AN ACT Relating to electrical licensing; amending RCW 19.28.070, 19.28.125, 19.28.200, 19.28.550, and 19.28.610; and making an appropriation.

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

Sec. 1. Section 3, chapter 169, Laws of 1935 as last amended by section 4, chapter 156, Laws of 1986 and RCW 19.28.070 are each amended to read as follows:

The director of labor and industries of the state of Washington and the officials of all incorporated cities and towns where electrical inspections are required by local ordinances shall have power and it shall be their duty to enforce the provisions of this chapter in their respective jurisdictions, except that the department retains the option to inspect electrical installations, alterations, or maintenance on property that is owned by the state of Washington. The director of labor and industries shall have power to appoint an electrical inspector, and such assistant inspectors as he shall deem necessary to assist him in the performance of his duties. All electrical inspectors appointed by the director of labor and industries shall have not less than four years experience as journeyman electricians in installing and maintaining electrical equipment, or two years electrical training in a college of electrical engineering of recognized standing and four years continuous practical electrical experience in installation work, or four years of electrical training in a college of electrical engineering of recognized standing and two years continuous practical electrical experience in electrical installation work. Such state inspectors shall be paid such salary as the director of labor and industries shall determine, together with their travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 as now existing or hereafter amended. The expenses of the director of labor and industries and the salaries and expenses of state inspectors incurred in carrying out the provisions of this chapter shall be paid entirely out of the electrical license fund, upon vouchers approved by the director of labor and industries. Each electrical inspector shall satisfactorily complete at least twenty-four hours of continuing education in the electrical construction trade within each three-year period to maintain his or her position as an electrical inspector. Continuing education courses shall be approved by the electrical board or the department.

Sec. 2. Section 4, chapter 188, Laws of 1974 ex. sess. as last amended by section 7, chapter 156, Laws of 1986 and RCW 19.28.125 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 administrator's examination. Effective July 1, 1987, a supervisory employee designated as the administrator shall be a full-time supervisory employee. This person shall be designated as administrator under the license. No person may qualify as administrator for more than one contractor. If the relationship of the administrator with the electrical contractor is terminated, the contractor's license is void within ninety days unless another administrator is qualified by the board of electrical examiners. However, if the administrator dies, the contractor's license is void within one hundred eighty days unless another administrator is qualified by the board of electrical examiners. A certificate issued under this section is valid for ((~~two~~)) at least one year and not more than three years from the nearest birthdate of the administrator, unless revoked or suspended, and further is nontransferable. The certificate may be renewed for a two-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. To be eligible to renew the administrator's certificate, the holder must have satisfactorily completed at least sixteen hours of continuing education in a course in the electrical construction trade that is approved by the board of electrical examiners or the department. An individual holding more than one administrator's certificate under this chapter shall not be required to pay annual fees for more than one certificate. A person may take the administrator's test as many times as necessary without limit.

(2) The 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;

(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 administrator terminates the relationship with the electrical contractor.

(3) The department shall not by rule change the administrator's duties under subsection (2) of this section.

Sec. 3. Section 11, chapter 169, Laws of 1935 as amended by section 15, chapter 30, Laws of 1980 and RCW 19.28.200 are each amended to read as follows:

No license under the provision of this chapter shall be required from any utility because of work in connection with the installation and/or maintenance of lines or wires for transmission of electricity from the source of supply to the point of contact at the premises and/or property to be supplied, or for work in installing or maintaining or repairing on the premises of customers, service connections and meters, and other apparatus or appliances used in the measurement of the consumption of electricity by customers, or for work in connection with the lighting of streets, alleys, ways, or public areas or squares, or for the work of installing, maintaining or repairing wires, apparatus or appliances used in their business, or in making or distributing electricity, upon the property owned or operated and managed by them; or for the work of installing and repairing ignition or lighting systems for motor vehicles, or for the work of maintaining, servicing or replacing lighting fixture ballasts or other appurtenances when such activity is performed while the electrical conductors supplying such fixture are not energized, or as exempted in RCW 19.28.010.

Sec. 4. Section 6, chapter 30, Laws of 1980 as last amended by section 14, chapter 156, Laws of 1986 and RCW 19.28.550 are each amended to read as follows:

The department shall issue a certificate of competency to all applicants who have passed the examination provided in RCW 19.28.540, and who have complied with RCW 19.28.510 through 19.28.620 and the rules adopted under this chapter. The certificate shall bear the date of issuance, and shall expire on the holder's birthdate ((~~two~~)) at least one year and not more than three years immediately following the date of issuance. The certificate shall be renewed every two years, upon application, on or before the holder's birthdate. To be eligible to renew the certificate, the holder must furnish adequate evidence of satisfactorily completing at least sixteen hours of continuing education in the electrical construction trade in a course that has been approved by the board of electrical examiners or the department. A fee shall be assessed for each certificate and for each ((~~annual~~)) renewal. The certificate may be renewed 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. The department shall set the fees by rule for issuance and renewal of a certificate of competency. The fees shall cover but not exceed the costs of issuing the certificates and of administering and enforcing the electrician certification requirements of this chapter.

The certificates of competency and temporary permits provided for in this chapter grant the holder the right to work in the electrical construction trade as a journeyman electrician or specialty electrician in accordance with their provisions throughout the state and within any of its political subdivisions without additional proof of competency or any other license, permit, or fee to engage in such work.

Sec. 5. Section 12, chapter 30, Laws of 1980 as last amended by section 16, chapter 156, Laws of 1986 and RCW 19.28.610 are each amended to read as follows:

Nothing in RCW 19.28.510 through 19.28.620 shall be construed to require that a person obtain a license or a certified electrician in order to do electrical work at his or her residence or farm or place of business or on other property owned by him: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That nothing in RCW 19.28.510 through 19.28.620 shall be intended to derogate from or dispense with the requirements of any valid electrical code enacted by a city or town pursuant to RCW 19.28.010(2), except that no code shall require the holder of a certificate of competency to demonstrate any additional proof of competency or obtain any other license or pay any fee in order to engage in the electrical construction trade: AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That RCW 19.28.510 through 19.28.620 shall not apply to common carriers subject to Part I of the Interstate Commerce Act, nor to their officers and employees: AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That nothing in RCW 19.28.510 through 19.28.620 shall be deemed to apply to the installation or maintenance of telephone, telegraph, radio, or television wires and equipment; nor to any electrical utility or its employees, in the installations and maintenance of electrical wiring, circuits, and equipment by or for the utility, or comprising a part of its plants, lines or systems. The licensing provisions of RCW 19.28.510 through 19.28.620 shall not apply to a person who maintains, services or replaces lighting fixture ballasts or other appurtenances when such activity is performed while the electrical conductors supplying such fixture are not energized. The licensing provisions of RCW 19.28.510 through 19.28.620 shall not apply to persons making electrical installations on their own property or to regularly employed employees working on the premises of their employer((~~: AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That~~)), except that persons employed by and who perform electrical installations, alterations, or maintenance in, on, or about health care, educational, or institutional occupancies, as defined by rule, shall be required to prove their competency by obtaining and keeping in their possession an electrician certificate of competency. Individuals who are employed to perform electrical installations, alterations, or maintenance in, on, or about health care, educational, or institutional occupancies on the effective date of this 1987 act and who furnish satisfactory evidence of having been thus employed for at least five years shall be eligible to apply for the nonresidential specialty electrician certificate of competency. Nothing in RCW 19.28.510 through 19.28.620 shall be construed to restrict the right of any householder to assist or receive assistance from a friend, neighbor, relative or other person when none of the individuals doing the electrical installation hold themselves out as engaged in the trade or business of electrical installations. Nothing precludes any person who is exempt from the licensing requirements of this chapter under this section from obtaining a journeyman or specialty certificate of competency if they otherwise meet the requirements of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. There is appropriated from the electrical license fund to the department of labor and industries for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, the sum of three hundred fifty-eight thousand nine hundred thirty-five dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to carry out the purposes of this act.