Definition of the Crime
To operate as a contractor within the state of California, an individual must have received a license from the Contractors State License Board. State legislature requires licenses to operate as a contractor so that the public may be protected from unsafe and unscrupulous contractors. California Business & Professions Code Section 7028 BPC makes it illegal to contract any work without an official license.
To convict an individual of this charge, a prosecutor must prove the following facts beyond a reasonable doubt:
- The defendant acted as a contractor or otherwise engaged in contractor-related business without an official license
- The defendant was not an individual who was exempt from obtaining or holding a valid license
The statute defines “contractor” as a synonymous profession with “builder”. It refers to any individual who, either on their own or with the help of others, constructs, repairs, alters, adds to, subtracts from, or improves any building, excavation, project, structure, improvement, or development.
Examples of the Crime
A man is contracted to provide labor and necessary materials for the landscaping of a couple’s front yard. The front yard is part of real property that the couple owns. The contractor has agreed to remove debris and surface rocks from the yard, set down a fresh layer of topsoil, install headerboards, sow weed killer and conditioner, and plant grass. The contractor receives $1,000 for his work, but he never had a contractor’s license that was valid in the state of California. This individual could be prosecuted for contracting without a valid license. When the California Court of Appeals was given a similar case, they concluded that “contracting” has a broad enough definition to cover any of the previously described work.
A man’s neighbor asks him to help with the reparation of his retaining wall. The man agrees and considers this a small project. He charges his neighbor a mere $50 for the service, which includes both labor and the materials. However, the man does not have a valid contracting license. In this particular case, the man is not guilty of contracting without a valid license. The statute has a “small operations” exemption clause which states that individuals are not criminally liable if the total price of a contract was less than one hundred dollars.
Defenses for Contracting Without a Valid License
As previously mentioned, the statute has a “small operations” exemption. This states that if the total price of the contract was less than one hundred dollars, the contractor does not need to have a contractor’s license to complete the operation. Note that this price must cover labor, material, and any other costs; it is not just the cost of the labor. If the defendant’s contract cost less than one hundred dollars, this exemption applies, and the defenda
