37-1-317. Practice without license -- investigation of complaint -- injunction -- penalties. - Montana Statutes

     37-1-317. Practice without license -- investigation of complaint -- injunction -- penalties. (1) The department shall investigate complaints or other information received concerning practice by an unlicensed person of a profession or occupation for which a license is required by this title.
     (2) (a) Unless otherwise provided by statute, a board may file an action to enjoin a person from practicing, without a license, a profession or occupation for which a license is required by this title. In addition to the penalty provided for in 37-1-318, a person violating an injunction issued pursuant to this section may be held in contempt of court.
     (b) A person subject to an injunction for practicing without a license may also be subject to criminal prosecution. In a complaint for an injunction or in an affidavit, information, or indictment alleging that a person has engaged in unlicensed practice, it is sufficient to charge that the person engaged in the unlicensed practice of a licensed profession or occupation on a certain day in a certain county without averring further or more particular facts concerning the violation.
     (3) Unless otherwise provided by statute, a person practicing a licensed profession or occupation in this state without complying with the licensing provisions of this title is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $250 or more than $1,000, imprisonment in the county jail for not less than 90 days or more than 1 year, or both. Each violation of the provisions of this chapter constitutes a separate offense.
     (4) The department may issue a citation to and collect a fine, as provided in 37-68-316 and 37-69-310, from a person at a job site who is performing plumbing or electrical work and who fails to display a license or proof of licensure at the request of an employee of the department who bears responsibility for compliance with licensure requirements.

     History: En. Sec. 17, Ch. 429, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 230, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 402, L. 1999.