BILL REQ. #:  S-3852.1 

Read first time 01/15/2004.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Trade.

     AN ACT Relating to certification of certain specialty electrical administrators and electricians without examination; amending RCW 19.28.061; and reenacting and amending RCW 19.28.191.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 19.28.061 and 2002 c 249 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Each applicant for an electrical contractor's license, other than an individual, shall designate a supervisory employee or member of the firm to take the required master electrician's or administrator's examination. ((Effective July 1, 1987,)) A supervisory employee designated as the electrical contractor's master electrician or administrator shall be a full-time supervisory employee. This person shall be designated as master electrician or administrator under the license. No person may concurrently qualify as master electrician or administrator for more than one contractor. If the relationship of the master electrician or administrator with the electrical contractor is terminated, the contractor's license is void within ninety days unless another master electrician or administrator is qualified by the board. However, if the master electrician or administrator dies or is otherwise incapacitated, the contractor's license is void within one hundred eighty days unless another master electrician or administrator is qualified by the board. The contractor must notify the department in writing within ten days if the master electrician's or administrator's relationship with the contractor terminates due to the master electrician's or administrator's death or incapacitation.
     (2) The department must issue an administrator's certificate to all applicants who have passed the examination as provided in RCW 19.28.051 and this section, and who have complied with the rules adopted under this chapter, or who qualify to obtain an administrator's certificate without examination under subsection (3) of this section. The administrator's certificate must bear the date of issuance, expires on the holder's birthday, and is nontransferable. The certificate must be renewed every three years, upon application, on or before the holder's birthday.
     (a) If the certificate holder demonstrates to the department that he or she has satisfactorily completed an annual eight-hour continuing education course, the certificate may be renewed by appropriate application without examination unless the certificate has been revoked, suspended, or not renewed within ninety days after the expiration date.
     (b) The contents and requirements for satisfactory completion of the continuing education course must be determined by the director and approved by the board.
     (c) The department must accept proof of a certificate holder's satisfactory completion of a continuing education course offered in another state as meeting the requirements for maintaining a current Washington state certificate if the department is satisfied the course is comparable in nature to that required in Washington state for maintaining a current certificate.
     (3) Before December 1, 2004, a person who provides evidence in a form prescribed by the department affirming that he or she has worked in the HVAC/refrigeration specialty for a minimum of eight thousand hours may obtain a HVAC/refrigeration specialty electrical administrator certificate of competency without examination.
     (4) A fee must be assessed for each administrator's certificate and for each renewal. An individual holding more than one administrator's certificate under this chapter is not required to pay fees for more than one certificate. The department must set the fees by rule for issuance and renewal of a certificate. The fees must cover, but not exceed, the costs of issuing the certificates and of administering and enforcing the administrator certification requirements of this chapter.
     (((4))) (5) The department may deny an application for an administrator's certificate for up to two years if the applicant's previous administrator's certificate has been revoked for a serious violation and all appeals concerning the revocation have been exhausted. For the purposes of this section only, a serious violation is a violation that presents imminent danger to the public. The certificate may be renewed for a three-year period without examination by appropriate application unless the certificate has been revoked, suspended, or not renewed within ninety days after the expiration date. If the certificate is not renewed before the expiration date, the individual shall pay twice the usual fee. A person may take the administrator's examination as many times as necessary to pass without limit.
     (((5))) (6) The designated master electrician or administrator shall:
     (a) Be a member of the firm or a supervisory employee and shall be available during working hours to carry out the duties of an administrator under this section;
     (b) Ensure that all electrical work complies with the electrical installation laws and rules of the state;
     (c) Ensure that the proper electrical safety procedures are used;
     (d) Ensure that all electrical labels, permits, and licenses required to perform electrical work are used;
     (e) See that corrective notices issued by an inspecting authority are complied with; and
     (f) Notify the department in writing within ten days if the master electrician or administrator terminates the relationship with the electrical contractor.
     (((6))) (7) The department shall not by rule change the administrator's duties under subsection (((5))) (6) of this section.

Sec. 2   RCW 19.28.191 and 2003 c 399 s 601 and 2003 c 211 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     (1) Upon receipt of the application, the department shall review the application and determine whether the applicant is eligible to take an examination for the master journeyman electrician, journeyman electrician, master specialty electrician, or specialty electrician certificate of competency.
     (a) Before July 1, 2005, an applicant who possesses a valid journeyman electrician certificate of competency in effect for the previous four years and a valid general administrator's certificate may apply for a master journeyman electrician certificate of competency without examination.
     (b) Before July 1, 2005, an applicant who possesses a valid specialty electrician certificate of competency, in the specialty applied for, for the previous two years and a valid specialty administrator's certificate, in the specialty applied for, may apply for a master specialty electrician certificate of competency without examination.
     (c) Before December 1, 2004, a person who provides evidence in a form prescribed by the department affirming that he or she has worked in the HVAC/refrigeration specialty for a minimum of four thousand hours may obtain a HVAC/refrigeration specialty electrician certificate of competency without examination.
     (d) Before December 1, 2003, the following persons may obtain an equipment repair specialty electrician certificate of competency without examination:
     (i) A person who has successfully completed an apprenticeship program approved under chapter 49.04 RCW for the machinist trade; and
     (ii) A person who provides evidence in a form prescribed by the department affirming that: (A) He or she was employed as of April 1, 2003, by a factory-authorized equipment dealer or service company; and (B) he or she has worked in equipment repair for a minimum of four thousand hours.
     (((d))) (e) To be eligible to take the examination for a master journeyman electrician certificate of competency the applicant must have possessed a valid journeyman electrician certificate of competency for four years.
     (((e))) (f) To be eligible to take the examination for a master specialty electrician certificate of competency the applicant must have possessed a valid specialty electrician certificate of competency, in the specialty applied for, for two years.
     (((f))) (g) To be eligible to take the examination for a journeyman certificate of competency the applicant must have:
     (i) Worked in the electrical construction trade for a minimum of eight thousand hours, of which four thousand hours shall be in industrial or commercial electrical installation under the supervision of a master journeyman electrician or journeyman electrician and not more than a total of four thousand hours in all specialties under the supervision of a master journeyman electrician, journeyman electrician, master specialty electrician working in that electrician's specialty, or specialty electrician working in that electrician's specialty. Speciality electricians with less than a four thousand hour work experience requirement cannot credit the time required to obtain that specialty towards qualifying to become a journeyman electrician; or
     (ii) Successfully completed an apprenticeship program approved under chapter 49.04 RCW for the electrical construction trade.
     (((g))) (h) To be eligible to take the examination for a specialty electrician certificate of competency the applicant must have:
     (i) Worked in the residential (as specified in WAC 296-46A-930(2)(a)), pump and irrigation (as specified in WAC 296-46A-930(2)(b)(i)), sign (as specified in WAC 296-46A-930(2)(c)), limited energy (as specified in WAC 296-46A-930(2)(e)(i)), nonresidential maintenance (as specified in WAC 296-46A-930(2)(f)(i)), or other new nonresidential specialties as determined by the department in rule under the supervision of a master journeyman electrician, journeyman electrician, master specialty electrician working in that electrician's specialty, or specialty electrician working in that electrician's specialty for a minimum of four thousand hours; or
     (ii) Worked in the appliance repair specialty as determined by the department in rule, restricted nonresidential maintenance as determined by the department in rule, the equipment repair specialty as determined by the department in rule, or a specialty other than the designated specialties in (((g))) (h)(i) of this subsection for a minimum of the initial ninety days, or longer if set by rule by the department. The restricted nonresidential maintenance specialty is limited to a maximum of 277 volts and 20 amperes for lighting branch circuits and/or a maximum of 250 volts and 60 amperes for other circuits, but excludes the replacement or repair of circuit breakers. The initial period must be spent under one hundred percent supervision of a master journeyman electrician, journeyman electrician, master specialty electrician working in that electrician's specialty, or specialty electrician working in that electrician's specialty. After this initial period, a person may take the specialty examination. If the person passes the examination, the person may work unsupervised for the balance of the minimum hours required for certification. A person may not be certified as a specialty electrician in the appliance repair specialty or in a specialty other than the designated specialities in (((g))) (h)(i) of this subsection, however, until the person has worked a minimum of two thousand hours in that specialty, or longer if set by rule by the department; or
     (iii) Successfully completed an approved apprenticeship program under chapter 49.04 RCW for the applicant's specialty in the electrical construction trade.
     (((h))) (i) Any applicant for a journeyman electrician certificate of competency who has successfully completed a two-year program in the electrical construction trade at public community or technical colleges, or not-for-profit nationally accredited technical or trade schools licensed by the work force training and education coordinating board under chapter 28C.10 RCW may substitute up to two years of the technical or trade school program for two years of work experience under a master journeyman electrician or journeyman electrician. The applicant shall obtain the additional two years of work experience required in industrial or commercial electrical installation prior to the beginning, or after the completion, of the technical school program. Any applicant who has received training in the electrical construction trade in the armed service of the United States may be eligible to apply armed service work experience towards qualification to take the examination for the journeyman electrician certificate of competency.
     (((i))) (j) An applicant for a specialty electrician certificate of competency who, after January 1, 2000, has successfully completed a two-year program in the electrical construction trade at a public community or technical college, or a not-for-profit nationally accredited technical or trade school licensed by the work force training and education coordinating board under chapter 28C.10 RCW, may substitute up to one year of the technical or trade school program for one year of work experience under a master journeyman electrician, journeyman electrician, master specialty electrician working in that electrician's specialty, or specialty electrician working in that electrician's specialty. Any applicant who has received training in the electrical construction trade in the armed services of the United States may be eligible to apply armed service work experience towards qualification to take the examination for an appropriate specialty electrician certificate of competency.
     (((j))) (k) The department must determine whether hours of training and experience in the armed services or school program are in the electrical construction trade and appropriate as a substitute for hours of work experience. The department must use the following criteria for evaluating the equivalence of classroom electrical training programs and work in the electrical construction trade:
     (i) A two-year electrical training program must consist of three thousand or more hours.
     (ii) In a two-year electrical training program, a minimum of two thousand four hundred hours of student/instructor contact time must be technical electrical instruction directly related to the scope of work of the electrical specialty. Student/instructor contact time includes lecture and in-school lab.
     (iii) The department may not allow credit for a program that accepts more than one thousand hours transferred from another school's program.
     (iv) Electrical specialty training school programs of less than two years will have all of the above student/instructor contact time hours proportionately reduced. Such programs may not apply to more than fifty percent of the work experience required to attain certification.
     (v) Electrical training programs of less than two years may not be credited towards qualification for journeyman electrician unless the training program is used to gain qualification for a four thousand hour electrical specialty.
     (((k))) (l) No other requirement for eligibility may be imposed.
     (2) The department shall establish reasonable rules for the examinations to be given applicants for certificates of competency. In establishing the rules, the department shall consult with the board. Upon determination that the applicant is eligible to take the examination, the department shall so notify the applicant, indicating the time and place for taking the examination.
     (3) No noncertified individual may work unsupervised more than one year beyond the date when the trainee would be eligible to test for a certificate of competency if working on a full-time basis after original application for the trainee certificate. For the purposes of this section, full-time basis means two thousand hours.