work and which includes all labor, goods and
services.
The Director of the County Executive's Office of Citizen
Affairs.
The undertaking, offering to undertake, solicitation or agreement
to perform a contract.
A person permitted to engage in a business licensed pursuant
to the provisions of this article of the Suffolk County Code.
The County Executive's Office of Citizen Affairs.
Includes the persons within the definition contained in General Construction Law § 37, as well as an individual, partnership or other entity.
A.
It is unlawful for any person, other than those exempt under the
provisions of this article, to engage in any commercial or industrial
business in Suffolk County without obtaining a license therefor from
the Office in accordance with and subject to the provisions of this
article.
B.
A license issued pursuant to this article may not be construed to
authorize the licensee to perform any work or engage in any business
which is reserved to qualified licensees under separate provisions
of state or local law or other articles of this chapter.
C.
It is unlawful for any person, other than those exempt under the
provisions of this article, to engage in any commercial or industrial
painting business in Suffolk County unless such work is performed
pursuant to a written contract.
The provisions of this article shall not apply to:
A.
Employees of any federal, state or local government or any agencies thereof or of a state or local authority ("public authority"), as that term is defined in § 2 of the New York Public Authorities Law, provided that such employees are performing the work on behalf of a government entity or public authority. This exemption shall not apply to any work performed by a person, as that term is defined in this article, who is not an employee of any federal, state or local government or any agencies thereof or of a public authority even if such work is performed on behalf of or pursuant to an agreement with a governmental entity or public authority.
[Amended 3-23-2010 by L.L. No. 7-2010[1]]
B.
Maintenance work by bona fide employees in an industrial, commercial,
institutional or other such establishment within the building or property
limits of the employer.
C.
Employees of a business duly licensed pursuant to this article.
[Amended 11-30-2001 by L.L. No. 23-2001; 12-17-2002 by L.L. No.
4-2003]
A.
All applications for licenses shall be submitted in writing, on forms
furnished by the Office, and shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable
application fee of $200.
[Amended 8-5-2008 by L.L. No. 32-2008]
B.
The license application shall be filed by an actual owner or partner
of a business and shall be signed under oath. Where a corporation
is an applicant or a participant in an application, the application
shall be signed under oath by an officer of such corporation.
C.
All applications shall include the residence address of the individual
who subscribes his name to the application.
D.
The Director may require submission of the names and residence addresses
of any employees or officers of the applicant, in addition to any
other information which he may deem advisable and proper.
E.
An individual applicant and any individual who subscribes his name
to the application must be at least 18 years of age, of good character
and financially responsible.
F.
The Director shall investigate such applicant as to good character
before he shall issue to the applicant a license.
G.
Applicants shall meet such further qualifications as may be prescribed
by this article and any other appropriate article of this chapter.
H.
The Office shall issue a license or temporary license to each applicant
who has submitted satisfactory evidence of his qualifications and
who has complied with all of the requirements of this article and
any other appropriate article of this chapter.
A.
All licenses, except temporary licenses, shall be for periods of
two years from the date of issuance thereof at the discretion of the
Office and shall expire on the last day of the 24th month of such
issuance. Subsequent renewals shall be for periods of two years.
[Amended 12-17-2002 by L.L. No. 4-2003]
B.
The fee for a commercial and industrial painter's license shall be $200 per annum. Any such applicant who also possesses a home improvement contractor's license for residential painting under Article II of Chapter 563 of the Suffolk County Code shall be entitled to a credit (refund) against this two-hundred-dollar fee in the amount of any monies actually paid for any home improvement contracting licensing fee on or after August 12, 1996, so as to ensure that there is no double payment of licensing fees for painters who hold licenses for residential as well as commercial and industrial painting purposes.
[Amended 6-29-1999 by L.L. No. 24-1999; 11-30-2001 by L.L. No.
23-2001; 12-17-2002 by L.L. No. 4-2003]
C.
Failure to make application and pay the required annual fee for a
license renewal prior to the expiration date of said license shall
render the license null and void on the expiration date and require
the licensee to submit a new application for an original license.
Compliance with the provisions of this subsection shall entitle the
licensee to the renewal of his license, provided that such license
has not been suspended or revoked by the Director prior to the expiration
date.
D.
If an individual licensee enters the Armed Forces of the United States,
his license shall continue in force after the date of his entrance
into the Armed Forces until six months after the date of termination
of his first enlistment. If such licensee does not apply for renewal
within this period, his license shall terminate without any notice
of action by the Office.
E.
The death of an individual licensee issued pursuant to this article
shall terminate such license.
F.
A license issued in the name of an individual may be assigned or
transferred for the remainder of the license period to a partnership,
corporation or other entity, provided that the individual holding
such license is a general partner of such partnership, the owner of
not less than 25% of the outstanding voting shares of such corporation
or the holder of not less than a twenty-five-percent interest in any
other entity at the time of the assignment or transfer. The application
for such transfer or assignment must be accompanied by evidence satisfactory
to the Director that the above set forth requirements have been satisfied.
No assignment or transfer shall become effective until proper endorsement
evidencing said transfer or assignment has been made on the face of
the license by the Director and such license, so endorsed, has been
returned to the assignee or transferee. All such endorsements shall
be made by the payment of a fee of $25.
[Amended 11-30-2001 by L.L. No. 23-2001; 12-17-2002 by L.L. No.
4-2003]
G.
A license issued pursuant to this article shall be conspicuously
posted in the place of business of the licensee.
H.
Each individual licensee shall, within seven business days after a change of control of ownership or of management, apply for the assignment or transfer of a license specified in Subsection F, or such license shall terminate. Every other licensee shall, within seven business days after a change of control in ownership or management, notify the Department in writing of such change.
I.
No licensee shall authorize or permit the use of his license by or
on behalf of any other person.
J.
Each licensee shall, within seven business days after a change of
address or trade name, notify the Office in writing of such change.
K.
All advertising shall include a Suffolk County Department of Citizens
Affairs license number.
L.
Applicants for a license shall demonstrate prior trade experience
of two years in the commercial and industrial painting field.
M.
No applicant for a license or license renewal shall have any outstanding
judgment for child support against him or her, or be in arrears in
child-support payments as determined by official court records or
official government records, at the time an application is filed for
such license or license renewal. If an applicant has such a judgment
against him or her, or is in such arrears, but is current in payments
on a judicially approved, or Child Support Enforcement Bureau sanctioned,
payment schedule to pay off or reduce such judgment or arrears, then
such individual shall not be deemed ineligible for a license or license
renewal on the grounds of such judgment or arrears. At least 30 days
prior to the expiration of a license, the Office shall send a written
notice to a licensee informing said licensee of his or her obligation
to comply with the provisions of this section pertaining to compliance
with child-support obligations. If necessary, a second written notice
shall be sent by the Office to a licensee 60 days after the license
has lapsed informing said licensee of his or her obligation to comply
with the provisions of this section pertaining to compliance with
the child-support obligations. In addition, the County Department
of Social Services, through its Child Support Enforcement Bureau,
shall notify all current noncustodial parents of the obligations contained
herein.
[Added 6-6-2000 by L.L. No. 11-2000]
[Amended 11-30-2001 by L.L. No. 23-2001; 12-17-2002 by L.L. No.
4-2003]
A.
A duplicate license may be issued for a license which has been lost,
destroyed or mutilated, upon application therefor on a form prescribed
by the Director and the payment of a fee of $25.
B.
A licensee shall obtain a supplementary license for each additional
place of business maintained by such licensee within the County of
Suffolk upon application therefor on a form prescribed by the Director
and the payment of a fee of $50 per annum. It may be renewed biennially
for a fee of $100. Each such supplementary license shall have the
word "supplementary" stamped across the face thereof, shall bear the
same number as the original and shall be conspicuously posted in each
additional place of business.
A contract entered into on or after one year from the effective
date of this article by a person who engages in a business regulated
by this chapter, who on the date of the contract does not possess
a valid license to engage in such business, is unenforceable by him
and voidable at the option of any other party to the contract rendered
or to be rendered to such party. Nothing contained herein shall be
construed to prevent any other party to the contract from enforcing
its terms.
A.
The Director shall have the power to impose a fine, not to exceed
$500, upon a licensee or to suspend or revoke a license or to deny
an application for the renewal of a license for any one or more of
the following causes:
B.
No license shall be suspended or revoked nor a fine imposed until
after a hearing has been held before the Director upon at least seven
business days' notice to the licensee. Such notice shall be served
either personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested,
to the last known address of the licensee and shall state the date
and place of the hearing as well as enumerate the grounds constituting
the allegations against such licensee. The licensee may be represented
by counsel and may produce witnesses in his own behalf. A record of
the hearing shall be taken and preserved. For purposes of such hearing,
the Director may administer oaths, take testimony, subpoena witnesses
and compel the production of books, papers, records or other documents
deemed pertinent to the subject of the hearing.
The following acts shall be prohibited:
A.
Abandonment or willful failure to perform, without justification,
any contract engaged in by a licensee.
B.
Willful deviation from or disregard of contract specifications or
estimates in any material respect without the consent of the contracting
party.
C.
The making of any substantial misrepresentation in the solicitation
or procurement of a contract or the making of any false promise likely
to influence, persuade or induce entry into a contract.
D.
Directly or indirectly publishing any advertisement relating to goods
or services offered by the licensee which contains an assertion, representation
or statement of fact which is false, deceptive or misleading, provided
that any advertisement which is subject to and complies with the then-existing
rules, regulations or guides of the Federal Trade Commission shall
not be deemed false, deceptive or misleading.
E.
Advertising or purporting to offer the general public any contract
with the intent not to accept said contract for the particular work
at the price which is advertised to the public.
F.
Conducting a business in any name other than the one for which the
licensee holds a license except pursuant to the exemption provisions
of this article.
H.
Offering, as an inducement to enter into a contract, a promise or
offer to pay credit or provide any compensation or reward for the
buyer's procurement of a contract with another.
A.
In addition to the powers and duties elsewhere prescribed in this
article, the Director shall have the power to:
(1)
Keep records of all licenses issued, suspended or revoked and
all fines adjudged.
(2)
Issue temporary licenses as may be necessary.
(3)
Promulgate such rules and regulations not inconsistent with
the provisions of this article as may be necessary with respect to
the form and content of applications for licenses; reception thereof;
investigation of applicants and their qualifications; the conduct,
including advertising, of occupations regulated by this article; and
other matters incidental or appropriate to his/her powers and duties
as prescribed by this article; and for the proper administration and
enforcement of the provisions of this article; and to amend or repeal
any such rules and regulations.
(4)
Require any applicant for a commercial and industrial painting
license, as evidence of financial responsibility, to post a surety
bond, in an amount to be set by the Director, if required, but in
no event to exceed $100,000, and/or to furnish certificates of public
liability and property damage insurance in the amount of $1,000,000.
(5)
Require reasonable information of an applicant or licensee,
including the production of books, papers, records and other documents.
B.
No rules or regulation may be promulgated pursuant to Subsection A(3) herein unless a public hearing is held by the Director. At least seven business days' prior notice of such public hearing shall be published in the official newspapers of the County. A copy of all rules and regulations promulgated and any amendments thereto shall be filed in the Office of the Clerk of the County Legislature.
C.
Whenever in this article, the Director is empowered to or charged
with the responsibility to do or perform any act, he may deputize,
in writing, any officer or employee of the Office to do or perform
the act in his place and stead.
D.
Disposition of moneys received. All fees received by the Office pursuant
to the provisions of this article shall be remitted to the County
Comptroller for deposit in the general fund of the County within 30
days after they are received.
[Amended 6-17-2014 by L.L. No. 32-2014]
E.
Liability for damage. This article shall not be construed to relieve
from or lessen the responsibility of any person licensed under the
provisions hereof for any loss of life or damage to person or property,
nor shall the County of Suffolk be deemed to have assumed any such
liability by reason of the issuance of any license.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 345-96, Licensing Board,
which established a Commercial and Industrial Painting Board and which
immediately followed this section, was repealed and the Board abolished
12-6-2005 by L.L. No. 37-2005. This local law also granted the power
to approve commercial and industrial painting licenses to the Director
of Consumer Affairs.
[Amended 3-23-2010 by L.L. No. 7-2010]
In addition to any civil penalties imposed by the Director pursuant to this article or pursuant to any provisions of any County local law, County resolution, or County ordinance pertaining to consumer affairs, consumer protection, or any matter subject to the jurisdiction of the Department, including, but not limited to, Chapter 387, Consumer Protection, of the Suffolk County Code, any person who shall conduct a business licensed by this article without obtaining a license therefor or who shall continue to engage in such licensed business after having had a valid license suspended or revoked shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. Each such violation shall be deemed a separate offense.
Upon application of the Director, the County Attorney or the
District Attorney may commence an action in the name of the County
to restrain, prevent and enjoin a violation of this article or any
rule or regulation promulgated hereunder or any continuance of such
violation.
The action of the Director in adjudging fines or suspending,
revoking or refusing to issue or renew a license may be reviewed by
a proceeding brought under and pursuant to Article 78 of the Civil
Practice Law and Rules of the State of New York.
