Jeff (and Dan....you popped in later while I was typing ;-), good point and I see that issue locally too.

California, and Nevada (right next door to me...) have rather intense F/S requirements for folks wanting to get a contractors license.  When I bailed on doing them, I had someone I could refer clients to but he has now retired.  While his work was a bit, um, err... sketchy - it satisfied the needs of the various Boards.  

These are small contractors (not the ones building McMansions) so spending thousands for a F/S is not feasible.   But not everyone is trying to build a McMansion and need those not-so-large contractors (general contractors as well as the specialty subcontractors).  

/rant off