The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors is rolling out a public relations campaign for the new year designed to change public perceptions about the agency and increase awareness about what it does.
LSLBC spokesperson Karen Auguste says the agency wants to be more proactive in working with contractors and their customers before a potential problem arises, rather than coming in as an enforcement agency after it’s too late.
“We don’t want to be perceived as the bad guys all the time,” Auguste says. “We want to let people know if you come to us early on we can help prevent problems.”
The LSLBC is a 60-year-old agency charged with promoting the integrity of the construction industry by ensuring that both commercial and residential contractors are licensed to do business in the state. Currently, there are more than 19,200 commercial contractors and nearly 3,400 residential contractors licensed in Louisiana. Still, as many as 250 contractors are called before the board every month for practicing without a license.
“In most instances, it’s a situation where someone says, ‘I didn’t realize I was doing something wrong,’” Auguste says. “They’ll start out with a little handyman job and it will turn into a bigger job and then a bigger job and suddenly they should have gotten a license and it’s too late.”
State law requires residential contractors to obtain a license for any project in excess of $75,000, while commercial contractors are required to get a license for any project over $50,000. A home improvement license is required for any residential project between $7,500 and $75,000. In recent years, the LSLBC has streamlined the licensing application and renewal process by making it available online.
Auguste says the LSLBC is planning a campaign in the coming months that will target contractors on traditional and social media.
—Stephanie Riegel
