Legislative intent.
This Legislature hereby finds and determines that the Suffolk
County Code contains various provisions that require licensing of
certain occupations and that regulate those licensed occupations.
This Legislature finds and determines that provisions relating
to licensed occupations are not currently codified in one coherent
chapter and therefore the administration and enforcement of these
licensed occupations is hampered.
This Legislature therefore finds and determines that in order to provide for better administration and enforcement of Chapter 275 (now Chapter
563, Article
XI) of the Suffolk County Code, which applies to electricians and plumbers, such chapter should be recodified to fall under Chapter 345 (now Chapter
563) of the Suffolk County Code, which addresses all licensed occupations.
This Legislature also finds and determines that certain provisions in Chapter 275 (now Chapter
563, Article
XI) of the Suffolk County Code need to be made consistent with the provisions of Chapter 345 (now Chapter
563) which are applicable to all licenses.
This Legislature further finds that §§ 345-9 and 345-12 of Chapter 345 (now §§
563-9 and
563-12 of Chapter
563) of the Suffolk County Code establish civil fines and criminal penalties to be imposed upon persons for violating certain licensing provisions of the Suffolk County Code and that the language of those sections of the Suffolk County Code needs to be clarified to ensure that such fines apply to all professions under the jurisdiction of the Department of Consumer Affairs and that all persons, as that term is defined in Chapter 345 (now Chapter
563) of the Code, are subject to such civil fines and criminal penalties. This Legislature further finds and determines that, in light of the time and administrative costs to the County in overseeing the licensing provisions of Chapter 345 (now Chapter
563) of the Suffolk County Code, it is appropriate to authorize the Commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Consumer Affairs to impose civil penalties on all persons who conduct businesses regulated by the County without a valid license, and the Code should reflect same.
This Legislature also finds that while Chapter 345 (now Chapter
563) currently contains provisions that employees of certain government entities, as well as employees of certain electric, water, and telephone companies do not have to hold licenses in order to perform, among other things, septic work and commercial and industrial paint work on behalf of those entities and companies, as currently drafted private contractors of such entities would likewise not have to hold licenses.
This Legislature finds that in order to provide for consistent
administration of county local laws, county resolutions and county
ordinances pertaining to consumer affairs, as well as to better protect
the residents of Suffolk County, the Suffolk County Administrative
Code should be amended to require that nonemployee contractors of
government entities and electric, water, and telephone companies must
obtain the appropriate licenses before performing work on behalf of
those entities.
This Legislature further finds that while Chapter 345 (now Chapter
563) of the Suffolk County Code currently requires applicants for licenses to demonstrate good character and financial responsibility, there are currently no provisions which require the maintenance of good character standing and financial responsibility and that, in order to better protect the consumers of Suffolk County, good character standing and financial responsibility should be required throughout the duration of a license and/or certificate.
This Legislature also finds and determines that the New York
State General Business Law grants concurrent jurisdiction for enforcement
of the provisions of Article 36-a of the New York State General Business
Law (Home Improvement Contracts), including the provisions found in
§ 771 of that article (Contract Provisions), to the Commissioner
of the Suffolk County Department of Consumer Affairs.
This Legislature finds and determines that § 345-21 (now §
563-21) of the Suffolk County Code establishes prohibited acts regarding licensed occupations, but does not specifically reflect a prohibition against violating the provisions of § 771 of the New York State General Business Law.
This Legislature further finds that in order to better protect the public against harmful and dishonest home improvement contract provisions, the language of § 345-21 (now §
563-21) of the Suffolk County Code needs to be clarified to include among prohibited acts a violation of § 771 of the New York State General Business Law.
Therefore, the purpose of this law is to recodify and harmonize the provisions of Chapter 275 (now Chapter
563, Article
XI) of the Suffolk County Code and Chapter 345 (now Chapter
563) of the Suffolk County Code and to strengthen and clarify the application of the provisions Chapter 345 (now Chapter
563) of the Suffolk County Code.