BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to the department of transportation and local traffic control and roadway illumination; and amending RCW 19.28.010, 19.28.070, 19.28.200, and 19.28.360.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 19.28.010 and 1993 c 275 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) All wires and equipment, and installations thereof, that convey electric current and installations of equipment to be operated by electric current, in, on, or about buildings or structures, except for telephone, telegraph, radio, and television wires and equipment, and television antenna installations, signal strength amplifiers, and coaxial installations pertaining thereto shall be in strict conformity with this chapter, the statutes of the state of Washington, and the rules issued by the department, and shall be in conformity with approved methods of construction for safety to life and property. All wires and equipment that fall within section 90.2(b)(5) of the National Electrical Code, 1981 edition, are exempt from the requirements of this chapter. The regulations and articles in the National Electrical Code, the national electrical safety code, and other installation and safety regulations approved by the national fire protection association, as modified or supplemented by rules issued by the department in furtherance of safety to life and property under authority hereby granted, shall be prima facie evidence of the approved methods of construction. All materials, devices, appliances, and equipment used in such installations shall be of a type that conforms to applicable standards or be indicated as acceptable by the established standards of any electrical product testing laboratory which is accredited by the department. Industrial control panels, utilization equipment, and their components do not need to be listed, labeled, or otherwise indicated as acceptable by an accredited electrical product testing laboratory unless specifically required by the National Electrical Code, 1993 edition.

(2) Residential buildings or structures moved into or within a county, city, or town are not required to comply with all of the requirements of this chapter, if the original occupancy classification of the building or structure is not changed as a result of the move. This subsection shall not apply to residential buildings or structures that are substantially remodeled or rehabilitated.

(3) This chapter shall not limit the authority or power of the department of transportation, a county, or any city or town to enact and enforce under authority given by law, any ordinance, rule, or regulation 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. The department of transportation, a county, or a city or town shall require that its electrical inspectors meet the qualifications provided for state electrical inspectors in accordance with RCW 19.28.070. ((In)) Within the rights of way of a state highway or county road or within a city or town having an equal, higher, or better standard the installations, materials, devices, appliances, and equipment shall be in accordance with the ordinance, rule, or regulation of the department of transportation, a county, or city or town. Electrical equipment associated with spas, hot tubs, swimming pools, and hydromassage bathtubs shall not be offered for sale or exchange unless the electrical equipment is certified as being in compliance with the applicable product safety standard by bearing the certification mark of an approved electrical products testing laboratory.

(4) Nothing in this chapter may be construed as permitting the connection of any conductor of any electric circuit with a pipe that is connected with or designed to be connected with a waterworks piping system, without the consent of the person or persons legally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the waterworks piping system.

(5) Nothing in this chapter may be construed as restricting the department of transportation, any county, or any city or town from installing, maintaining, repairing, and inspecting traffic control systems and associated roadway illumination systems within their own or each others' road rights of way, subject to the personnel having qualifications set forth in RCW 19.28.070.

Sec. 2. RCW 19.28.070 and 1997 c 309 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

The director of labor and industries of the state of Washington and the officials of all counties or 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. The director of labor and industries shall appoint a chief electrical inspector and may appoint other electrical inspectors as the director deems necessary to assist the director in the performance of the director's duties. The chief electrical inspector, subject to the review of the director, shall be responsible for providing the final interpretation of adopted state electrical standards, rules, and policies for the department and its inspectors, assistant inspectors, electrical plan examiners, and other individuals supervising electrical program personnel. If a dispute arises within the department regarding the interpretation of adopted state electrical standards, rules, or policies, the chief electrical inspector, subject to the review of the director, shall provide the final interpretation of the disputed standard, rule, or policy. All electrical inspectors appointed by the director of labor and industries, by the officials of counties or incorporated cities and towns, or by the secretary of transportation of the state of Washington, shall have not less than: Four years experience as journeyman electricians in the electrical construction trade installing and maintaining electrical wiring and 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; or four years experience as a journeyman electrician performing the duties of an electrical inspector employed by the department of labor and industries, department of transportation, a county, or a city or town with an approved inspection program under RCW 19.28.360, except that for work performed in accordance with the national electrical safety code and covered by this chapter, such inspections may be performed by a person certified as an outside journeyman lineman, under RCW 19.28.610(2), with four years experience or a person with four years experience as a certified outside journeyman lineman performing the duties of an electrical inspector employed by an electrical utility. 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. As a condition of employment, inspectors hired exclusively to perform inspections in accordance with the national electrical safety code must possess and maintain certification as an outside journeyman lineman. 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.

Sec. 3. RCW 19.28.200 and 1998 c 98 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) No license under the provision of this chapter shall be required from any utility or any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity employed by a utility because of work in connection with the installation, repair, or maintenance of lines, wires, apparatus, or equipment owned by or under the control of a utility and used for transmission or distribution of electricity from the source of supply to the point of contact at the premises and/or property to be supplied and service connections and meters and other apparatus or appliances used in the measurement of the consumption of electricity by the customer.

(2) No license under the provisions of this chapter shall be required from any utility because of work in connection with the installation, repair, or maintenance of the following:

(a) Lines, wires, apparatus, or equipment used in the lighting of streets, alleys, ways, or public areas or squares;

(b) Lines, wires, apparatus, or equipment owned by a commercial, industrial, or public institution customer that are an integral part of a transmission or distribution system, either overhead or underground, providing service to such customer and located outside the building or structure: PROVIDED, That a utility does not initiate the sale of services to perform such work;

(c) Lines and wires, together with ancillary apparatus, and equipment, owned by a customer that is an independent power producer who has entered into an agreement for the sale of electricity to a utility and that are used in transmitting electricity from an electrical generating unit located on premises used by such customer to the point of interconnection with the utility's system.

(3) Any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity licensed under RCW 19.28.120 may enter into a contract with a utility for the performance of work under subsection (2) of this section.

(4) No license under the provisions of this chapter shall be required from any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity because of the work of installing and repairing ignition or lighting systems for motor vehicles.

(5) No license under the provisions of this chapter shall be required from any person, firm, partnership, corporation, or other entity because of work in connection with the installation, repair, or maintenance of wires and equipment, and installations thereof, exempted in RCW 19.28.010.

(6) The department may by rule exempt from licensing requirements under this chapter work performed on premanufactured electric power generation equipment assemblies and control gear involving the testing, repair, modification, maintenance, or installation of components internal to the power generation equipment, the control gear, or the transfer switch.

(7) No license under the provision of this chapter is required from the state of Washington department of transportation, any county, city, or town because of work performed within the rights of way of any public highway, road, or street in connection with the installation, repair, or maintenance of lines, wires, apparatus, or equipment owned by or under the control of the department of transportation, any county, city, or town and used for the operation of traffic control or roadway illumination.

Sec. 4. RCW 19.28.360 and 1986 c 156 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:

The provisions of RCW 19.28.210 shall not apply:

(1) Within the corporate limits of any incorporated city or town which has heretofore adopted and enforced or subsequently adopts and enforces an ordinance requiring an equal, higher or better standard of construction and of materials, devices, appliances and equipment than is required by this chapter.

(2) Within the service area of an electricity supply agency owned and operated by a city or town which is supplying electricity and enforcing a standard of construction and materials outside its corporate limits at the time this act takes effect: PROVIDED, That such city, town or agency shall henceforth enforce by inspection within its service area outside its corporate limits the same standards of construction and of materials, devices, appliances and equipment as is enforced by the department of labor and industries under the authority of this chapter: PROVIDED FURTHER, That fees charged henceforth in connection with such enforcement shall not exceed those established in RCW 19.28.210.

(3) Within the rights of way of state highways, provided the state department of transportation maintains and enforces an equal, higher or better standard of construction and of materials, devices, appliances and equipment than is required by RCW 19.28.010 through 19.28.360.

(4) Within the rights of way of county roads, provided the subject county road department maintains and enforces an equal, higher, or better standard of construction and of materials, devices, appliances, and equipment than is required by RCW 19.28.010 through 19.28.360, except that for the inspection of any electrical traffic control device or roadway illumination system, the electrical inspection may be performed by an inspector with a current international municipal signal association traffic signal level 2 certification, or equivalent, and four years' experience in the electrical construction trade installing and maintaining traffic signal and illumination system electrical wiring and equipment.