(a) Any contractor shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be liable to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than two hundred dollars ($200) for each offense, with each day to constitute a separate offense, who:
(1) (A) For a fixed price, commission, fee, or wage attempts to or submits a bid or bids to construct or demolish or contracts to construct or demolish, or undertakes to construct or demolish, or assumes charge in a supervisory capacity or otherwise, or manages the construction, erection, alteration, demolition, or repair of, or has constructed, erected, altered, demolished, or repaired, under his or her or its direction, any building, apartment, condominium, highway, sewer, utility, grading, or any other improvement or structure, when the cost of the work to be done, or done, in the State of Arkansas by the contractor, including, but not limited to, labor and materials, is fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more, without first having procured a license with the proper classification to engage in the business of contracting in this state.
(B) Subdivision (a)(1) of this section shall not apply to any demolition work or other work necessary to clean up a natural disaster within seventy-two (72) hours following the natural disaster;
(2) Shall present or file the license certificate of another;
(3) Shall give false or forged evidence of any kind to the Contractors Licensing Board or any member thereof in obtaining a certificate of license;
(4) Shall impersonate another; or
(5) Shall use an expired or revoked certificate of license.
(b) The doing of any act or thing herein prohibited by any applicant or licensee shall, in the discretion of the board, constitute sufficient grounds to refuse a license to an applicant or to revoke the license of a licensee.
(c) Regarding any violation of this chapter, the board shall have the power to issue subpoenas and bring before the board as a witness any person in the state and may require the witness to bring with him or her any book, writing, or other thing under his or her control which he or she is bound by law to produce in evidence.
(d) No action may be brought either at law or in equity to enforce any provision of any contract entered into in violation of this chapter. No action may be brought either at law or in equity for quantum meruit by any contractor in violation of this chapter.
(e) (1) (A) Any contractor who, after notice and hearing, is found by the board to have violated or used a contractor in violation of this chapter shall pay to the board a civil penalty of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than four hundred dollars ($400) per day for the activity. However, the penalty shall not exceed three percent (3%) of the total project being performed by the contractor.
(B) (i) The penalty provided for in this chapter plus interest at ten percent (10%) per annum shall be paid to the board before the contractor can be issued a license to engage in the business of contracting in this state.
(ii) In addition to the assessment of the penalty, the board, upon a finding of a violation of this chapter, may issue an order of abatement directing the contractor to cease all actions constituting a violation of this chapter.
(2) The board shall have the power to withhold approval for up to six (6) months of any application from any person who, prior to approval of the application, has been found in violation of this chapter.
(3) All hearings and appeals therefrom under this chapter shall be pursuant to the provisions of the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, ยง 25-15-201 et seq.
(4) No proceedings under this chapter may be commenced by the board after three (3) years from the date on which the act or omission which is the basis for the proceeding occurred.
(5) The board shall have the power to file suit in the Pulaski County Circuit Court to obtain a judgment for the amount of any penalty not paid within thirty (30) days of service on the contractor of the order assessing the penalty, unless the circuit court enters a stay pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(6) (A) The board shall have the power to file suit in the Pulaski County Circuit Court to enforce any order of abatement not complied with within fifteen (15) days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, of service on the contractor of the order of abatement.
(B) If the circuit court finds the order of abatement to have been properly issued, it may enforce the order by any means by which injunctions are ordinarily enforced.
(C) However, nothing shall be construed herein to diminish the contractor's right to appeal and obtain a stay pursuant to the procedures provided for in this chapter.
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