H-3222

AN ACT Relating to electrical contractors; amending RCW 19.28.120 and 19.28.350; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 19.28.120 and 1986 c 156 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) It is unlawful for any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity to engage in, conduct, advertise, offer to work, submit a bid, or carry on the business of installing or maintaining wires or equipment to convey electric current, or installing or maintaining equipment to be operated by electric current as it pertains to the electrical industry, without having an unrevoked, unsuspended, and unexpired electrical contractor license, issued by the department in accordance with this chapter. All electrical contractor licenses expire twenty-four calendar months following the day of their issue. The department may issue an electrical contractors license for a period of less than twenty-four months only for the purpose of equalizing the number of electrical contractor licenses which expire each month. Application for an electrical contractor license shall be made in writing to the department, accompanied by the required fee. The application shall state the name and address of the applicant; in case of firms or partnerships, the names of the individuals composing the firm or partnership; in case of corporations, the names of the managing officials thereof; the location of the place of business of the applicant and the name under which the business is conducted; and whether a general or specialty electrical contractor license is sought and, if the latter, the type of specialty. Electrical contractor specialties include, but are not limited to: Residential, domestic appliances, pump and irrigation, limited energy system, signs, nonresidential maintenance, and a combination specialty. A general electrical contractor license shall grant to the holder the right to engage in, conduct, or carry on the business of installing or maintaining wires or equipment to carry electric current, and installing or maintaining equipment, or installing or maintaining material to fasten or insulate such wires or equipment to be operated by electric current, in the state of Washington. A specialty electrical contractor license shall grant to the holder a limited right to engage in, conduct, or carry on the business of installing or maintaining wires or equipment to carry electrical current, and installing or maintaining equipment; or installing or maintaining material to fasten or insulate such wires or equipment to be operated by electric current in the state of Washington as expressly allowed by the license.

(2) The application for a contractor license shall be accompanied by a bond in the sum of four thousand dollars with the state of Washington named as obligee in the bond, with good and sufficient surety, to be approved by the department. The bond shall at all times be kept in full force and effect, and any cancellation or revocation thereof, or withdrawal of the surety therefrom, suspends the license issued to the principal until a new bond has been filed and approved as provided in this section. Upon approval of a bond, the department shall on the next business day deposit the fee accompanying the application in the electrical license fund and shall file the bond in the office. The department shall upon request furnish to any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity a certified copy of the bond upon the payment of a fee that the department shall set by rule. The fee shall cover but not exceed the cost of furnishing the certified copy. The bond shall be conditioned that in any installation or maintenance of wires or equipment to convey electrical current, and equipment to be operated by electrical current, the principal will comply with the provisions of this chapter and with any electrical ordinance, building code, or regulation of a city or town adopted pursuant to RCW 19.28.010(2) that is in effect at the time of entering into a contract. The bond shall be conditioned further that the principal will pay for all labor, including employee benefits, and material furnished or used upon the work, taxes and contributions to the state of Washington, and all damages that may be sustained by any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity due to a failure of the principal to make the installation or maintenance in accordance with this chapter or any applicable ordinance, building code, or regulation of a city or town adopted pursuant to RCW 19.28.010(2). In lieu of the surety bond required by this section the license applicant may file with the department a cash deposit or other negotiable security acceptable to the department. If the license applicant has filed a cash deposit, the department shall deposit the funds in a special trust savings account in a commercial bank, mutual savings bank, or savings and loan association and shall pay annually to the depositor the interest derived from the account.

(3) The department shall issue general or specialty electrical contractor licenses to applicants meeting all of the requirements of this chapter. The provisions of this chapter relating to the licensing of any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity including the requirement of a bond with the state of Washington named as obligee therein and the collection of a fee therefor, are exclusive, and no political subdivision of the state of Washington may require or issue any licenses or bonds or charge any fee for the same or a similar purpose. No person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity holding more than one specialty contractor license under this chapter may be required to pay an annual fee for more than one such license or to post more than one four thousand dollar bond, equivalent cash deposit, or other negotiable security.

(4) To obtain a general or specialty electrical contractor license the applicant must designate an individual who currently possesses an administrator's certificate as a general electrical contractor administrator or as a specialty electrical contractor administrator in the specialty for which application has been made. Administrator certificate specialties include but are not limited to: Residential, domestic, appliance, pump and irrigation, limited energy system, signs, nonresidential maintenance, and combination specialty. To obtain an administrator's certificate an individual must pass an examination as set forth in RCW 19.28.123 unless the applicant was a licensed electrical contractor at any time during 1974. Applicants who were electrical contractors licensed by the state of Washington at any time during 1974 are entitled to receive a general electrical contractor administrator's certificate without examination if the applicants apply prior to January 1, 1984. The board of electrical examiners shall certify to the department the names of all persons who are entitled to either a general or specialty electrical contractor administrator's certificate.

(5) It is a unlawful for an electrical contractor to transfer an electrical contractor license, issued by the department in accordance with this chapter, to an unlicensed electrical contractor or allow an electrical contractor to perform work with a license issued to another electrical contractor.

Sec. 2. RCW 19.28.350 and 1988 c 81 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:

Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity violating any of the provisions of RCW 19.28.010 through 19.28.360 shall be assessed a penalty of not less than ((~~fifty~~)) one thousand dollars or more than ten thousand dollars. The department shall set by rule a schedule of penalties for violating RCW 19.28.010 through 19.28.360. The department shall notify the person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity violating any of the provisions of RCW 19.28.010 through 19.28.360 of the amount of the penalty and of the specific violation by certified mail, return receipt requested, sent to the last known address of the assessed party. Any penalty is subject to review by an appeal to the board. The filing of an appeal stays the effect of the penalty until the board makes its decision. The appeal shall be filed within fifteen days after notice of the penalty is given to the assessed party by certified mail, return receipt requested, sent to the last known address of the assessed party and shall be made by filing a written notice of appeal with the department. The notice shall be accompanied by a certified check for two hundred dollars, which shall be returned to the assessed party if the decision of the department is not sustained by the board. If the board sustains the decision of the department, the two hundred dollars shall be applied by the department to the payment of the per diem and expenses of the members of the board incurred in the matter, and any balance remaining after payment of per diem and expenses shall be paid into the electrical license fund. The hearing and review procedures shall be conducted in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW. The board shall assign its hearings to an administrative law judge to conduct the hearing and issue a proposed decision and order. The board shall be allowed a minimum of twenty days to review a proposed decision and shall issue its decision no later than the next regularly scheduled board meeting.