NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1975 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 741

HOUSE BILL 435

 

 

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE REGISTRATION OF LANDSCAPE CONTRACTORS; TO PROHIBIT USE OF THE TITLE "LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR" EXCEPT BY PERSONS DULY REGISTERED; TO CREATE THE NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF LANDSCAPE CONTRACTORS AND TO PRESCRIBE ITS POWERS AND DUTIES.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  On and after December 1, 1975, it shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, association or corporation in this State to use the title "Landscape Contractor", or to advertise as such without first obtaining a certificate issued by the North Carolina Landscape Contractors' Registration Board under provisions of this Chapter.

Sec. 2.  A "Landscape Contractor" within the meaning of this Chapter is any person, partnership, association or corporation who for compensation or valuable consideration or promise thereof engages in the business requiring the art, experience, ability, knowledge, science and skill to install, plant, repair and maintain gardens, lawns, shrubs, vines, bushes, trees and other decorative vegetation including the grading and preparation of plots and areas of land for decorative treatment and arrangement; who constructs or installs garden pools, fountains, pavilions, conservatories, hothouses and greenhouses, incidental retaining walls, fences, walks, drainage and sprinkler systems; or who engages in incidental construction in connection therewith, or does any part thereof in such a manner that, under an agreed specification, an acceptable landscaping project can be executed.

Sec. 3.  The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to and shall not include any person, partnership, association or corporation who shall perform any of the acts aforesaid in Section 2 with reference to any property, so long as that person, partnership, association or corporation shall not use the title "Landscape Contractor".

Sec. 4.  (a) There is hereby created the North Carolina Landscape Contractors' Registration Board, hereinafter called the board, which shall issue registration certificates of title to landscape contractors. The board shall be composed of nine members. Two members shall be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture; two members shall be appointed by the Governor, with one being and having been for the preceding five years prior to the date of his appointment actively and principally engaged in the business of landscape contracting, and with one being a landscape architect as defined in G.S. 89A-1; and five members shall be appointed by the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Association of Nurserymen with at least one from the Western, Piedmont, Central, and Coastal Plain areas of the State.

On the initial board the appointees of the Commissioner of Agriculture shall serve for a term of three years; one of the appointees of the Governor shall serve for a term of two years and the other appointee shall serve for a term of one year; one of the appointees of the board of directors shall serve for a term of three years, two for a term of two years, and two for a term of one year. The initial appointments shall be made prior to December 1, 1975, and the terms of successors shall begin on December 1 of the appropriate year thereafter.

After the terms of the initial members of the board expire, all appointments shall be for terms of three years.

Any vacancy on the board created by death, resignation or otherwise shall be filled for the unexpired term by the appropriate appointing dean, commissioner. Governor, or board of directors.

(b)        From its funds, the board shall pay its members at the rate set out in G.S. 93B-5: Provided, that at no time shall the expense exceed the cash balance on hand.

(c)        The board shall have power to make such rules and regulations as are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Chapter and the laws of North Carolina. The board shall not make rules or regulations regulating commissions, salaries, or fees to be charged by registrants under this Chapter. The board shall adopt a seal for its use, which shall bear thereon the words "North Carolina Landscape Contractors' Registration Board".

(d)        The Board may employ a secretary-treasurer and such clerical assistance as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Chapter and to put into effect such rules and regulations as the board may promulgate. The board shall fix salaries for employees and shall require employees to make good and sufficient surety bond for the faithful performance of their duties.

(e)        The board shall be entitled to the services of the Attorney General of North Carolina in connection with the affairs of the board or may, on approval of the Attorney General, employ an attorney to assist or represent it in the enforcement of this Chapter, but the fee paid for such service shall be approved by the Attorney General.

Sec. 5.  (a) Any person, partnership, association or corporation hereinafter desiring to register and be titled as a landscape contractor shall make written application for a certificate of title to the board on such forms as are prescribed by the board. Each applicant for a certificate of title as a landscape contractor shall be at least 18 years of age. Prior to July 1, 1976, each applicant for a certificate shall have been actively engaged as an untitled landscape 993 contractor for at least one year prior to date of application. After July 1, 1976, an applicant shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the board of three years' experience in landscape contracting or the completion of a study or combination of study and experience in landscape contracting equivalent to three years' experience under a landscape contractor. Each application for an initial certificate shall be accompanied by an application fee of twenty dollars ($20.00).

(b)        Any person who files such application to the board in proper manner to be registered and titled as a landscape contractor shall be required to take an oral or written examination to determine his qualifications. The board will compile a manual from which the examination will be prepared.

If the results of the examination shall be satisfactory, the board shall issue to such a person a certificate, authorizing such person to be titled as a landscape contractor in the State of North Carolina, upon payment of privilege taxes now required by law, or that may hereafter be required by law. Anyone failing to pass an examination may be re-examined without payment of additional fee, under such rules as the board may adopt in such cases.

(c)        All certificates granted and issued by the board under the provisions of this Chapter shall expire annually on December 31. Renewal of such certificates may be effected at any time during the month preceding the expiration date of such certificates upon proper application to the board accompanied by the payment to the secretary-treasurer of the board of a renewal fee, as set by the board, of not more than fifty dollars ($50.00). The fee for an initial certificate shall be the same as for a renewal certificate and is in addition to the application fee. All certificates reinstated after expiration date thereof shall be subject to a late filing fee of ten dollars ($10.00). In the event a registrant fails to obtain a reinstatement of such certificate within 12 months from the date of expiration thereof, the board may, in its discretion, consider such registrant subject to the provisions of this Chapter relating to the issuance of an original certificate.

Duplicate certificates may be issued by the board upon payment of a fee of one dollar ($1.00) by the registrant.

Sec. 6.  (a) The secretary-treasurer of the board shall keep a register of all applicants for certificates of title. The register shall include the date of application, name, place of business, place of residence, and indicate whether the certificate of title was granted or refused.

(b)        The secretary-treasurer of the board shall also keep a current roster showing the names and places of business of all registered titled landscape contractors. The roster shall be kept on file in the office of the board and be open to public inspection.

(c)        On or before the first day of September of each year, the board shall file with the Secretary of State a copy of the roster of landscape contractors holding certificates of title. At the same time the board shall file with the Secretary of State a report containing a complete statement of receipts and disbursements of the board for the preceding fiscal year ending June 30th. Such statement shall be attested by the secretary-treasurer of the board.

Sec. 7.  (a) The board shall have power to revoke or suspend certificates of title herein provided. The board may upon its own motion or upon a verified complaint in writing hold a hearing as hereinafter provided to investigate the actions of any titled landscape contractor. The board shall have the power to suspend or revoke any certificate of title issued under the provisions of this Chapter if the registrant has by false or fraudulent representations obtained a certificate; if the registrant has been convicted or has entered a plea of nolo contendere to any crime involving moral turpitude in any court, State or federal; if the registrant is found to have committed any act which constitutes improper, fraudulent or dishonest dealing; or if the registrant violates any rule or regulation duly promulgated by the board.

(b)        In all proceedings under this section for the revocation, denial or suspension of certificates, the provisions of Chapter 150 or Chapter 150A, of the General Statutes, whichever is in effect, shall be applicable.

Sec. 8.  An applicant from another state which offers registration privileges to residents of North Carolina may be registered by conforming to all the provisions of this Chapter and, in the discretion of the board, such other terms and conditions as are required of North Carolina residents applying for a certificate in such other state. The board may exempt from the examination prescribed in this Chapter a landscape contractor duly registered in another state if a similar exemption is extended to registered landscape contractors from North Carolina.

Sec. 9.  If any section, subsection, sentence or clause of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, such holding or decision shall not affect any other portion of the act, it being declared the legislative intent that this act would have been enacted notwithstanding such invalid portion.

Sec. 10.  Before July 1, 1976, any person, partnership, corporation or other legal entity submitting an application, application fee and evidence satisfactory to the board that he has actively engaged in the practice of landscape contracting for one year prior to July 1, 1976, shall be issued a certificate of title without the requirement of examination.

Sec. 11.  The board shall have authority to petition for, and the superior courts of the State shall have authority to issue, temporary restraining orders, and preliminary and permanent injunctions for violations of this act.

Sec. 12.  This act shall become effective on December 1, 1975.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 24th day of June, 1975.