Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

APPROVED                  CHAPTER
                                                                   MAY 23, 2025                  88
                                                                 BY GOVERNOR               PUBLIC LAW
                                  STATE OF MAINE
                                           _____
                           IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
                        TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
                                           _____
                                   H.P. 364 - L.D. 545
  An Act to Exempt a Person Making Electrical Installations in the Person's
     Existing Bona Fide Personal Abode from Licensing and Permitting
                              Requirements
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
    Sec. 1. 32 MRSA §1102-C, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 198, §6, is amended
to read:
    5. Exceptions to the permitting requirement. In addition to the exception for a
newly constructed single-family dwelling set forth in section 1102‑D, a permit from the
board is not required for:
    A. An electrical installation in a single-family dwelling performed by a licensed
    electrician qualified under this chapter;
    A-1. An electrical installation performed by a person making electrical installations in
    an existing single-family dwelling occupied and owned by that person;
    B. The electrical work and equipment employed in connection with the construction,
    installation, operation, repair or maintenance of any utility by a public utility, or by a
    contractor working on behalf of a public utility as set forth in section 1102, subsection
    1‑C, in rendering its authorized service or in any way incidental thereto;
    C. The electrical work and equipment employed in connection with an aboveground
    electric transmission line described in section 1102, subsection 1‑B;
    D. Minor repair work, including the replacement of lamps, fuses, lighting fixtures,
    switches and sockets, the installation and repair of outlets, radio and other low-voltage
    equipment and the repair of service entrance equipment;
    E. Electrical installations for which a permit and inspection are required by municipal
    resolution or ordinance under Title 30‑A, section 4173;
    F. Any electrical equipment and work, including construction, installation, operation,
    maintenance and repair in or about industrial or manufacturing facilities;
    G. Any electrical equipment and work, including construction, installation, operation,
    maintenance and repair in, on or about other properties, equipment or buildings,
                                    Page 1 - 132LR0632(03)
    residential or of any other kind, owned or operated by a person engaged in industrial
    or manufacturing operations provided that the work is done under the supervision of
    an electrical engineer or master electrician in the employ of that person;
    H. Work performed by any person licensed under chapter 139 as an oil burner
    technician, subject to the restrictions of the license as issued;
    I. Work performed by a person licensed under chapter 139 as a propane and natural
    gas installer, when installing propane and natural gas utilization equipment, subject to
    the restrictions of that person's license;
    J. Work performed by a person licensed under chapter 49 as a plumber, except that
    this exception applies only to disconnection and connection of electrical conductors
    required in the replacement of water pumps and water heaters of the same or smaller
    size in residential properties; or
    K. Work performed by a person licensed under chapter 69‑C as a pump installer,
    except that this exception applies only to disconnection and connection of electrical
    conductors required in the replacement of water pumps of the same or smaller size in
    residential properties and the installation of new water pumps and associated
    equipment of 3 horsepower or smaller.
    Sec. 2. 32 MRSA §1201-A, sub-§11, as amended by PL 2011, c. 691, Pt. A, §34,
is further amended to read:
    11. Wastewater treatment plants. Wastewater treatment plants, as defined in section
4171, and regular employees of wastewater treatment plants making electrical installations
in or about wastewater treatment plants; or
    Sec. 3. 32 MRSA §1201-A, sub-§12, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 691, Pt. A, §35, is
amended to read:
    12. Incidental work. Regular employees of an owner or a lessee of real property
doing incidental electrical work on that property or incidental electrical work by a person
whose occupation involves miscellaneous jobs of manual labor. For purposes of this
subsection, "incidental electrical work'' means minor electrical work, limited to light
fixtures and switches, that occurs by chance and that does not require electrical installation
calculations.; or
    Sec. 4. 32 MRSA §1201-A, sub-§13 is enacted to read:
    13. Personal abode. Notwithstanding the requirements set forth in section 1102-D
for electrical installations in newly constructed single-family dwellings, a person making
electrical installations in an existing single-family dwelling occupied and owned by that
person, as long as the installation conforms with the standards of the National Electrical
Code or other standards approved by the board.
                                    Page 2 - 132LR0632(03)
Statutes affected: 
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 88: 32.1102, 32.1201