Board delegates discretion to staff on older financial statements, discusses 12-month rule and SOPs

At the March 25 meeting the Board for Licensing Contractors voted to delegate to staff the discretion to accept and approve contractor renewal applications that include financial statements older than 12 months when justified by circumstances.

Board staff explained that many applicants face timing issues during tax season and that accounting and audit timelines can delay reviewed or audited statements. Chris (director) told the board that staff currently accepts statements generally within 12–14 months and that proposed rules at a rulemaking hearing would formalize a 12-month limit while allowing board discretion to accept older statements on a case-by-case basis. Chris asked for explicit delegated authority to make those case-by-case determinations for renewals to avoid a processing bottleneck during peak filing periods. A motion to delegate that discretion to Chris carried on a board vote.

Members discussed whether 24 months would be a reasonable upper boundary because licenses are valid for two years; multiple members voiced support for allowing staff discretion and for using follow-up conditions (for example, requiring the applicant to submit the most recent reviewed statement when it becomes available). Board operations staff also reported on an internal audit finding that the office needs a formal standard operating procedure (SOP) for transactions to improve repeatability and auditing.

The board’s delegation allows staff to approve renewals on individual review where a justified reason exists for older financial statements, and staff said they will return to the board if a case raises concerns that exceed routine discretion.

The board voted to delegate discretion to Chris for financial statements older than 12 months; the motion carried.