1 HB384
2 204456-1
3 By Representatives Sorrells, Marques, Isbell, Smith, Brown (C)
4 and Stringer
5 RFD: Boards, Agencies and Commissions
6 First Read: 09-FEB-21
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1 204456-1:n:02/24/2020:KMS/bm LSA2020-449
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8 SYNOPSIS: Under existing law, the Alabama Board of
9 Electrical Contractors is responsible for the
10 licensing and regulation of electrical contractors
11 in the state.
12 This bill would provide for the definition
13 of an electrical worker and a provisional license,
14 and would delete references to master electrician.
15 This bill would provide further for the
16 election of board officers and for the duties of
17 the board, including the subpoena of witnesses, the
18 investigation of complaints, and providing for
19 reciprocity.
20 This bill would provide an individual
21 previously issued a provisional license three years
22 to take the licensure examination, and would
23 require the board to waive the examination fee for
24 one sitting.
25 This bill would lessen the time frame during
26 which an expired license may be restored from five
27 years to two years after expiration.
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1 This bill would also provide further for
2 exemptions and would remove the authority of a
3 county or municipality to require an additional
4 electrical contracting proficiency examination
5 before issuing a local license to perform
6 electrical work within the county or municipality.
7 Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama
8 of 1901, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the
9 Official Recompilation of the Constitution of
10 Alabama of 1901, as amended, prohibits a general
11 law whose purpose or effect would be to require a
12 new or increased expenditure of local funds from
13 becoming effective with regard to a local
14 governmental entity without enactment by a 2/3 vote
15 unless: it comes within one of a number of
16 specified exceptions; it is approved by the
17 affected entity; or the Legislature appropriates
18 funds, or provides a local source of revenue, to
19 the entity for the purpose.
20 The purpose or effect of this bill would be
21 to require a new or increased expenditure of local
22 funds within the meaning of the amendment. However,
23 the bill does not require approval of a local
24 governmental entity or enactment by a 2/3 vote to
25 become effective because it comes within one of the
26 specified exceptions contained in the amendment.
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1 A BILL
2 TO BE ENTITLED
3 AN ACT
4
5 To amend Sections 34-36-3, 34-36-4, 34-36-6,
6 34-36-7, 34-36-8, 34-36-9, 34-36-13, and 34-36-16, Code of
7 Alabama 1975, relating to the Alabama Board of Electrical
8 Contractors; to provide further for definitions, to delete
9 references to master electrician; to provide further for the
10 election of board officers; to provide further for the duties
11 of the board, including the subpoena of witnesses, the
12 investigation of complaints, and providing for reciprocity; to
13 provide an individual previously issued a provisional license
14 three years to take the licensure examination, and require the
15 board to waive the examination fee for one sitting; to lessen
16 the time frame for restoring an expired license from five
17 years to two years; to provide further for exemptions; to
18 remove the authority of a county or municipality to require an
19 additional electrical contracting proficiency examination
20 before issuing a local license to work within the county or
21 municipality; and in connection therewith would have as its
22 purpose or effect the requirement of a new or increased
23 expenditure of local funds within the meaning of Amendment 621
24 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as
25 Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the
26 Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended.
27 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
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1 Section 1. Sections 34-36-3, 34-36-4, 34-36-6,
2 34-36-7, 34-36-8, 34-36-9, 34-36-13, and 34-36-16 of the Code
3 of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
4 "34-36-3.
5 "The following terms shall have the meanings
6 respectively ascribed to them used in this chapter, for the
7 purposes of this chapter, unless the context clearly requires
8 a different meaning:
9 "(1) BOARD. The Alabama Board of Electrical
10 Contractors.
11 "(2) DIRECTOR. The Executive Director of the Alabama
12 Board of Electrical Contractors.
13 "(3) ELECTRICAL CONTRACTING. Any job or project in
14 the State of Alabama wherein the electrical contractor
15 proposes to bid, install, maintain, alter, or repair any
16 electric wiring devices or equipment.
17 "(4) ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR. Any person, firm, or
18 corporation who is engaged in the business of soliciting and
19 installing electrical power or control systems; maintaining,
20 altering, or repairing electrical power or control systems,
21 any electrical wiring devices, equipment, or any other
22 electrical apparatus. A person who possesses the necessary
23 qualifications, training, and technical knowledge to plan, lay
24 out, and supervise the installation of electrical wiring,
25 apparatus, or equipment for lighting, heating, power, or
26 controls and who possesses any of the following
27 qualifications:
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1 "a. Four years of practical experience as a
2 journeyman electrician in charge of jobs.
3 "b. Four years of experience in the design and
4 construction of electrical systems.
5 "(5) ELECTRICAL WORKER. Any person who has received
6 training, or is receiving training, in the installation,
7 maintenance, and repair of electrical systems and circuitry
8 and has demonstrated skills and knowledge concerning the
9 potential hazards of electricity. The position of electrical
10 worker does not require a license from this board. An
11 electrical worker may only perform electrical work in this
12 state if he or she is any of the following:
13 "a. Employed by, and responsible to, a properly
14 licensed electrical contractor.
15 "b. Employed by a company that employs a properly
16 licensed electrical contractor and the electrical worker is
17 responsible to that licensed electrical contractor.
18 "c. Employed by a workforce staffing company that
19 contracts to provide workers to a licensed electrical
20 contractor and responsible to a licensed electrical
21 contractor.
22 "(5)(6) JOURNEYMAN ELECTRICIAN. A person who
23 possesses necessary qualifications, training, and technical
24 knowledge to install electrical wiring, apparatus, or
25 equipment lighting, heating, or power or control covered by
26 this chapter. He or she shall work under a master or state
27 certified an electrical contractor and shall be capable of
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1 doing work according to plans and specifications furnished to
2 him or her and in accordance with standard rules and
3 regulations governing such work.
4 "(6)(7) LICENSE. A valid and current certificate of
5 registration issued by the director on behalf of the board
6 which shall give the named person to whom it is issued
7 authority to engage in the activity prescribed thereon.
8 "(7)(8) LICENSEE. Any person holding a license
9 issued by the board.
10 "(8)(9) PERSON. A human person, not a legal entity.
11 "(10) PROVISIONAL LICENSE. A person who holds a
12 limited license issued by the board before August 31, 2012, to
13 perform electrical contracting tasks and functions only within
14 the boundaries and jurisdiction of the local authority where
15 the licensee holds a local electrical contractor license.
16 "34-36-4.
17 "(a) The Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors is
18 created.
19 "(b) A person to be eligible for appointment to
20 serve on the board shall be a citizen and resident of Alabama.
21 Each person appointed to the board from each congressional
22 district shall be actively engaged in the electrical
23 construction contracting business as a qualified person with
24 electrical construction background of not less than five
25 consecutive years, and shall hold certificates to validate his
26 or her competence as an electrical contractor in the
27 electrical construction field immediately preceding the
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1 appointment. The two persons appointed to the board as
2 at-large members shall be members of the Alabama State
3 Electrical Workers Association. The membership of the board
4 should be inclusive and should reflect the racial, gender,
5 geographic, urban/rural, and economic diversity of the state.
6 "(c) The board shall consist of nine members to be
7 appointed by the Governor. One member shall be appointed from
8 each congressional district, and there shall be two at-large
9 members who shall be appointed from within the state. The
10 board members from the First, Second, and Third Congressional
11 Districts shall be appointed for terms of one year; the board
12 members from the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Congressional
13 Districts shall be appointed for terms of two years; and the
14 board member from the Seventh Congressional District as well
15 as the at-large members shall be appointed for terms of three
16 years. Thereafter, all board members shall be appointed for
17 terms of three years. Each term shall expire on June 30 of the
18 last year of the term, and no member shall serve more than two
19 consecutive three-year terms. Vacancies on the board for any
20 cause shall be filled by appointment by the Governor for the
21 remainder of the unexpired term. Members shall serve until
22 their successors are appointed.
23 "(d) The board shall meet at least semiannually and
24 as often as necessary. The board shall meet annually to elect
25 officers from its membership, whose initial terms shall expire
26 on June 30 next following their election. To be eligible for
27 election as an officer, a board member shall have served for
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1 at least two years on the board at the time of election.
2 Special meetings of the board may be held as the board
3 provides in its rules and regulations. The board shall meet at
4 least once in the first quarter and once in the third quarter
5 of the year. Five members of the board shall constitute a
6 quorum.
7 "(e) The board may adopt rules and regulations to
8 carry out this chapter.
9 "(f) Any member of the board or duly appointed
10 hearing officer designated by the board may administer oaths
11 and take testimony concerning all matters within the
12 jurisdiction of the board.
13 "(g) The board may sue and be sued in its official
14 name. Absent negligence, wantonness, recklessness, or
15 deliberate misconduct, members of the board are immune from
16 liability for all good faith acts performed in the execution
17 of their duties of the board.
18 "(h) The board shall adopt a seal for its use
19 containing the words: Alabama Board of Electrical Contractors'
20 Licensing Board Contractors.
21 "(i) The board may employ, and at its pleasure
22 discharge, an executive director. The board may hire other
23 officers, attorneys, and administrative employees which may be
24 necessary to implement this chapter. The board may employ, on
25 an as needed basis, an investigator investigators to
26 investigate complaints. The board shall not employ electrical
27 inspectors nor provide for any electrical inspections. The
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1 board shall outline the duties and fix the compensation and
2 expense allowances of all employees pursuant to the Merit
3 System Act of Alabama.
4 "(j) The board is subject to the Alabama Sunset Law
5 and is classified as an enumerated agency pursuant to Section
6 41-20-3. The board shall automatically terminate on October 1,
7 2012, and every four years thereafter, unless a bill is
8 enacted that the board be continued, modified, or
9 reestablished.
10 "(k) Each board member shall be accountable to the
11 Governor for the proper performance of his or her duties as a
12 member of the board. The Governor shall investigate any
13 complaints or unfavorable reports concerning the actions of
14 the board and shall take appropriate action thereon, including
15 removal of any board member for misfeasance, malfeasance,
16 neglect of duty, commission of a felony, incompetence, or
17 permanent inability to perform official duties. A board member
18 may be removed at the request of the board after failing to
19 attend three consecutive properly noticed meetings.
20 "34-36-6.
21 "(a) By rule, the board shall make provisions to do
22 all of the following:
23 "(1) Prepare or approve all examinations of
24 applicants for licenses for electrical contractors and
25 journeyman electricians.
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1 "(2) Determine the qualifications of electrical
2 contractors to engage in the business of electrical
3 contracting.
4 "(3) Determine the qualifications of journeyman
5 electricians to engage in electrical work.
6 "(4) Provide for the investigation of written
7 complaints filed with the board concerning alleged violations
8 of this chapter and any rules adopted by the board.
9 "(5) Conduct investigations. The board may subpoena
10 witnesses and command the production of any books, documents,
11 records, and papers the board deems pertinent to any matter
12 under investigation. The board, by order of the chair or
13 executive director, may require any person to produce within
14 the state, at a reasonable time and place as the board may
15 designate, any books, documents, records, or papers kept in
16 any office or place without or within this state, or certified
17 copies thereof, whenever the production is reasonably required
18 and pertinent to any matter under investigation before or by
19 the board, in order that an examination may be made by the
20 board, or by any person employed by the board.
21 "(6) Investigate written complaints relating to
22 faulty, inefficient, unlicensed, or unsafe electrical work
23 likely to endanger life, health, or property.
24 "(7) Provide for reciprocity with other states in
25 the registration and licensing of electrical contractors and
26 journeyman electricians, provided that those other states have
27 requirements substantially equal to or greater than the
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1 requirements of this state for registration and licensure and
2 that a similar privilege is offered to licensees of this
3 board.
4 "(b) The board may suspend, revoke, or refuse to
5 issue or renew a license and impose a civil penalty in an
6 amount not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), after
7 notice and opportunity for a hearing pursuant to the Alabama
8 Administrative Procedure Act, upon proof of any of the
9 following actions by a licensee or applicant:
10 "(1) Violating any provision of this chapter.
11 "(2) Attempting to procure a license to practice
12 electrical contracting or to work as a master electrician an
13 electrical contractor or journeyman electrician by bribery or
14 fraudulent misrepresentations.
15 "(3) Being convicted or found guilty, regardless of
16 adjudication, of a crime in any jurisdiction which directly
17 relates to the practice of electrical contracting, working as
18 a journeyman electrician, or the ability to practice
19 electrical contracting or to work as a master electrician or
20 journeyman electrician.
21 "(4) Making or filing a report or record which the
22 licensee knows to be false, willfully failing to file a report
23 or record required by state or federal law, willfully impeding
24 or obstructing such filing, or inducing another person to
25 impede or obstruct such filing. Such reports or records shall
26 include only those which are signed in the capacity of a
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1 licensed electrical contractor, master electrician, or
2 journeyman electrician.
3 "(5) Being found guilty of fraud or deceit or of
4 negligence, incompetency, or misconduct in the practice of
5 electrical contracting or working as a master electrician an
6 electrical contractor or journeyman electrician.
7 "(6) Practicing on with a revoked, suspended, or
8 inactive license.
9 "(7) Aiding or abetting any person to evade any
10 provision of this chapter.
11 "(8) Knowingly combining or conspiring with any
12 person by allowing one's license to be used by any unlicensed
13 person