Introduction

An attempt was made in 2001 to pass a legislation requiring a license to perform landscape contracting in North Carolina. That attempt failed. The landscape industry and the marketplace have changed considerably since 2001.

Today a landscape contractor license (practice act) is needed more than ever to establish the professional identity of North Carolina landscape contractors through training, testing and continuing education requirements. This license will also help protect consumers from low quality or improperly installed work and provide landscape contractors with the opportunity to grow professionally through continuing education and networking with other landscape professionals.

A draft bill has been written and moved through the legislative process during the 2009 legislative session in order to qualify it for consideration in the 2010 short session. The process is underway now to finalize the draft legislation. Town hall meetings are being held around the state to give anyone interested in this issue to voice their opinion and contribute to final legislation.

Background

In 2007/2008 in the midst of the drought the NC Green Industry Council met with the Carolinas Irrigation Association, NCNLA and other interested green industry associations and business owners to review how a practice act could benefit irrigation and landscape contractors. The necessity for an irrigation contractor’s license was clearly needed as a step to help protect the irrigation industry from regulatory restraints at the local and state level and as an effort to restore consumer confidence in the value of investing in an irrigation system based on professional standards, BMP’s and continuing education required by a license. Given that climate and perceived legislator support for such action the decision was reached to move forward with legislation for an irrigation contracting license only. The NC Green Industry Council helped craft the legislation and then lobbied the irrigation contractor’s license to enactment.

Today

As a result of going through that process the same opportunity is presented to us now. Drought is less of a motivator but water use efficiency remains a key issue for the green industry. The state of the economy is the other major factor. Establishing landscape contracting as a professional industry will help all of us now and in the future. The NC GIC and NCNLA have agreed to lead the effort to present the proposal for a landscape contractor license to you and if approved to guide the bill to passage.