Landscape Contractors.
§ 89D‑1. Certificate required.
On and after December 1, 1975, it shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, association or corporation in this State to use the title "landscape contractor," or to advertise as such without first obtaining a certificate issued by the North Carolina Landscape contractors' Registration Board under provisions of this Chapter. (1975, c. 741, s. 1.)
§ 89D‑2. Definition.
A "landscape contractor" within the meaning of this Chapter is any person, partnership, association or corporation who for compensation or valuable consideration or promise thereof engages in the business requiring the art, experience, ability, knowledge, science and skill to install, plant, repair and maintain gardens, lawns, shrubs, vines, bushes, trees and other decorative vegetation including the grading and preparation of plots and areas of land for decorative treatment and arrangement; who constructs or installs garden pools, fountains, pavilions, conservatories, hothouses and greenhouses, incidental retaining walls, fences, walks, drainage and sprinkler systems; or who engages in incidental construction in connection therewith, or does any part thereof in such a manner that, under an agreed specification, an acceptable landscaping project can be executed. (1975, c. 741, s. 2.)
§ 89D‑3. Application of Chapter.
The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to and shall not include any person, partnership, association or corporation who shall perform any of the acts aforesaid in G.S. 89D‑2 with reference to any property, so long as that person, partnership, association or corporation shall not use the title "landscape contractor." (1975, c. 741, s. 3.)
§ 89D‑4. Landscape Contractors' Registration Board created; membership; compensation; power, etc.
(a) There is created the North Carolina Landscape Contractors' Registration Board (hereinafter called the Board) which shall issue registration certificates of title to landscape contractors. The Board shall be composed of nine members appointed as follows: Two by the Governor to represent the public at large; two by the Commissioner of Agriculture; two practicing nurserymen operating a nursery certified by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Plant Pest Inspection Program appointed by the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Association of Nurserymen, Inc.; two registered landscape contractors in the business of landscape contracting appointed by the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Landscape Contractors' Association, Inc.; and one registered landscape architect appointed by the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. All appointments shall be for three‑year terms and no member shall serve more than two complete consecutive terms.
Any vacancy on the Board created by death, resignation or otherwise shall be filled for the unexpired term by the initial appointing authority and all members shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualify.
(b) From its funds, the Board shall pay its members at the rate set out in G.S. 93B‑5: Provided, that at no time shall the expense exceed the cash balance on hand.
(c) The Board shall have power to make such rules and regulations as are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Chapter and the laws of North Carolina. The Board shall not make rules or regulations regulating commissions, salaries, or fees to be charged by registrants under this Chapter. The Board shall adopt a seal for its use, which shall bear thereon the words "North Carolina Landscape Contractors' Registration Board."
(d) The Board may employ a secretary‑treasurer and such clerical assistance as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Chapter and to put into effect such rules and regulations as the Board may promulgate. The Board shall fix salaries for employees and shall require employees to make good and sufficient surety bond for the faithful performance of their duties.
(e) The Board shall be entitled to the services of the Attorney General of North Carolina in connection with the affairs of the Board or may, on approval of the Attorney General, employ an attorney to assist or represent it in the enforcement of this Chapter, but the fee paid for such service shall be approved by the Attorney General. (1975, c. 741, s. 4; 1983, c. 108, s. 1; 1997‑261, s. 109.)
§ 89D‑5. Application for certificate; examination; renewal.
(a) Any person, partnership, association or corporation hereinafter desiring to register and be titled as a landscape contractor shall make written application for a certificate of title to the Board on such forms as are prescribed by the Board. Each applicant for a certificate of title as a landscape contractor shall be at least 18 years of age. Prior to July 1, 1976, each applicant for a certificate shall have been actively engaged as an untitled landscape contractor for at least one year prior to date of application. After July 1, 1976, an applicant shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the Board of three years' experience in landscape contracting or the completion of a study or combination of study and experience in landscape contracting equivalent to three years' experience under a landscape contractor.
(b) Any person who applies to the Board to be registered and titled as a landscape contractor shall be required to take an oral or written examination to determine his qualifications. Each application for registration by examination shall be accompanied by an application fee of seventy‑five dollars ($75.00).
The Board shall compile a manual from which the examination will be prepared. The examination fee shall not exceed seventy‑five dollars ($75.00). Any one failing to pass an examination may be reexamined upon payment of the same fee as that charged to persons taking the examination for the first time, in accordance with such rules as the Board may adopt pertaining to examinations and reexaminations.
If the results of the examination are satisfactory, the Board shall issue the applicant a certificate authorizing him to be titled as a landscape contractor in the State of North Carolina upon payment of the initial certification fee as outlined in subsection (c).
(c) All certificates granted and issued by the Board under the provisions of this Chapter shall expire annually on December 31. Renewal of such certificates may be effected at any time during the month preceding the expiration date of such certificates upon proper application to the Board accompanied by the payment to the secretary‑treasurer of the Board of a renewal fee, as set by the Board, of not more than seventy‑five dollars ($75.00). The fee for an initial certificate shall be the same as for a renewal certificate and is in addition to the application fee. All certificates reinstated after expiration date thereof shall be subject to a late filing fee of twenty‑five dollars ($25.00). In the event a registrant fails to obtain a reinstatement of such certificate within 12 months from the date of expiration thereof, the Board may, in its discretion, consider such registrant subject to the provisions of this Chapter relating to the issuance of an original certificate. Duplicate certificates may be issued by the Board upon payment of a fee not to exceed five dollars ($5.00) by the registrant. The Board may charge a fee not to exceed thirty‑five dollars ($35.00) for issuance of a duplicate parchment certificate. (1975, c. 741, s. 5; 1983, c. 108, ss. 2, 3; 1991, c. 180, s. 1; 2007‑426, s. 1.)
§ 89D‑6. Registers of applicants and certificate holders.
(a) The secretary‑treasurer of the Board shall keep a register of all applicants for certificates of title. The register shall include the date of application, name, place of business, place of residence, and indicate whether the certificate of title was granted or refused.
(b) The secretary‑treasurer of the Board shall also keep a current roster showing the names and places of business of all registered titled landscape contractors. The roster shall be kept on file in the office of the Board and be open to public inspection.
(c) On or before the first day of September of each year, the Board shall file with the Secretary of State a copy of the roster of landscape contractors holding certificates of title. At the same time the Board shall file with the Secretary of State a report containing a complete statement of receipts and disbursements of the Board for the preceding fiscal year ending June 30. Such statement shall be attested by the secretary‑treasurer of the Board. (1975, c. 741, s. 6.)
§ 89D‑7. Denial, revocation or suspension of certificate.
(a) The Board shall have power to revoke or suspend certificates of title herein provided. The Board may upon its own motion or upon a verified complaint in writing hold a hearing as hereinafter provided to investigate the actions of any titled landscape contractor. The Board shall have the power to suspend or revoke any certificate of title issued under the provisions of this Chapter if the registrant has by false or fraudulent representations obtained a certificate; if the registrant has been convicted or has entered a plea of nolo contendere to any crime involving moral turpitude in any court, State or federal; if the registrant is found to have committed any act which constitutes improper, fraudulent or dishonest dealing; or if the registrant violates any rule or regulation duly promulgated by the Board.
(b) Chapter 150B of the General Statutes applies to proceedings under this section to deny, revoke, or suspend a certificate. (1975, c. 741, s. 7; 1987, c. 827, s. 74.)
§ 89D‑8. Out‑of‑state applicants.
An applicant from another state which offers registration privileges to residents of North Carolina may be registered by conforming to all the provisions of this Chapter and, in the discretion of the Board, such other terms and conditions as are required of North Carolina residents applying for a certificate in such other state. The Board may exempt from the examination prescribed in this Chapter a landscape contractor duly registered in another state if a similar exemption is extended to registered landscape contractors from North Carolina. (1975, c. 741, s. 8.)
§ 89D‑9. Persons in practice prior to July 1, 1976.
Before July 1, 1976, any person, partnership, corporation or other legal entity submitting an application, application fee and evidence satisfactory to the Board that he has actively engaged in the practice of landscape contracting for one year prior to July 1, 1976, shall be issued a certificate of title without the requirement of examination. (1975, c. 741, s. 10.)
§ 89D‑10. Injunctions for violation of Chapter.
The Board shall have authority to petition for, and the superior courts of the State shall have authority to issue, temporary restraining orders, and preliminary and permanent injunctions for violations of this Chapter. (1975, c. 741, s. 11.)