[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City of Easton 12-14-1988 by Ord. No. 2982 (Art. 1713 of the 1965 Codified Ordinances); amended in its entirety 10-27-2021 by Ord. No. 5766. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
The Chief Code Administrator or the Director's designee shall be the Licensing Examiner.
The fees for examination shall be as provided in Chapter 285, Fees.
A. 
Contractor license categories:
(1) 
General trades:
(a) 
General contractor: license for all aspects of building construction.
(b) 
Building contractor: license for footings, foundations, masonry work, framing, insulation, wall covering, windows, roofing, and finishes.
(c) 
Plumbing contractor: license for plumbing work and gas piping.
(d) 
Electrical contractor: license for electrical work.
(e) 
Mechanical/fuel gas contractor: license for mechanical work, HVAC, and gas piping.
(2) 
Specialized trades:
(a) 
Roofing contractor: license for installing roofs.
(b) 
Masonry contractor: license for footings, foundations, and masonry work.
(c) 
Framing and wallcovering contractor: license for framing, sheathing, and interior and exterior wall covering.
(d) 
Insulation contractor: license for the installation of insulation.
(e) 
Fire alarm contractor: license for the installation of fire alarm systems.
(f) 
Fire suppression contractor: license for the installation of fire suppression systems.
B. 
Applications for examination and licensing shall be made in writing to the Department of Planning and Codes. The Licensing Examiner shall duly notify all applicants of the date, place and hour of the examination. Applicants desiring a contractor license shall have been employed under the supervision of a licensed contractor for the trade in which licensing is sought, or registered professional engineer for two years prior to the examination, or provide proof of completing education from an accredited institution for the trade in which licensing is sought.
(1) 
The Licensing Examiner shall determine the acceptability of any evidence of qualification.
(2) 
During the two years following the effective date of this chapter, unlicensed contractors, other than plumbing contractors, may submit evidence of at least two years of continuous operation of a contracting business in the trade for which licensing is sought, to be eligible for examination.
C. 
The actual examination shall be made as scheduled by the Licensing Examiner.
(1) 
The examination papers shall be graded by a percentage and returned through the Licensing Examiner.
(2) 
The percentage required to successfully complete the exam is 75%.
D. 
An applicant whose licensing has been authorized shall be registered with the Department of Planning and Codes and shall be issued a license for the trade in which the applicant had successfully completed the examination upon payment of a fee as specified in Chapter 285, Fees.
No licensed contractor who has been granted license or certificate shall engage in or conduct business in the City without having first paid the business license fee to the Director of Finance or their designee.
Licensed contractors from other cities of the first, second or third class in Pennsylvania, or who are qualified by right of any state contractor's license to be engaged as a contractor, shall be registered in the Department of Planning and Codes without examination. For such registration he shall pay a license certificate fee as specified in Chapter 285, Fees, which covers such work or contracts taken at such time for fulfillment, and for each succeeding registration certificate fee, together with the payment of the annual business license fee to the Director of Finance or their designee.
Any person, firm or corporation engaged in the business as a contractor outside the limits of the City, but not in a city of the first, second, or third class, may register for license examination in the Department of Planning and Codes under the same form of application and under the same provisions for examination as described in § 422-3.
Only a licensed contractor may be issued a permit for the new construction of buildings or their systems, or the repair or alteration of buildings other than one- and two-family dwellings. The registration fees and licenses herein specified are separate and distinct from the fees for permits.
Inspections shall be made in accordance with the applicable construction codes on notice by the contractor to the Department of Planning and Codes that the work has proceeded to an inspection stage. Upon completion of the work to the final stage required for inspection, the contractor shall formally notify the Department of Planning and Codes, and the final inspection shall be made. The work shall not be considered as accepted unless all necessary permit fees have been paid or until approved by the Department of Planning and Codes. Until such inspections are made and the work is approved by the Department of Planning and Codes, with alterations that may be necessary, the lack of any requirements shall be deemed a violation subject to the penalties provided in this chapter.
Every licensed contractor who desires to continue to work in or at the business of their licensed trade for an ensuing year shall, between December 1 and 31 of each year, reregister for the ensuing year. The fee for such reregistration shall be as provided in Chapter 285, Fees. Failure to reregister within the following year shall require a reapplication and examination at the fees specified for an original application. In such reapplication, the Licensing Examiner is authorized to conduct a personal examination and relicense such person. Such persons outside the City who have worked under a registration certificate may be reregistered without re-examination.
A. 
If it shall be proven to the satisfaction of the Licensing Examiner that any licensed contractor is not complying with the provisions of the laws and ordinances or regulations of the applicable construction codes and co-relative requirements, in addition to the prescribed penalties herein registration may be revoked, making a reapplication and re-examination necessary for new registration and licensing.
(1) 
A contractor who begins work, for which a permit is required, without obtaining the necessary permit three times in a calendar year shall have the license revoked.
(2) 
The Licensing Examiner shall set a policy by which a contractor's license is revoked for noncompliance with the City Code, the applicable code, or other applicable laws and ordinances.
All provisions of the Acts of Assembly in relation to the construction codes, insofar as they are consistent with this chapter, are deemed to be a part of this chapter and subject to its penalties for violation.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $1,000 and, in default of payment of fine and costs, imprisoned not more than 90 days.