BILL REQ. #:  S-4177.1 

Read first time 01/27/2004.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Trade.

     AN ACT Relating to directing the department of labor and industries to develop a plan to transfer the regulation of heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration specialty contractors from the electrical board; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that the heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration industry is sufficiently unique and distinct from the general electrical industry to justify the creation of a separate regulatory structure, governed by its own board. The department of labor and industries is directed to work with representatives of the heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration industry, and other interested parties, to develop a comprehensive plan, including but not limited to all legislative and regulatory changes necessary to create such a structure and board.
     (2) The comprehensive plan must be guided by and include the following:
     (a) Specific equipment must be identified and defined that distinguish the heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration industry from other trades and industries;
     (b) The regulatory scheme may not be a duplicate licensing process, but must establish the training and experience requirements, including but not limited to an examination relating to the identified heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration equipment, to ensure that technicians and businesses performing work on such equipment are qualified to do so in a manner that ensures their safety and the safety of the public;
     (c) The regulatory scheme must require heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration contractors to be subject to the licensing and bonding requirements of chapter 18.27 RCW, but shall exempt from electrical contractor licensing requirements all heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration contractors that meet the requirements to be established under (a) of this subsection, with respect to the identified heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration equipment;
     (d) The regulatory scheme must also include a permitting and inspection component, to apply where local jurisdictions do not have more stringent standards, in order to ensure that appropriate requirements for health and safety are met; and
     (e) A board of heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration must be established with authority to: (i) Develop appropriate rules; (ii) require, receive, and manage fees adequate to finance the regulatory scheme; and (iii) enforce compliance of its rules upon heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration contractors and technicians.
     (3) The department shall submit the plan to the legislature no later than December 31, 2004.