§ 9-14. Complaints and disciplinary actions.

(a)

On their own initiative or the verified written complaint of any person, the investigators for the boards shall investigate the action of any individual or business organization certified or pending certification under this chapter or any financially responsible officer.

(b)

No individual or business organization certified or pending certification under this chapter or any financially responsible officer shall:

(1)

Willfully, deliberately, or negligently disregard or violate any provision of the building code or any State laws or regulations which directly relate to the practice of contracting or the ability to practice contracting;

(2)

Perform any act which assists a person or entity to engage in the prohibited uncertified and/or unregistered practice of contracting, including the subcontracting of work to an unlicensed contractor, if the certificate holder or registrant knows or has reasonable grounds to know that the individual or business organization was uncertified and/or unregistered, if registration is required by Chapter 489, Florida Statutes, as amended;

(3)

Knowingly combine or conspire with an uncertified or unregistered individual or business organization by allowing the certificate holder's certification to be used by the uncertified or unregistered individual or business organization with intent to evade the provisions of this chapter. When a certificate holder or registrant allows the certificate or registration to be used by one (1) or more business organizations without having any active participation in the operations, management, or control of such business organization(s), such act constitutes prima facie evidence of an intent to evade the provisions of this chapter by the certificate holder or registrant and the business organization;

(4)

Qualify or contract to act as a qualifying agent for any business organization which is not certified pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;

(5)

Commit mismanagement or misconduct, divert funds or property, or fail to fulfill the terms of the contractor's or the business organization's obligations in the practice of contracting that causes financial harm to a customer. Financial mismanagement or misconduct shall be deemed to occur when:

a.

One (1) or more valid liens have been recorded against the property of a contractor's or business organization's customer for supplies or services ordered by the contractor or the business organization for the customer's job, the contractor or the business organization has received funds from the customer to pay for the supplies or services, and either the customer has had to pay additional funds in order to have the lien(s) removed or the contractor, business organization, or financially responsible officer has not had the lien(s) removed from the property, by payment or by bond, within seventy-five (75) days after the date of such lien(s);

b.

The contractor or the business organization has abandoned a customer's job and the percentage of completion is less than the percentage of the total contract price paid to the contractor or the business organization as of the time of abandonment, unless the contractor or the business organization is entitled to retain such funds under the terms of the contract or refunds the excess funds within thirty (30) days after the date the job is abandoned; or

c.

The contractor's or business organization's job has been completed and it is shown through testimony or documentary evidence that the customer has had to pay more for the contracted job than the original contract price, as adjusted for subsequent change orders, unless such increase in cost was the result of circumstances beyond the control of the contractor or the business organization, was the result of circumstances caused by the customer, or was otherwise permitted by the terms of the contract between the contractor or the business organization and the customer.

(6)

Fail to complete a project or operation in accordance with the plans and specifications set forth within the agreement between the contractor or the business organization and the customer or within a reasonable time after entering into the agreement;

(7)

Contract, advertise as capable of performing, or perform any work which is not within the description or the category or class for which the contractor or the business organization has been certified by the board. This part does not prevent any registered contractor from acting as a prime contractor where the majority of the work to be performed under the contract is within the scope of the contractor's certificate or from subcontracting to other certified contractors that remaining work which is part of the project contracted;

(8)

Abandon a construction project or operation in which the contractor or the business organization is engaged or under contract as a contractor. A project is to be considered abandoned after thirty (30) days if the contractor or the business organization terminates the project or operation without just cause or without notification to the prospective owner, including the reason for termination, or fails to perform work without just cause for thirty (30) consecutive days;

(9)

Materially depart from or disregard the plans or specifications of a construction project without the written consent of the owner thereof or the owner's duly authorized representative;

(10)

Misrepresent or falsify any information supplied to the board in the application for certification, renewal of certification, or to a building department pursuant to a building permit application, which the applicant knew or had reasonable grounds to know was false;

(11)

Fail to properly supervise any project;

(12)

Be convicted or found guilty of a crime or entering a plea of nolo contendere in any jurisdiction, regardless of adjudication, which directly relates to the practice of construction contracting or the ability to practice construction contracting;

(13)

Sign a statement with respect to a project or contract falsely indicating that the work is bonded; falsely indicating that payment has been made for all subcontracted work, labor, and materials, which results in a financial loss to the owner, purchaser, or contractor; or falsely indicating that workers' compensation and public liability insurance are provided;

(14)

Be convicted or found guilty in any jurisdiction of fraud in the practice of construction contracting;

(15)

Proceed on any job without obtaining applicable County or municipal building department permits or required inspections on a timely basis;

(16)

Fail to comply, in any material respect, with the provisions of this chapter;

(17)

Violate any registration requirements imposed by the laws or regulations of the state of Florida;

(18)

Fail to maintain in full force and effect any insurance required by this chapter or the board;

(19)

Fail to ensure that the appropriate certificate of competency number appears in advertisements, as defined in Subsection 9-3(1), where the certificate holder has been issued a current active certificate of competency by the board; or failure of a business organization to ensure that its qualifying agent's certificate of competency number appears in its advertisements;

(20)

Commit in any jurisdiction within Broward County incompetence or misconduct in the practice of contracting;

(21)

Commit in any jurisdiction within Broward County negligence resulting in a significant danger to life or property, gross negligence, or repeated negligence;

(22)

Fail to maintain workers' compensation insurance coverage as required by law;

(23)

Violate any provisions of the Broward County Consumer Protection Code;

(24)

Advertise as capable of performing work in any trade for which certification of the business organization is required by the board without having obtained said certification;

(25)

Fail to notify the board of a change of business address, mailing address and/or telephone number and, if it is a business organization, failure to notify the board of a change in its legal status or termination of its qualifying agent;

(26)

Contract or offer to contract while a business organization is "inactive";

(27)

Fail to comply with an order issued by the board;

(28)

Fail to satisfy, within a reasonable time, the terms of a civil judgment obtained against the individual or business organization qualified by the individual, relating to the practice of the individual's profession or the business organization's business;

(29)

Utilize or attempt to utilize a certificate of competency which has been suspended, revoked, placed on inactive status, expired, or voluntarily surrendered;

(30)

Fail to discontinue work on a project after having been ordered to do so by a building official or building code inspector pursuant to the provisions of the building code;

(31)

Fail to compensate creditors for materials and/or supplies furnished, or work and/or services performed, when the contractor has received funds from the customer to pay for the materials, supplies, or services;

(32)

Commit cheating on the examination for certification pursuant to this chapter;

(33)

Be found by a jurisdiction outside of Broward County to have committed unlicensed contracting;

(34)

Subcontract any work to a person, firm, or business organization which does not hold an active certificate for the work included in the agreement;

(35)

Divert funds properly received for a specific project or operation when, as a result of the diversion, the contractor is or will be unable to fulfill the terms of the agreement with the customer;

(36)

Contract in a name other than contained on an individual's certificate of competency, if contracting as an individual or sole proprietorship, or in a name other than that of the business organization certified by the board; or

(37)

Commit fraud or deceit in the practice of contracting. An inference of the intent to defraud or commit deceit occurs upon proof of the following:

a.

A contractor received money for the repair, restoration, addition, improvement, or construction of real property; and

b.

The amount of money received exceeds the value of the work performed by the contractor; and

c.

The contractor failed to perform any of the contracted work during a sixty (60) day period; and

d.

The failure to perform any such work during the sixty (60) day period was not related to the customer's termination of the contract or material breach of the contract by the customer; and

e.

The contractor's failure to perform the contracted work continued for an additional thirty (30) days after the customer mailed a certified letter to the contractor stating that:

1.

The contractor failed to perform any work for the sixty (60) day period; and

2.

The failure was not due to a material breach or termination of the contract by the customer; and

3.

The contractor must recommence work within thirty (30) days of the date the letter was mailed.

(c)

Complaints must be filed with the board no later than three (3) years after the occurrence of the alleged action(s) constituting a violation. Within thirty (30) days of receipt of a verified complaint, investigators for the applicable board shall complete their investigations. The time for completion of any investigation may be extended for up to an additional thirty (30) days if it is determined by the chief investigator for the boards that the matter being investigated is of such a complex nature that an additional period of time is necessary for a complete and full investigation.

(d)

The determination as to whether probable cause exists to go forward regarding an alleged violation of Chapter 9 of the Broward County Code of Ordinances shall be made by a vote of the board or by the chief investigator for the boards, if approved by the board or if there are more than ten (10) complaints waiting for a probable cause determination for the applicable board. A probable cause determination shall be made within sixty (60) days after the receipt of a verified complaint.

(e)

If, as a result of the probable cause determination, either the board or the chief investigator determines that the offense is a minor violation, the board shall issue a Notice of Noncompliance or the chief investigator shall recommend to the board that a Notice of Noncompliance be issued. If the board accepts the recommendation of the chief investigator, the board shall provide the certificate holder with a Notice of Noncompliance. A Notice of Noncompliance may be utilized for an initial offense of a minor violation, where it is reasonable to assume that the violator was unaware of the provisions of this chapter or if the violator was unclear as to how to comply with the provisions of this chapter.

(1)

Minor violations which do not result in economic or physical harm to a person or adversely affect the public health, safety, and welfare, or create a significant threat of such harm, are:

a.

Failure to maintain a current certificate of insurance to the board.

b.

Failure to include the licensee's certificate number on an advertisement, offer of services, proposal, bid, or contract.

c.

Failure to inform the board of a change of address.

d.

Failure to register with the State of Florida, Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

e.

Failure to obtain a final inspection.

(2)

The designation of violations as minor is limited to initial violations in which corrective action is commenced within fifteen (15) days of the board's issuance of a Notice of Noncompliance. The violation must be corrected within fifteen (15) days. If it cannot be corrected within fifteen (15) days, then corrective action must be commenced within fifteen (15) days and the certificate holder must proceed with due diligence to complete the corrective action. Nothing herein shall restrict the board from seeking full prosecution in such instances where aggravating circumstances are present.

(f)

If the chief investigator makes the probable cause determination and finds that the offense is not a minor violation, the complainant and the respondent shall be notified in writing of the probable cause determination and be given the opportunity to meet with the chief investigator to determine whether a settlement can be agreed to and forwarded to the board for final action.

(g)

If there is no settlement agreement, an administrative complaint shall be filed by the applicable board and a hearing shall be held within thirty (30) days of the finding of probable cause. If the applicable board cannot hear the complaint within the thirty (30) day time frame, the case shall be assigned to a hearing officer. A prosecuting attorney employed by or under contract with the County may present cases to either the applicable board or the hearing officer.

(h)

There is hereby created the position of hearing officer for the purpose of conducting disciplinary proceedings pursuant to this chapter. The hearing officer shall be a member in good standing of the Florida Bar with experience in construction law and shall be engage in the practice of law in Broward County. The hearing officer shall hear complaints brought against a certificate holder, business organization, or financially responsible officer pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions contained in this chapter. Within the parameters set forth this section, each board shall determine which types of complaints are referred to the hearing officer.

(i)

If the state of Florida or any agency, board, or department of the State shall revoke, suspend, or not issue the registration, certification, or license of any individual whose trade or occupation is regulated by this chapter or the board, such individual's certification may be revoked, suspended, or may be subject to such other disciplinary action as the board may determine to be just and proper after an evidentiary hearing. When the board has revoked the certificate of an individual or business organization, the individual or business organization shall be prohibited from obtaining or applying for certification for a definite period of time not exceeding five (5) years and the board shall not issue a certificate for the five (5) year period until and unless a satisfactory showing of rehabilitation has been demonstrated to the board. Any individual certified pursuant to this chapter whose license has been revoked shall not be eligible to be a partner, officer, director, or trustee of a business organization, as defined by this chapter, or be employed in a managerial or supervisory capacity for up to a five (5) year period from the effective date of the revocation.

(j)

If a certificate is voluntarily relinquished, expires, or is allowed to lapse and remains in said status for at least three (3) years, the board may require that an applicant apply to the board for a new certificate of competency, including compliance with the provisions set forth in this chapter, and take the applicable examination for the certificate of competency.

(k)

The lapse, suspension, or revocation of a certificate by the board or a court, or its voluntary surrender by the certificate holder or the business organization, shall not deprive the board of jurisdiction to investigate or act in a disciplinary proceeding against the certificate holder, business organization, or financially responsible officer.

(Ord. No. 78-9, § 1, 1-18-78; Ord. No. 79-16, § 1, 3-21-79; Ord. No. 90-46, § 2, 12-11-90; Ord. No. 94-27, § 5, 5-10-94; Ord. No. 2001-09, § 12, 3-27-01; Ord. No. 2003-16, § 3, 5-13-03; Ord. No. 2007-05, § 2, 4-24-07; Ord. No. 2008-10, § 1, 2-26-08; Ord. No. 2010-15, § 1, 4-13-10; Ord. No. 2014-14, § 3, 5-13-14; Ord. No. 2016-29 , § 1, 10-25-16)