Ask any groundskeeper.

If you have an uneven playing field, there are bigger problems than runaway lawnmowers. Someone is going to have an unfair advantage until things are leveled.

But the trouble with playing fields is not all of them are physical. Some are harder to see. The state has just dusted off a tool that should help mend one of those fields and, in the end, assist homeowners in Bismarck-Mandan.

The Construction Compliance Task Force has been revived to check up on contractors, many of whom have come from outside the state to do work here after the July 21 hailstorm. The idea is to make sure the contractors are properly licensed and have the necessary insurance and worker's compensation coverage - just like the companies that do business here year-round.

"The goal of this task force is not to badger (the contractors)," North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said. "But fair is fair. It's only reasonable that everyone has to play by the same set of rules."

The task force is comprised of the attorney general's office, Workforce Safety and Insurance, the secretary of state's office and Job Service North Dakota. Each of the agencies has a stake in checking up on the contractors: They are the departments that provide the licensing and coverage required by law.

When it was formed in 2002, the task force discovered 54 violations at 188 construction sites. That means more than 70 percent of the contractors were operating on the up-and-up. But nearly 30 percent were violating the law in some regard.

The investigators checked sites on a limited basis in 2003 and last year, but have come out strong again following the hailstorm.

"To those contractors who are playing by the rules, we want to ensure a fair and level playing field," said Sandy Blunt, CEO of Workforce Safety and Insurance. "To those businesses that aren't playing by the rules, we're coming."

They are indeed.

In the first six site checks Tuesday, the task force found violations at two. One of the companies, which allegedly leased a local phone number and then claimed to be based here, was not insured with WSI or covered by Job Service, WSI spokesman Mark Armstrong said. There also were seven illegal aliens working at the site, who were taken into custody by the U.S. Border Patrol.

It's exactly those kinds of things the task force is looking for and wants to stop, Armstrong said.

To operate in North Dakota, a contractor must be licensed with the secretary of state's office for work that costs more than $2,000. To get that license, they must have liability insurance and coverage from WSI. Failure to do so is a class A misdemeanor. Contractors also must secure unemployment insurance from Job Service. Out-of-state firms must obtain a transient merchant's license from the attorney general's office and post a bond that can be used to cover claims by a client. If they don't, it is a class B misdemeanor.

That every contractor follows those rules is of importance to all, said Doreen Riedman, of the North Dakota Association of Builders.

"It was a concern for us when we saw all the out-of-state vehicles coming into Bismarck after the hailstorm," said Riedman, whose association represents about 1,600 members. "It was our concern that the folks working on the houses in the Bismarck area right now are the ones who are properly licensed."

Riedman said the builders association is working to make sure its members are all abiding by the rules.

Stenehjem urged homeowners to check the contractor's license before agreeing to have any work done. Contractors are required by law to show their licensing documents on demand, he said.

Other tips included:

3 Be wary of people doing business out of unmarked vans.

3 Avoid contractors who employ high-pressure sales tactics or require payment before any work is done.

3 Avoid contractors who don't have any references.

3 Check contractors' references.

3 Write down information from the license, such as the contractor's insurer.

3 Just because a contractor is licensed doesn't mean he or she will do a good job.

3 Exercise patience.

If a worker is injured on your property and the contractor doesn't have coverage, you could be liable. Most homeowner policies won't cover those claims, Blunt said.

Secretary of State Al Jaeger said his office has licensed 78 new contractors since the hailstorm, a real spike in the numbers. He said to remember that not all out-of-state contractors are bad contractors, but it behooves the consumer to be careful.

(Reach reporter Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tony.spilde@;bismarcktribune.com.)