By Shauna Krause, President, Capitol Services, Inc.
First, an issue facing the roofing industry in California has a contractor ‘fired up’ then another needs help deciding what name to use for his new business…
Q: I read your column in the weekly NCBE newsletter.
I sent an email to all CSLB staffers and have gotten no response. Can you help with this matter?
Our local planning and building departments are now requiring to inspect the smoke detectors inside our clients’ homes before giving us a final for a re-roof permit.
As I am not licensed, certified, qualified or insured to inspect smoke detectors with my “C-39” license the inspectors are demanding access to the inside of all our clients homes to look in every bedroom etc., something most of our clients do not want.
This invasion of government into my client’s bedrooms is well out of line and I would like to know the CSLB point of view on this matter.
A: Thank you for contacting Capitol Services. It is unlikely that the CSLB is going to give an opinion on this since they aren't involved in issuing permits. As you are probably aware, local building departments issue permits and code requirements vary in different cities and counties around the State. While we don’t typically deal with agencies on the county or city level, it appears to me that the county is enforcing Health and Safety code section 13113.7 which deals with smoke alarms, see below. I hope this helps.
13113.7. (a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, smoke alarms, approved and listed by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Section 13114 at the time of installation, shall be installed, in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions in each dwelling intended for human occupancy.
(2) For all dwelling units intended for human occupancy for which a building permit is issued on or after January 1, 2014, for alterations, repairs, or additions exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), the permit issuer shall not sign off on the completion of work until the permittee demonstrates that all smoke alarms required for the dwelling unit are devices approved and listed by the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Section 13114.
Q: I currently own a non-union shop. Within the next year, I would like to open another shop & go signatory with a union. So I will be running 2 shops under 1 roof. My question is, when I open my 2nd shop, to simplify things, I would like to keep my company name as close as possible to my 1st shop. How close can the 2 company names be?
Example: ABC Construction opening a 2nd shop of ABC's construction
A: Thank you for contacting Capitol Services Inc. While two company names can be similar to one another, ABC Construction would be too similar to ABC's Construction, and therefore the Secretary of State would likely not allow it.
When you decide to open the second shop you would want to check the name availability prior to registering the business. In addition to Contractor's Licensing we also handle Secretary of State filing so let me know if you'd like our help when the time comes.
Last week’s article featured a “throwback” column with questions and answers from the past. We received several comments pointing out that the information was outdated with regards to license numbers issued by the CSLB (at the time the original answer was published the CSLB was issuing licenses in the 760,000 range). Just to further clarify, the license numbers that were referenced were from some time ago. Of course, license numbers issued today are close to the 1 million mark!
***
While knowledge is power, knowing where to go for the answers is half the battle. Get expert assistance immediately when you call 866-443-0657, email info@cutredtape.com, or write us at Capitol Services, Inc., 1225 8th St. Ste. 500, Sacramento, CA 95814. Research past columns at www.cutredtape.com.