BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to telecommunications contractors and installations; adding a new chapter to Title 19 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Backbone cabling systems" means a system that provides interconnections between telecommunications closets, equipment rooms, and entrance facilities in the telecommunications cabling system structure. Backbone cabling consists of the backbone cables, intermediate and main cross-connects, mechanical terminations, and patch cords or jumpers used for backbone to backbone cross-connection. Backbone cabling also includes cabling between buildings.

(2) "Board" means the telecommunications board created in section 5 of this act.

(3) "Department" means the department of labor and industries.

(4) "Director" means the director of the department or the director's designee.

(5) "Horizontal cabling systems" means the portions of the telecommunications cabling system that extends from the work area telecommunications outlet or connector to the telecommunications closet. The horizontal cabling includes the horizontal cables, the telecommunications outlet or connector in the work area, the mechanical termination, and horizontal cross-connections located in the telecommunications closet.

(6) "Network demarcation point" means the point or interconnection between the service provider's communications cabling, terminal equipment, and protective apparatus and the customer's premises telecommunications cabling system. The location of this point for regulated carriers is determined by federal and state regulations. The carrier should be contacted to determine the location policies in effect in the area.

(7) "Scope of work" means the work of a telecommunications contractor. This includes the installation, maintenance, and testing of telecommunications systems, equipment, and associated hardware, pathway systems, and cable management systems, which excludes cable tray and conduit raceway systems. The scope also includes open wiring systems of telecommunications cables, surface nonmetallic raceways designated and used exclusively for telecommunications, optical fiber innerduct raceway, underground raceways designated and used exclusively for telecommunications and installed for additions or extensions to existing telecommunications systems not to exceed fifty feet inside the building, and incidental short sections of circular or surface metal raceway, not to exceed ten feet, for access or protection of telecommunications cabling. A telecommunications contractor may install cable tray and ladder rack in telecommunications service entrance rooms, spaces, or closets.

(8) "Telecommunications administrator" means a person designated by a telecommunications contractor to supervise the installation of telecommunications systems in accordance with rules adopted under this chapter.

(9) "Telecommunications closet" means a room for housing telecommunications equipment, cable terminations, and cross-connect wiring that serve that particular floor. The closet is the recognized transition point between the backbone and horizontal pathway facilities.

(10) "Telecommunications contractor" means a person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity that advertises, offers to undertake, undertakes, submits a bid for, or does the work of installing or maintaining telecommunications systems.

(11) "Telecommunications service entrance room or space" means a room or space used as the building serving facility in which the joining of inter-building and intra-building backbone facilities takes place. The service entrance room may also house electronic equipment serving any telecommunications function.

(12) "Telecommunications systems" means structured cabling systems that begin at the demarcation point between the local service provider and the customer's premises structured cabling system. A structured cabling system is the complete collective configuration of cabling and associated hardware at a given site and installed to perform specific telecommunications functions.

(a) Telecommunications systems encompass all forms of information generation, processing, and transporting of signals conveyed electronically or optically within or between buildings, including voice, data, video, and audio.

(b) Telecommunications systems include structured cabling systems, compatible connecting hardware, telecommunications equipment, premises switching equipment, infrared, fiber optic, radio-frequency, and other limited-energy interconnections associated with telecommunications systems or appliances.

(c) Telecommunications systems do not include horizontal cabling used for fire protection signaling systems, intrusion alarms, access control systems, patient monitoring systems, energy management control systems, industrial and automation control systems, HVAC/refrigeration control systems, lighting control systems, and stand-alone amplified sound or public address systems.

(d) Telecommunications systems may interface with other building signal systems including security, alarms, and energy management at cross-connection junctions within telecommunications closets or at extended points of demarcation. Telecommunications systems do not include the installation or termination of premises line voltage service, feeder, or branch circuit conductors or equipment.

(13) "Telecommunications worker" means a person primarily and regularly engaged in the installation and/or maintenance of telecommunications systems, equipment, and infrastructure as defined in this chapter.

(14) "Workstation" means a building space where the occupant normally interacts with telecommunications equipment. The telecommunications outlet in the work area is the point at which end-user equipment plugs into the building telecommunications utility formed by the pathway, space, and building wiring system.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) All installations of wires and equipment defined as telecommunications systems are subject to the requirements of this chapter. Installations shall be in conformity with approved methods of construction for safety to life and property. The national electrical code, approved standards of the telecommunications industries association, the electronic industries association, the American national standards institute, and other safety standards approved by the department shall be evidence of approved methods of installation.

(2) This chapter may not limit the authority or power of any city or town to enact and enforce under authority given by law in RCW 19.28.360, any ordinance, or rule requiring an equal, higher, or better standard of construction and an equal, higher, or better standard of materials, devices, appliances, and equipment than that required by this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) It is unlawful for any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity to advertise, offer to do work, submit a bid, engage in, conduct, or carry on the business of installing or maintaining telecommunications systems without having a telecommunications contractor license. Electrical contractors licensed as general electrical (01) or specialty electrical (06) contractors under chapter 19.28 RCW and their designated administrators qualify to perform all telecommunications work defined in this chapter. Telecommunications contractors licensed under this chapter are not required to be registered under chapter 18.27 RCW or licensed under chapter 19.28 RCW. All telecommunications licenses expire twenty-four calendar months following the day of their issue. A telecommunications contractor license is not required for persons making telecommunications installations on their own property or for regularly employed employees working on the premises of their employer, unless on a new building intended for rent, sale, or lease.

(2) Application for a telecommunications contractor license shall be made in writing to the department accompanied by the required fee. The applications shall state:

(a) The name and address of the applicant. In the case of firms or partnerships, the applications shall state the names of the individuals composing the firm or partnership. In the case of corporations, the applications shall state the names of the corporation's managing officials;

(b) The location of the place of business of the applicant and the name under which the business is conducted;

(d) Evidence of workers' compensation coverage for the applicant's employees working in Washington, as follows:

(i) The applicant's industrial insurance account number issued by the department;

(ii) The applicant's self-insurer number issued by the department; or

(iii) For applicants domiciled in a state or province of Canada subject to an agreement entered into under RCW 51.12.120(7), as permitted by the agreement, filing a certificate of coverage issued by the agency that administers the workers' compensation law in the applicant's state or province of domicile certifying that the applicant has secured the payment of compensation under the other state's or province's workers' compensation law;

(e) The employment security department number; and

(f) The state excise tax registration number.

(3) The unified business identifier account number may be substituted for the information required by subsection (2)(d), (e), and (f) of this section if the applicant will not employ employees in Washington.

(4) The department may verify the workers' compensation coverage information provided by the applicant under subsection (2)(d) of this section including, but not limited to, information regarding the coverage of an individual employee of the applicant. If coverage is provided under the laws of another state, the department may notify the other state that the applicant is employing employees in Washington.

(5) To obtain a telecommunications contractor license the applicant must designate an individual who currently possesses a telecommunications administrator certificate. To obtain an administrator's certificate an individual must pass an examination as set forth in section 4 of this act. Examination criteria will be determined by the board.

(6) No examination may be required of any applicant for an administrator certificate who was engaged as a bona fide registered or licensed contractor performing telecommunications installations, or of an employee, principle, or officer of a bona fide registered or licensed contractor performing telecommunications installations in the state of Washington on or before the effective date of this act. Applicants qualifying under this section shall be issued an administrator certificate by the department upon making an application and paying the required fee. Individuals must apply before July 1, 2001, to qualify for an administrator certificate without examination under this section. The board shall certify to the department the names of all persons entitled to this administrator certificate.

Prior to July 1, 2001, bona fide registered contractors under chapter 18.27 RCW engaged in the business of installing telecommunications wiring may designate the following number of persons to receive a telecommunications administrator certificate without examination:

(a) One owner or officer of a contractor, registered under chapter 18.27 RCW on or before the effective date of this act, currently engaged in the business of installing telecommunications wiring;

(b) One employee with a minimum of two years experience performing telecommunications installations per registered telecommunication contractor; and

(c) One employee for each one hundred employees, or fraction thereof, with a minimum of two years experience performing telecommunications installations. Individuals must apply on or before July 1, 2001, to qualify for an administrator certificate without examination under this section. The board shall certify to the department the names of all persons entitled to this administrator certificate.

(7) 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 telecommunications account 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 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. In lieu of the surety bond required by this section the applicant may file with the department a cash deposit or other negotiable security acceptable to the department. If the 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.

(8) Any person, firm, or corporation sustaining any damage or injury by reason of the principal's breach of the conditions of the bond required under this section may bring an action against the surety named therein, joining in the action the principal named in the bond; the action shall be brought in the superior court of any county in which the principal on the bond resides or transacts business, or in the county in which the work was performed as a result of which the breach is alleged to have occurred; the action shall be maintained and prosecuted as other civil actions. Claims or actions against the surety on the bond shall be paid in full in the following order of priority: (a) Labor, including employee benefits, (b) materials and equipment used upon such work, (c) taxes and contributions due to the state, (d) damages sustained by any person, firm, or corporation due to the failure of the principal to make the installation in accordance with this chapter, or any ordinance, building code, or regulation applicable thereto. However, the total liability of the surety on any bond may not exceed the sum of four thousand dollars, and the surety on the bond may not be liable for monetary penalties. Any action shall be brought within one year from the completion of the work in the performance of which the breach is alleged to have occurred. The surety shall mail a conformed copy of the judgment against the bond to the department within seven days. In the event that a cash or securities deposit has been made in lieu of the surety bond, and in the event of a judgment being entered against the depositor and deposit, the director shall upon receipt of a certified copy of a final judgment, pay the judgment from the deposit.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Each applicant for a telecommunications contractor license shall designate a supervisory employee or member of the firm to take the administrator's examination. This person shall be designated as administrator under the contractor's license. No person may qualify as administrator for more than one contractor. If the relationship of the administrator with the telecommunications contractor is terminated, the contractor's license is void within ninety days unless another administrator is qualified by the board. However, if the administrator dies, the contractor's license is void within one hundred eighty days unless another administrator is qualified by the board.

(2) A certificate issued under this section is valid for two years from the nearest birthdate of the administrator, unless revoked or suspended, and 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. A person may take the administrator's test as many times as necessary to pass, without limit.

(3) 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 telecommunications work complies with the telecommunication installation laws and rules;

(d) See that corrective notices issued by an inspecting authority are complied with; and

(e) Notify the department in writing within ten days if the administrator terminates the relationship with the telecommunications contractor.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) There is created a telecommunications board, consisting of eight members to be appointed by the governor with the advice of the director as provided in this section.

(2) It is the purpose and function of the board to advise the director on all matters pertaining to the enforcement of this chapter including, but not limited to, standards of installation, minimum inspection procedures, and the adoption of rules pertaining to this chapter. However, no rules may be amended or repealed until the board has had an opportunity to consider any proposed amendments or repeals, and to make recommendations to the director relative thereto.

(3) The members of the board shall be selected and appointed as follows: Two members must be telecommunications workers; two members must be licensed telecommunications contractors; one member must be an employee or officer of a facilities-based telecommunications service provider regulated by the Washington state utilities and transportation commission; one member must be a certified telecommunications administrator who is a registered communications distribution designer; one member must be a manufacturer of telecommunications materials, equipment, or devices; and one nonvoting member must be a building official from an incorporated city or town with an electrical inspection program established under RCW 19.28.360.

(4) The governor shall appoint or reappoint board members for terms of four years, except the governor may appoint the initial members to staggered terms of from one to three years. The governor shall fill vacancies caused by death, resignation, or otherwise for the unexpired term of such members by appointing their successors from the same business classification. The same procedure is followed in making such subsequent appointments as is provided for the original appointments. The board, at this first meeting shall elect one of its members to serve as chair. The department in conjunction with the board shall develop rules to govern board procedure.

(5) Meetings of the board shall be held at least quarterly in accordance with a schedule established by the board. Each member of the board shall receive compensation in accordance with RCW 43.03.240 and shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060. Compensation is paid out of the telecommunications account, on vouchers approved by the director.

(6) The chief electrical inspector serves as staff support and secretary of the board, but may not be a voting member.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The telecommunications account is created in the state treasury. All receipts from license fees, certificate fees, permit fees, or other sources under this chapter must be deposited into the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only for the purpose of this chapter. The director or the director's designee, upon approval by the board, shall issue vouchers for sums necessary to accomplish the intent of this chapter to be paid regularly by the state treasurer. The treasurer shall keep an accurate record of payments into, or receipts of, the account, and of all disbursements therefrom.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) The director, after consulting with the board and receiving the board's approval, shall set a schedule of license fees, work permit fees, and penalty amounts that will cover the costs of administration and enforcement of this chapter. The rules shall be adopted in accordance with the administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW.

(2) The director, after consulting with the board and receiving the board's recommendations, shall adopt reasonable rules in furtherance of safety to life and property. All rules shall be kept on file by the department. Compliance with the rules shall be prima facie evidence of compliance with this chapter. The department, upon request, shall deliver a copy of the rules to all persons, firms, partnerships, corporations, or other entities licensed under this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) The director and the officials of all incorporated cities and towns where electrical inspections are required by local ordinances, allowed by RCW 19.28.360, have the power to enforce this chapter in their jurisdictions.

(2) The director, through the chief electrical inspector and other inspectors appointed under RCW 19.28.070, shall enforce this chapter. Compliance enforcement may be performed by contractor compliance inspectors appointed under chapter 18.27 RCW. The expenses of the director and the salaries and expenses of state inspectors incurred in carrying out the provisions of this chapter shall be paid entirely out of the telecommunications account, on vouchers approved by the director.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. (1) The director shall require permits for and cause an inspector to inspect all installations of telecommunications systems on the customer side of the demarcation line for projects greater than ten outlets. However:

(a) All projects penetrating fire barriers, passing through hazardous locations and all riser backbone installations regardless of size shall be inspected;

(b) All installations in single-family and duplex residences do not require inspections;

(c) No permits or inspections may be required for installation or replacement of cord and plug connected telecommunications equipment or for patch cord and jumper cross-connected equipment.

(2) Upon request, the department shall make the required inspection within forty-eight hours. The forty-eight hour period excludes holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

(3) A written report of the inspection, which plainly and clearly states any corrections or changes required, shall be made by the inspector. A copy of the report shall be furnished to the person or entity doing the installation work, and a copy shall be filed by the department.

(4) Whenever the installation of any telecommunications cabling and associated hardware is not in accordance with this chapter, or is in such a condition as to be dangerous to life or property, the person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity owning, using, or operating it shall be notified by the department and shall within fifteen working days, or such further reasonable time as may upon request be granted, make such repairs and changes as are required to remove the danger to life or property and to make it conform to this chapter. The director, through the inspector, is empowered to disconnect or order the discontinuance of the telecommunications cabling or electrical service to conductors or equipment that are found to be in a dangerous or unsafe condition and not in accordance with this chapter. Upon making a disconnection, the inspector shall attach a notice stating that the conductors have been found dangerous to life or property and are not in accordance with this chapter. It is unlawful for any person to reconnect such defective conductors or equipment without the approval of the department, and until the conductors and equipment have been placed in a safe and secure condition that complies with this chapter.

(5) The director, through the electrical inspector, has the right during reasonable hours to enter into and upon any building or premises in the discharge of his or her official duties related to permitting activities for the purpose of making any inspection or test of the installation of new or altered telecommunications systems contained in or on the buildings or premises. No telecommunications cabling subject to this chapter may be concealed until it has been approved by the inspector making the inspection. At the time of the inspection, wiring or equipment subject to this chapter must be sufficiently accessible to permit the inspector to verify installation conformance with the adopted codes and any other requirements of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) It is unlawful for any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity to install or maintain any telecommunications cabling and associated hardware in violation of this chapter. When the interpretation and application of the installation or maintenance standards provided for in this chapter are in dispute or in doubt, the board shall, upon application of any interested person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity, determine the methods of installation or maintenance of the cabling materials and hardware to be used in the case submitted for its decision.

(2) Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity desiring a decision of the board under this section shall, in writing, notify the director of such desire and shall accompany the notice with a certified check payable to the department in the sum of two hundred dollars. The notice shall specify the ruling or interpretation desired and the contention of the person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity as to the proper interpretation or application on the question on which a decision is desired. If the board determines that the contention of the applicant for a decision was proper, the two hundred dollars shall be returned to the applicant; otherwise it shall be used in paying the expenses and per diem of the members of the board in connection with the matter. Any portion of the two hundred dollars not used in paying the per diem and expenses of the board in the case shall be paid into the telecommunications account.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity violating any of the provisions of this chapter may be assessed a penalty of not less than one hundred dollars or more than ten thousand dollars per violation. The department, after consulting with the board and receiving the board's recommendations, shall set by rule a schedule of penalties for violating this chapter. The department shall notify the person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity violating any of these provisions of the amount of the penalty and of the specific violation. The notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the last known address of the assessed party. Penalties are 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 twenty days after notice of the penalty is given to 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, that 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 telecommunications account. 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.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. (1) The department has the power, in case of serious noncompliance with this chapter, to revoke or suspend for such a period as it determines, any contractor license or administrator certificate issued under this chapter. The department shall notify the holder of the license or certificate of the revocation or suspension. Notice shall be made by certified mail sent to the address of the holder of the license or certificate as shown on the application. A revocation or suspension is effective twenty days after the holder receives notice. Any revocation or suspension is subject to review by an appeal to the board. The filing of an appeal stays the effect of a revocation or suspension until the board makes its decision. The appeal shall be filed within twenty days after notice of the revocation or suspension is given, and shall be effected by filing a written notice of appeal with the department, accompanied by a certified check for two hundred dollars. The certified check shall be returned to the holder of the license or certificate, if the decision of the department is not sustained by the board. The hearing shall be conducted in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW. 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 telecommunications account.

(2) The department shall immediately suspend the license or certificate of a person who has been certified under RCW 74.20A.320 by the department of social and health services as a person who is not in compliance with a support order. If the person has continued to meet all other requirements for reinstatement during the suspension, reissuance of the license or certificate shall be automatic upon the department's receipt of a release issued by the department of social and health services stating that the licensee is in compliance with the order.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Nothing contained in this chapter may be construed to relieve from, or lessen the responsibility or liability of, any person for injury or damage to person or property caused by, or resulting from, any defect of any nature in any telecommunications work performed by the person, or in any telecommunications equipment owned, controlled, installed, operated, or used by him or her. The state of Washington, its officers, agents, or employees may not incur, or be held as assuming any liability by reason of, or in consequence of, any permission, certificate of inspection, inspection, act performed, or approval authorized, issued, or given under this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. Disputes arising under this chapter regarding whether the city or town's telecommunications rules, regulations, or ordinances are equal to the rules adopted by the department shall be resolved by arbitration. The department shall appoint two members of the board to serve on the arbitration panel, and the city or town shall appoint two persons to serve on the arbitration panel. These four persons shall choose a fifth person to serve. If the four persons cannot agree on a fifth person, the presiding judge of the superior court of the county in which the city or town is located shall choose a fifth person. A decision of the arbitration panel may be appealed to the superior court of the county in which the city or town is located within thirty days after the date the panel issues its final decision.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. (1) At the time of licensing and subsequent relicensing, the applicant shall furnish insurance or financial responsibility in the form of an assigned account in the amount of twenty thousand dollars for injury or damages to property, fifty thousand dollars for injury or damage including death to any one person, and one hundred thousand dollars for injury or damage including death to more than one person, or financial responsibility to satisfy these amounts.

(2) Failure to maintain insurance or financial responsibility relative to the contractor's activities is cause to suspend or deny the contractor's license.

(3)(a) Proof of financial responsibility authorized in this section may be given by providing, in the amount required by subsection (1) of this section, an assigned account acceptable to the department. The assigned account shall be held by the department to satisfy any execution on a judgment issued against the contractor for damage to property or injury or death to any person occurring in the contractor's contracting operation, according to the provisions of the assigned account agreement. The department shall have no liability for payment in excess of the amount of the assigned account.

(b) The assigned account filed with the director as proof of financial responsibility shall be canceled three years after:

(i) The contractor's license has expired or been revoked;

(ii) The contractor has furnished proof of insurance as required by subsection (1) of this section; or

(iii) No legal action has been instituted against the contractor or on the account at the end of the three-year period.

(c) If a contractor chooses to file an assigned account as authorized in this section, the contractor shall, on a contracting project, notify each person with whom the contractor enters into a contract or to whom the contractor submits a bid, that the contractor has filed an assigned account in lieu of insurance and that recovery from the account for any claim against the contractor for property damage or personal injury or death occurring on the project requires the claimant to obtain a court judgment.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. Sections 1 through 15 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 19 RCW.