Out of Control Policy Blog  More Boasts from California
Contractor Regulators For Wasting Time and Money  California's
Contractors State License Board (CSLB) is at it again.  Since
early October, the board's Statewide Investigative Fraud Team
(SWIFT) busted 102 unlicensed contractors in sting operations
across the state. SWIFT partners with local law enforcement
agencies, which could otherwise be protecting and serving their
communities, and sets up sting operations that resemble To Catch
a Predator, but unlike the show, neither entertains nor does
anything to protect anyone. To bust painters, fencers, and
landscapers, SWIFT investigators pose as homeowners looking for
basic home improvement projects on internet forums like
Craigslist. They also make a point of searching through
Craigslist to find unlicensed contractors to arrest as well--
posting an advertisement for contract work without having CSLB
licensure brings with it the additional misdemeanor charge of
"illegal advertising."  The CSLB says all this i