What Michigan's New Licensing Laws Mean For Contractors?

By Author: david raju
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Unfortunately, the Michigan government has made it more difficult for contractors to get to work.

That's because the state has passed new licensing laws that target general contractors and similar professions. Now, you must obtain a license from the state if you want to paint homes, perform carpentry, install siding, work on Gutters, put in insulation, or lay tile or marble. This involves paying a fee of around $235, completing 60 hours of training, and passing at least one exam. Finally, the law states that licensees have to be of "good moral character" - but it isn't clear how officials will determine that.

Regulators in Michigan say that these licenses help protect consumers and workers. But many people in the industry claim that the process is unnecessary and burdensome on contracting businesses. Michigan is one of only five states that call for any sort of educational component to acquire a contracting license, and one of just ten states that requires any type of license at all for this type of work. One libertarian law firm even calls Michigan the fourth-most burdensome ...
... state in the nation when it comes to all types of employer licensing. (It doesn't help that many contractors are lower or middle class workers who don't have the finances to band together and fight these government regulations.)

What does this ultimately mean for the consumer? If contractors have to pay extra money for licenses for them and their workers, those costs will undoubtedly be passed along to the consumer in the form of higher remodeling bills and labor costs. There's also a chance that the new license requirements may discourage handymen from opening up a contracting business, which could reduce the number of choices consumers have when they need a contractor to remodel or repair their homes.

As a result, homeowners may choose to try and handle some of these projects themselves instead of calling on a contractor to do the work. The new laws don't cover people who are working on their own homes (or handymen who charge less than $600 in materials and labor for jobs). While this trend may help empower homeowners to gain the knowledge and skills needed to fix up their homes by themselves, it hurts the Michigan economy because the money is being spent on materials alone instead of going toward jobs for contractors.

Some Michigan lawmakers are considering steps to try and roll back the licensing regulations in the state in an effort to ease the burden on companies and make the state more business friendly. But until then, contractors will have to clear another government hurdle just to have the opportunity to earn money at their craft.
Chris Martin is a freelance writer who covers a variety of home improvement topics, like Gutters, gutter repair and installing gutter guards.