Imperial Valley press., 1931-10-30

/ then come in competition with the
man who is bidding honestly and
well. figuring or doing the work in
! full accordance with the specifica-
tions. The department is very in
SiStent upon a strict adherence to
specifications.
/ Another very strong safeguard for
! the public, and for the contractor
and for the property owner as well,
lies in the fact that the willful and
deliberate disregard and violation of
the building code Of the state or of
any political subdivision thereof. or
Of the safety laws or labor laws
of the state, brings forth the penal
1 ~ OF suspension or cancellation of
a contractors license.
Another thing. a contractor in
the past. who had not financial re-
sponsibility and who had no busi-
ness organization, and failed to
keep records SO that the state Off
cials and the public would know
nothing Of what he did with the
money that he received, whether he
he left the property holders sad
died with liens and other obliga-
tions incident TO his work, was hard
to check upon or convict. Today,
the law provides that full and COM
plete records of all transactions
must be kept, and the records are
open to the Registrar of Contrac-
tors for inspection.
Misrepresentation of a material
fact by an applicant in obtaining
his license, is also ground for the
suspension or revocation of his Ii
cense. Therefore, the QUESTIONABLE
provided by the department for the
contractor in applying for his Ii
cenSe. must be truthfully and fully
answered in order that we may
know his responsibility.
Law General SAFEGUARD
One of the strongest points of
the entire law is the fact that the
doing of any willful, fraudulent
act by the hcensee as contractor.
in consequence of which another is
substantially injured, is ground for
immediate action by this depart
ment. This protects not only other
contractors and property owners,
but the public at large. 1t tends
to eradicate many Of the evils that
have arisen in contracting in the
past.
Another thing, any contractor
engaged in the business of con-
tracing, is prohibited by law from
maintaining any action to collect
upon his contract unless he is duly
licensed by the state of California
This is another strong point max
ing the contractors realize that
they are under regulation and that
that regulation is for their benefit
as we'll as for the protection of the
public.
The department maintains offices
in Sacramento, San Francisco and
Los Angeles, ready at all times to
receive any and all complaints and
suggestions relative to the enforce
ment or the carrying out of the
provisions of this act. Our doors
are open at all times to property
holders, contractors, materialmen.
laborers and to the general public
at large, because all are vitally in
terested in the contracting business,
which is so closely interviewer with
every phase of our lives. We want
the public to feel that the watch
word of the department is service.
and we want them to feel that We
are holding ourselves at their COM
mand at any and all times.
Enormous Benefit Realized
1 might emphasize the fact that
We are receiving the fullest cooper
etion from contracting bodies and
organizations who realize the enor-
nous benefit that is to be derived
from a strict compliance with the
Contractors Registration Act.
1t eliminates what we term the
"fly by night contractor from COM
ing into the state and attempting
to virtually steal jobs at prices far
below the capacity Of the contrac-
tor to complete the same. Such
competition hurts legitimate busi-
ness, because it is not founded upon
stability, competency or integrity.
1t has been the practice Of some
Of these fly by night contractors
to enter into contracts in one sec
ton of the state, collect all of the
money that they could upon the
face of the contract from banks.
from the property holders or fl
nance companies, then to abandon
the jobs and move to some other
section of the state to carry out
the same line of nefarious conduct.
That is absolutely prohibited under
this law, and we are endeavoring
to the very best of our ability to
eliminate and eradicate such prac-
tice.
It is of interest to the general
public to know that when COM
plants are filed against contrac-
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