3-26 professional consultants and clerical personnel necessary to the discharge

3-27 of its duties.

3-28 2. The board may require investigators who are employed by the board

3-29 to [locate persons who:

3-30 (a)] :

3-31 (a) Conduct a background investigation of an applicant for a

3-32 contractor’s license;

3-33 (b) Locate and identify persons who:

3-34 (1) Engage in the business or act in the capacity of a contractor

3-35 within this state [; or

3-36 (b)] in violation of NRS 624.230;

3-37 (2) Submit bids on jobs situated within this state [,] in violation of

3-38 [NRS 624.230.] the provisions of this chapter; or

3-39 (3) Violate the provisions of this chapter or the regulations adopted

3-40 pursuant to this chapter; and

3-41 (c) Issue a written citation in the manner set forth in section 3 of this

4-3 (a) Designate one or more of its employees for the investigation of

4-4 constructional fraud;

4-5 (b) Cooperate with other local, state or federal investigative and law

4-6 enforcement agencies, and the attorney general;

4-7 (c) Assist the attorney general or any official of an investigative or a

4-8 law enforcement agency of this state, any other state or the Federal

4-9 Government who requests assistance in investigating any act of

4-10 constructional fraud; and

4-11 (d) Furnish to those officials any information [, not otherwise

4-12 confidential,] concerning its investigation or report on any act of

4-13 constructional fraud.

4-14 2. The board may obtain records of a law enforcement agency or any

4-15 other agency that maintains records of criminal history, including,

4-16 without limitation, records of:

4-17 (a) Investigations;

4-18 (b) Arrests;

4-19 (c) Guilty pleas;

4-20 (d) Sentencing;

4-21 (e) Probation;

4-22 (f) Parole;

4-23 (g) Bail;

4-24 (h) Complaints;

4-25 (i) Final dispositions; and

4-26 (j) Data base searches,

4-27 for the investigation of constructional fraud.

4-28 3. For the purposes of this section, constructional fraud occurs if a

4-29 person engaged in construction : [knowingly:]

4-30 (a) Misapplies money under the circumstances described in NRS

4-31 205.310;

4-32 (b) Obtains money, property or labor by false pretense as described in

4-33 NRS 205.380;

4-34 (c) Receives payments and fails to state his own true name, or states a

4-35 false name, address or telephone number of the person offering a service;

4-36 [or]

4-37 (d) Commits theft, fraud or embezzlement in connection with a

4-38 construction project;

4-39 (e) Acts as a contractor without:

4-40 (1) Obtaining a contractor’s license pursuant to this chapter; or

4-41 (2) Obtaining any other license required by this state or a political

4-42 subdivision of this state; or

5-3 director, partner and associate thereof shall possess good character. Lack

5-4 of character may be established by showing that the applicant or any

5-5 officer, director, partner or associate thereof has:

5-6 [1.] (a) Committed any act which, if committed by any licensed

5-7 contractor, would be grounds for the suspension or revocation of a

5-8 contractor’s license;

5-9 [2.] (b) A bad reputation for honesty and integrity;

5-10 [3.] (c) Entered a plea of guilty or guilty but mentally ill to, been found

5-11 guilty of or been convicted of a felony or crime involving moral turpitude

5-12 arising out of, in connection with or related to the activities of such person

5-13 in such a manner as to demonstrate his unfitness to act as a contractor, and

5-14 the time for appeal has elapsed or the judgment of conviction has been

5-15 affirmed on appeal; or

5-16 [4.] (d) Had a license revoked for reasons that would preclude the

5-17 granting of a license for which the application has been made.

5-18 2. An applicant for a contractor’s license, and any officer, director,

5-19 partner or associate of the applicant, must submit to the board completed

5-20 fingerprint cards and a form authorizing an investigation of the

5-21 applicant’s background and the submission of his fingerprints to the

5-22 central repository for Nevada records of criminal history and the Federal

5-23 Bureau of Investigation. The fingerprint cards and authorization form

5-24 submitted must be those that are provided to the applicant by the board.

5-25 The applicant’s fingerprints must be taken by an agency of law

5-26 enforcement.

5-27 3. The board shall keep the results of the investigation confidential

5-28 and not subject to inspection by the general public.

5-29 4. The board shall establish by regulation the fee for processing the

5-30 fingerprints to be paid by the applicant. The fee must not exceed the sum

5-31 of the amounts charged by the central repository for Nevada records of

5-32 criminal history and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing

5-33 the fingerprints.

5-34 5. The board may obtain records of a law enforcement agency or any

5-35 other agency that maintains records of criminal history, including,

5-36 without limitation, records of:

5-37 (a) Investigations;

5-38 (b) Arrests;

5-39 (c) Guilty pleas;

5-40 (d) Sentencing;

5-41 (e) Probation;

5-42 (f) Parole;

6-7 in favor of the State of Nevada for the benefit of any person who:

6-8 (a) As owner of the property to be improved entered into a construction

6-9 contract with the contractor and is damaged by failure of the contractor to

6-10 perform the contract or to remove liens filed against the property;

6-11 (b) As an employee of the contractor performed labor on or about the

6-12 site of the construction covered by the contract;

6-13 (c) As a supplier or materialman furnished materials or equipment for

6-14 the construction covered by the contract; or

6-15 (d) Is injured by any unlawful act or omission of the contractor in the

6-16 performance of a contract.

6-17 2. Any person claiming against the bond or deposit may bring an

6-18 action in a court of competent jurisdiction on the bond or against the board

6-19 on the deposit for the amount of damage he has suffered to the extent

6-20 covered by the bond or deposit. A person who brings action on a bond

6-21 shall notify the board in writing upon filing the action. No action may be

6-22 commenced on the bond or deposit 2 years after the commission of the act

6-23 on which the action is based.

6-24 3. Upon receiving a request from a person for whose benefit a bond or

6-25 deposit is required, the board shall notify him that:

6-26 (a) A bond is in effect or that a deposit has been made, and the amount

6-27 of either;

6-28 (b) There is an action against a bond, if that is the case, and the court,

6-29 the title and number of the action and the amount sought by the plaintiff;

6-30 and

6-31 (c) There is an action against the board, if that is the case, and the

6-32 amount sought by the plaintiff.

6-33 4. If a surety, or in the case of a deposit, the board, desires to make

6-34 payment without awaiting court action, the amount of the bond or deposit

6-35 must be reduced to the extent of any payment made by the surety or the

6-36 board in good faith under the bond or deposit. Any payment must be based

6-37 on written claims received by the surety or board before the court action.

6-38 5. The surety or the board may bring an action for interpleader against

6-39 all claimants upon the bond or deposit. If it does so, it must publish notice

6-40 of the action at least once each week for 2 weeks in a newspaper of general

7-20 subsections 3 and 7, the board may:

7-21 (a) Suspend or revoke licenses already issued;

7-22 (b) Refuse renewals of licenses;

7-23 (c) Impose limits on the field, scope and monetary limit of the license;

7-24 (d) Impose an administrative fine of not more than $10,000;

7-25 (e) Order the licensee to take action to correct a condition resulting

7-26 from an act which constitutes a cause for disciplinary action, at the

7-27 licensee’s cost; or

7-28 (f) Reprimand or take other less severe disciplinary action, including,

7-29 without limitation, increasing the amount of the surety bond or cash

7-30 deposit of the licensee,

7-31 if the licensee commits any act which constitutes a cause for disciplinary

7-32 action.

7-33 2. If the board suspends or revokes the license of a contractor for

7-34 failure to establish financial responsibility, the board may, in addition to

7-35 any other conditions for reinstating or renewing the license, require that

7-36 each contract undertaken by the licensee for a period to be designated by

7-37 the board, not to exceed 12 months, be separately covered by a bond or

7-38 bonds approved by the board and conditioned upon the performance of and

7-39 the payment of labor and materials required by the contract.

7-40 3. If a licensee violates the provisions of NRS 624.3014 or subsection

7-41 3 of NRS 624.3015, the board may impose an administrative fine of not

8-25 under NRS 624.330, to advertise as a contractor unless he has a valid

8-26 license in the appropriate classification established by NRS 624.215 and

8-27 624.220.

8-28 2. As used in this section, "advertising" includes , but is not limited to

8-29 , the issuance of any sign, card or device or by the permitting or allowing

8-30 of any sign or marking on a motor vehicle, in any building, structure,

8-31 newspaper, magazine or airway transmission or in any directory under the

8-32 listing of contractor with or without any limiting qualifications.

8-33 3. All advertising by a licensed contractor must include the name of

8-37 chapter:

8-38 (a) For the first offense, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be

8-39 punished by a fine of not less than [$500] $1,000 nor more than [$1,000,]

8-40 $2,000, and may be further punished by imprisonment in the county jail

8-41 for not more than 6 months . [; or]

8-42 (b) For the second [or subsequent] offense, is guilty of a gross