Nice way for cops to "help" hurricane victims.
 

"Anthony Howell flew to Florida last week to help out a friend whose home was badly damaged by Hurricane Charley. Now, he may face a $5,000 fine and a felony charge."

"Howell, a Rockland County licensed contractor who runs Triad Builders in the hamlet, said his friend, Alex Arzoomanian, had called him on Aug. 14, because Arzoomanian's home in Kissimmee had been damaged by the hurricane and subsequent thunderstorms."

"Arzoomanian had taken over the home after his mother died in May and had not had time to get homeowners insurance. His 4,000-square-foot shingled roof had taken a beating, and after the numerous Florida contractors he had called said they couldn't help him immediately, Howell offered to take a week off work to help."

"Three days into the job, Howell was approached by two deputies from the Osceola County Sheriff's Office and two investigators from the state's Department of Business and Professional Regulation, who gave him a cease-and-desist order."

"Under Florida law, only contractors licensed by the state may engage in roof repair. It carries up to a $5,000 fine. Not to mention that the practice of unlicensed contracting becomes a third-degree felony when the governor has declared a state of emergency."

"In the past two weeks, the department has issued 52 cease-and-desist orders and made 10 arrests, Ploska said. Since the incidents are judged case by case, Ploska said, she was not sure if Howell's case would be referred to the State Attorney's Office."

full article

ah... looks like a Bush runs that state to..

i tell you what.. them good ol Bush boys hard at work..

fucktards

thats bullshit

Stupidest shit I've heard in a while.

:321GFY

Oh fuck! Sad shit!

Suppose that's a police state in action.. rules for fucking breathing next.

The irony is... if "real" shit happened - they'd still be running round passing out indictments while the place collapsed around them. Not one hope in hell.....

That's just retarded ... this mean you couldn't work on your own house even thought you would have your cards and everything ? very fucking GAY

that is just stupid man, you cant have a friend work on your house with you wtf

please name one state that does not have building laws, and requires contractors to be licensed in that state.

you can not work on your own house without a building permit where I live

only in america :BangBang:

there is a reason for this shit . . .for example, what if every contractor west of the Mississippi came into FL and told their clients to "just tell them I am your friend."

Suddenly, you get a bunch of buildings that are being built not according to code, and future owners are stuck trying to meet codes that had been bypassed

These laws are on the book for a reason and it's nothing to get a license after a hurricane. You guys freak out over nothing.

Hehe, even the people that get licensed after coming from out of state leave a huge mess. Lots of lawsuits after a hurricane.

I did my own roof a few years ago, the state can get a fucking spoon and eat my ass if they think im paying %800 more then what it would cost to do it myself.

This is what I would expect here in FL.

I just put up a new PVC fence and it got blown down by hurricane Charley. The permit was attached to the side of the house in a "protective" covering and got blown away. The city now wants me to re-apply for a new permit and has informed me that the fence needs to be taken down until I get the new permit. I have a swimming pool and under law the yard needs to be fenced in.

So I will get fined for having the fence in place or get fined for not having the fence in place and the possibility of a child falling in the pool and drowning.

Tough choice. Building inspectors are on a 3 to 4 week backup and will get to me as soon as they can.

true, but at least there are avenues available to take care of tracking them down if necessary

Are you fucking kidding me? Like Bush sent them You are insane

what an ass.

That sucks

This is applicable in most counties in the country...if not all counties.

Yes...permits are required...codes must be met...and inspectors must approve.

Actually those laws came from a few storms back, when people were ripping off the victims of the storms. It is really sad that they end up doing that to legit people

I think he is blaming Bush for the hurricane

I ran out of gas today because I was too lazy to stop at the gas station. I suppose that was Bush's fault too?

Idiot.

There were some form of them on the books already. Everywhere has code enforcement but they tend to let a lot of stuff slide after a big disaster. With all that money waiting to be spent there are a lot of people with their hands out, qualified or not.

I wish I had the time to get over there and fix some roofs. :(

Florida should not really be part of the USA :2 cents: