Friday, October 13, 2006
Oklahoma City -- The Oklahoma Contractor's Licensing Task Force made a major decision Wednesday that will impact the way new homes and businesses are built. They voted unanimously to adopt a statewide licensing program, meaning all contractors and builders in the state will soon have to be licensed before they can work.
The state currently has no licensing program and some builders say the regulations are needed.
During the building phase so much can go wrong, that's why the state licensing task force voted to put the licensing system in place, that's also why Richard Stubbs, owner of Stubbs Carpentry and Concrete, agrees with the move.
"Just about anybody and their brother can say they're a contractor or a builder and there's no regulation other than the city's inspectors coming by to make sure their work is approved," says Stubbs.
Prior to owning his business in Edmond, Stubbs worked in Michigan, where all builders and contractors must have a state license. He says state guidelines alleviate many problems.
"It will protect the homeowner from anybody that decides he's going to be a builder and take off with your money. (A license) will be able to get rid of that situation," says Stubbs.
While many contractors have supported a licensing system, some small business owners are concerned that a new system could bring additional costs.
Stubbs says a licensing system will do more good than bad, and how much it will cost businesses depends on what the state charges for the license.
"Right now we're just keeping our fingers crossed that it doesn't cost us a whole lot," says Stubbs.
The contractor's licensing task force tell us the decision was made to raise professionalism in the business and to promote regular business practices.
The task force is at the beginning of designing a licensing system, first they plan to review Arkansas' state guidelines and decide if those laws could be used in our state.
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