Message From the Board Chair
It's with a great deal of pride, and sense of responsibility that I take over as Board Chair for 2016-17. Although I'm a relative newcomer on the Board, having been appointed in 2014, I appreciate my colleague's confidence in my ability to lead this vital regulatory body in its oversight of California's construction community – one of the state's largest and most important industries.
Joining me as part of the Board's leadership team is Kevin Albanese and Marlo Richardson. Like me, Kevin and Marlo are among the more recent Board arrivals, but they bring an enthusiasm and fresh perspective that will blend nicely with the wealth of knowledge about contractor law and regulation that our more veteran Board members possess. I look forward to a most productive year working with such a dedicated group.
So what kind of issues will the Board be dealing with for the coming year? I think it's safe to say that CSLB will continue to keep close watch over the rapid growth of solar contracting, which has opened up many new employment and business opportunities for contractors, but unfortunately, has also attracted unethical operators who are taking advantage of consumers. CSLB has seen a sharp upswing in complaints about solar contracts and financing methods that have grown increasingly complex, as well as overstated promises of power/cost savings for particular solar systems.
In response, CSLB has launched a solar task force to weed out those harming the reputation of our many honest, law-abiding solar contractors. We've also stepped up our enforcement and public education efforts, including a story in this issue reminding licensees and Home Improvement Salespersons (HIS) of their legal obligations in the sales and installation of solar systems.
We're pleased that this campaign will be a multi-state effort. During a joint meeting in June with our counterparts on the contractor licensing boards of Nevada and Arizona, board and executive staff members discussed solar issues that we are all encountering. We have agreed to share information on trends and solar companies/contractors who think they can leave a troubled history behind in another state.
Another area of CSLB operations that I think you will be interested is our efforts to create an online, interactive licensing and registration system. We've taken the first step toward that goal in the last few months by adding an interactive option to complete the (HIS) registration and contractor association/disassociation process. With so many of us now comfortable with online forms and registrations, we hope that this interactive transaction will prove simple and faster for those involved in the HIS process. A story in this issue further explains the program, and includes links to the forms. This will be a test model of sorts for bringing more of our application/licensing functions online, so we would appreciate your comments about your experiences with the technology.
The changes on the Board aren't limited to new executive positions. Unfortunately, we've lost a stalwart member of the Board after a decade of devoted service. Bob Lamb attended his last meeting as a Board member in Garden Grove, and he left us with parting words of knowledge and, true to form, a few wisecracks, too, as he reflected on his long association with CSLB. Bob has truly been an active member of the Board, serving ably in various leadership capacities, and he devoted much time to a long list of CSLB duties, whether it was swearing in new peace officers or representing the Board in high-profile settings. We'll really miss Bob's sense of humor and his straightforward, common sense approach to contracting issues of the day.
As always, the Board welcomes your input, and encourages you to attend quarterly meetings that are held around the state. You can also view Board meetings on our website, and review the agenda that gives detailed explanations of the contracting issues we are considering.
Respectfully,
Agustin "Augie" Beltran
CSLB Board Chair
