§ 10-6. Contractor's certificate, manner of obtaining.

A contractor's certificate of competency shall be obtained in the following manner:

(A)

Application. All applicants shall make application on a form or forms prescribed by the Board. The application shall be retained by the County together with all supporting papers. The application shall be executed by the qualifying agent who shall be an officer of the corporation or if a firm, shall be legally qualified to act for the firm. If the firm is a Miami-Dade County or Municipal Department the qualifying agent is not required to be an officer of the firm. By exception, the qualifying agent for a publicly traded company or a firm employing over 1,000 persons in the United States may be a person with final approval authority for all construction work performed by the entity including authority over contracts, specifications, checks, drafts, or payments regardless of the form of payment made by the entity. As part of the application, such qualifying agent shall complete an affidavit approved by the board attesting to the extent of his or her authority.

(1)

The Board shall waive the initial application fee for a military veteran who applies for a license in the format prescribed by the Board, within 24 months after discharge from any branch of the United States Armed Forces. To qualify for this waiver, the veteran must have been honorably discharged and provide appropriate service documentations.

(B)

Information on and with application; fee. No application shall be considered unless the applicant gives all information required on the form, which shall include:

(1)

A statement of applicant's proposed contracting business.

(2)

The type of certificate being applied for.

(3)

Name, residence, and business address of applicant.

(4)

Information concerning work the applicant has performed in Miami-Dade County in the trade or classification for which he is seeking certification. Work performed by the applicant as an employee of Miami-Dade County would qualify as the experience required under the applicable provision of Section 10-2 above, shall be the experience required by Section 10-2.

(5)

If applicant is a firm, or corporation, in addition to the application to be completed by the qualifying agent, the name and business address of the firm and the name and residence of all directors and officers of the corporation and their interests therein, and the name and residence of the applicant's qualifying agent. If the applicant is a corporation, a certified copy of the certificate of incorporation shall be furnished. If the applicant seeks to act as qualifying agent for a Miami-Dade County or Municipal Department, the name, address and telephone number of the Department Director shall be provided.

(6)

The board shall adopt rules defining financial responsibility based upon the business or organization's credit history, any history of bankruptcy or assignment of receivers. Such rules shall specify the financial responsibility grounds on which the board may determine that a business organization is not qualified to engage in contracting.

(7)

Receipt from the County showing that the fee established by separate administrative order has been paid to cover the cost of processing the application.

(8)

A sworn statement stating under oath that the officers and directors, and the qualifying agent, have not been convicted of a felony during the past five (5) years, and that he or they are not presently charged with committing a felony. If this is not the case, the details of the conviction or charge shall be given.

(C)

Notice of examination. The qualifying agent shall be notified of the time and place of the next regular examination, if one is required. This notice shall be in addition to the notice provided for in Section 10-12.

(D)

Denial of application. Whenever a division of the Board denies or conditions approval of an application on the basis of information received pursuant to Subsections 10-6(B)(1)—(8) above, it shall notify the applicant in writing of such action and the reason(s) therefor.

(E)

Affirmative conditions necessary for issuance of certificate. A certificate competency shall not be issued unless it is determined:

(1)

That the qualifying agent has made a passing grade on the applicable examination, if such examination is required, and if experience is a prerequisite, that he has the required experience for the type of certification applied for.

(2)

That the applicant is financially able to engage in the contracting business for which the certificate is requested. The board shall establish, in its rules and regulations, uniform but separate standards for each contractor's category to guide it in determining an applicant's financial qualifications. Such standards shall first be approved by both divisions of the Construction Trades Qualifying Board.

(3)

That the applicant and qualifying agent and each member of the firm, and all officers and directors, if a corporation, possess a reputation for honesty, integrity, and good character. This shall be determined by the Board from the information contained in the letters of recommendation submitted to or obtained by the Board or its investigators. The lack of honesty, integrity or good character may be established by competent evidence that:

(a)

The applicant, or qualifying agent, or any member of the firm, or officer or director of the corporation, who has, as an individual, committed an act within the past three (3) years which, if committed or done by licensed contractor, would be grounds for suspension or revocation of a contractor's license; or is a member of a firm or corporation that has committed an act within the past three (3) years, which, if committed or done by a licensed contractor, would be grounds for suspension or revocation of a contractor's license.

(b)

The applicant, or qualifying agent, or any member of the firm, or officer or director of the corporation has, as an individual, committed an act within the past three (3) years involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or lack of integrity whereby some injury has been sustained by another; or is a member of a firm or corporation that has committed an act within the past three (3) years involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or lack of integrity whereby some injury has been sustained by another.

(c)

The applicant, or qualifying agent, or any member of the firm, or officer or director of the corporation has, as an individual, refused to pay valid bills or is a member of a firm or corporation that has refused to pay valid bills.

(d)

The applicant, or qualifying agent, or any member of the firm, or officer or director of the corporation, is presently charged with commission of a felony or is a member of a firm or corporation charged with commission of a felony.

(e)

The applicant, or qualifying agent, or any member of the firm, or officer or director of the corporation has been convicted of a felony.

(4)

That the applicant or qualifying agent has not had his certificate of competency suspended or revoked by the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board or other State licensing authority or the licensing authority of another municipality or county whether located in the State of Florida or another state.

(5)

That the qualifying agent has a significant interest or financial interest in the contracting entity he is qualifying as evidenced by his position as an officer or partner or principal stockholder in the company. Authorized Employee Certificate of Competency holders shall not be required to maintain or possess significant interest or financial interest when acting as qualifying agent for a Miami-Dade County Department or Municipal Department.

(F)

Responsibilities of qualifying agent. The qualifying agent shall have the following authority and responsibilities upon issuance of a certificate of competency to the contractor and failure to carry out such responsibilities shall constitute a violation of this chapter:

(1)

To act for the contractor in all matters connected with the contractor's business.

(2)

To supervise, direct and control all work of the contractor, including, but not limited to, the direct responsibility for controlling and overseeing the contractor's employees and field operations for whom he is qualified.

(3)

The contractor shall be qualified only through the qualifying agent who executed the application and such agent shall be restricted to the work of the contractor he has qualified, but a contractor may be qualified by more than one (1) qualifying agent.

(Ord. No. 57-25, § 17.05, 11-12-57; Ord. No. 64-59, §§ 6—12, 11-24-64; Ord. No. 67-82, § 1, 10-17-67; Ord. No. 69-11, § 1, 2-4-69; Ord. No. 71-15, § 1, 1-26-71; Ord. No. 71-84, § 4, 10-5-71; Ord. No. 73-75, § 4, 9-18-73; Ord. No. 75-63, § 1, 7-16-75; Ord. No. 76-70, § 1, 7-20-76; Ord. No. 91-114, § 1, 10-1-91; Ord. No. 91-116, § 1, 10-1-91; Ord. No. 95-46, § 1, 4-4-95; Ord. No. 99-10, § 1, 1-21-99; Ord. No. 02-2, § 1, 1-29-02; Ord. No. 13-08, § 1, 2-5-13)