SENATE BILL 409

55th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2021

INTRODUCED BY

Steven P. Neville and Peter Wirth

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO INDUSTRIAL REGULATION; TRANSFERRING AUTHORITY OVER PIPELINES, PIPELINE SAFETY AND EXCAVATION OF UNDERGROUND FACILITIES FROM THE PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION TO THE OIL CONSERVATION DIVISION OF THE ENERGY, MINERALS AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT; AMENDING THE PIPELINE SAFETY ACT AND CHAPTER 62, ARTICLE 14 NMSA 1978; TRANSFERRING FUNCTIONS, PERSONNEL, APPROPRIATIONS, PROPERTY, RECORDS AND CONTRACTS; MAKING CONFORMING AND TECHNICAL CHANGES; AMENDING AND REPEALING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978; RECOMPILING SECTION 8-8-11 NMSA 1978 (BEING LAWS 1998, CHAPTER 108, SECTION 11); AMENDING LAWS 2020, CHAPTER 9, SECTION 59; PROVIDING A JANUARY 1, 2023 EFFECTIVE DATE.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

         SECTION 1. Section 60-13-38 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 199, Section 41, as amended) is amended to read:

         "60-13-38. CERTIFICATES OF COMPETENCE--EXAMINATION--JOURNEYMEN.--

                   A. A person shall not engage in the occupation or trade of journeyman unless [he] the person holds a certificate of competence issued by the division for the occupation or trade in which [he] the person desires to engage.

                   B. The categories for certificates of competence are: journeyman electrician, journeyman plumber, journeyman gas fitter, journeyman pipe fitter, journeyman sheet metal worker, journeyman boiler operator, residential wireman and journeyman welder working on pipelines, collection lines or compressor stations.

                   C. An applicant for a certificate of competence shall be required to take an examination approved and adopted by the division as to [his] knowledge of the orders and rules governing the occupation or trade for which a certificate is sought, and as to [his] technical knowledge and ability pertaining to [his] the particular trade. The examination may be oral, written or demonstrative or any combination thereof, as required by rules of the commission.

                   D. The division shall issue a certificate of competence to [any] a journeyman welder working on pipelines, collection lines or compressor stations who shows evidence of having satisfactorily completed an examination administered by an independent testing organization or public utility employing engineers registered with the state, such examination meeting the minimum pipeline safety standards set by the [public regulation commission] oil conservation division of the energy, minerals and natural resources department.

                   E. Applications for certificates of competence shall be in the form and shall contain [such] the information and attachments as the division prescribes.

                   F. The division shall establish a reasonable fee for [any] an examination or issuance of certificate of competence.

                   G. A person is not eligible to take an examination for a certificate of competence unless [he] the person has had two years' experience in the occupation or trade for which a certificate of competence is sought, or the equivalent thereof as determined by the commission, or has successfully completed a course in the trade approved by the instructional support and vocational education division of the [state department of] public education department.

                   H. Employment of an apprentice working under the direct supervision of a certified journeyman is not prohibited by the Construction Industries Licensing Act.

                   I. A person is eligible to take an examination for a journeyman electrician certificate of competence after at least:

                               (1) four years of accredited training in the electrical trade;

                               (2) four years of apprenticeship in the electrical trade;

                               (3) four years of practical experience in the electrical trade, of which two years are in the commercial trade, industrial trade or the equivalent as determined by the commission; or

                               (4) successfully completing an electrical trade program approved by the instructional support and vocational education division of the [state department of] public education department and two years of practical experience in the commercial electrical trade.

                   J. Continuing education requirements for a journeyman electrician shall include at least sixteen hours of continuing education in every three-year period between national electrical code updates, of which eight hours are code change instructions and eight hours are other industry-related instruction. All continuing education curricula and instructors shall be approved by the commission based on recommendations by the electrical bureau.

                   K. A certificate of competence shall not be renewed until a complete application for renewal has been received by the division. Proof of completion of the continuing education requirements shall be submitted to the division with the application for renewal of certificate of competence. An application for renewal that is not accompanied by proof of completion of the continuing education requirements is incomplete and shall not be processed. The continuing education requirements in this subsection shall only apply to a journeyman electrician with the designation "EE-98J" or "JE98". This does not apply to EE98.

                   L. A person is eligible to take an examination for a residential wireman's certificate of competence after at least:

                               (1) two years of accredited training or apprenticeship in the electrical trade;

                               (2) two years of practical experience in wiring residential dwellings; or

                               (3) successfully completing a course in the trade approved by the instructional support and vocational education division of the [state department of] public education department and one year of practical experience in wiring residential dwellings.

                   M. The provisions of Subsections I and L of this section do not apply to a person who was enrolled as a full-time student before June 20, 2003 in an electrical trade program approved by the instructional support and vocational education division of the [state department of] public education department."

         SECTION 2. Section 62-14-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 252, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

         "62-14-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in Chapter 62, Article 14 NMSA 1978:

                   A. "advance notice" means two working days;

                   B. "blasting" means the use of an explosive to excavate;

                   C. "cable television lines and related facilities" means the facilities of any cable television system or closed-circuit coaxial cable communications system or other similar transmission service used in connection with any cable television system or other similar closed-circuit coaxial cable communications system;

                   D. ["commission" means the public regulation commission] "division" means the oil conservation division of the energy, minerals and natural resources department;

                   E. "emergency excavation" means an excavation that must be performed due to circumstances beyond the excavator's control and that affects public safety, health or welfare;

                   F. "excavate" means the movement or removal of earth using mechanical excavating equipment or blasting and includes augering, backfilling, digging, ditching, drilling, grading, plowing in, pulling in, ripping, scraping, trenching, tunneling and directional boring;

                   G. "excavator" means a person that excavates;

                   H. "master meter system and operators" means a pipeline system that distributes natural gas or liquid propane gas within a public place, such as a mobile home park, housing project, apartment complex, school, university or hospital where the operator of the master meter system purchases gas from a distributor through a single large meter and resells the gas through a gas distribution pipeline system. The resale may occur as a payment included in a rental payment or association dues or as a separately metered system;

                   I. "means of location" means a mark such as a stake, a flag, whiskers or paint that is conspicuous in nature and that is designed to last at least ten working days if not disturbed;

                   J. "mechanical excavating equipment" means all equipment powered by any motor, engine or hydraulic or pneumatic device used for excavating and includes trenchers, bulldozers, backhoes, power shovels, scrapers, draglines, clam shells, augers, drills, cable and pipe plows or other plowing-in or pulling-in equipment;

                   K. "one-call notification system" means a communication system in which an operation center provides telephone services or other reliable means of communication for the purpose of receiving excavation notice and damage reporting information and distributing that information to owners and operators of pipelines and other underground facilities;

                   L. "person" means the legal representative of or an individual, partnership, corporation, joint venture, state, subdivision or instrumentality of the state or an association;

                   M. "pipeline" means a pipeline or system of pipelines and appurtenances for the transportation or movement of any oil or gas, or oil or gas products and their byproducts subject to the jurisdiction of federal law or regulation, with the exception of master meter systems and operators;

                   N. "positive response" means a response, within the advance notice period, initiated by owners or operators of pipelines and underground facilities by reliable means of communication, to the one-call notification system's positive response registry system. A positive response allows the excavator to verify whether all affected pipeline and underground facility owners or operators have marked their underground facilities pursuant to Section 62-14-5 NMSA 1978 prior to commuting to the excavation site and commencing excavation;

                   O. "reasonable efforts" means notifying the appropriate one-call notification center or underground facility owner or operator of planned excavation;

                   P. "underground facility" means any tangible property described in Subsections C, M and Q of this section that is underground, but does not include residential sprinklers or low-voltage lighting; and

                   Q. "underground utility line" means an underground conduit or cable, including fiber optics, and related facilities for transportation and delivery of electricity, telephonic or telegraphic communications or water, sewer and fire protection lines, with the exception of master meter systems and operators."

         SECTION 3. Section 62-14-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1973, Chapter 252, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

         "62-14-3. EXCAVATION.--A person who prepares engineering plans for excavation or who engages in excavation shall:

                   A. determine the location of any underground facility in or near the area where the excavation is to be conducted, including a request to the owner or operator of the underground facility to locate the underground facility pursuant to Section 62-14-5 NMSA 1978;

                   B. plan the excavation to avoid or minimize interference or damage to underground facilities in or near the excavation area;

                   C. provide telephonic advance notice of the commencement, extent and duration of the excavation work to the one-call notification system operating in the intended excavation area, and to the owners or operators of any existing underground facility in and near the excavation area that are not members of the local one-call notification center, in order to allow the owners to locate and mark the location of the underground facility as described in Section 62-14-5 NMSA 1978 prior to the commencement of work in the excavation area, and shall request reaffirmation of line location every ten working days after the initial request to locate;

                   D. prior to initial exposure of the underground facility, maintain at least an estimated clearance of eighteen inches between existing underground facilities for which the owners or operators have previously identified the location and the cutting edge or point of any mechanical excavating equipment utilized in the excavation and continue excavation in a manner necessary to prevent damage;

                   E. provide such support for existing underground facilities in or near the excavation area necessary to prevent damage to them;

                   F. backfill all excavations in a manner and with materials as may be necessary to prevent damage to and provide reliable support during and following backfilling activities for preexisting underground facilities in or near the excavation area;

                   G. immediately notify the one-call notification system operating in the area in the form and format required by the [commission] division and by telephone the owner of any underground facilities that may have been damaged or dislocated during the excavation work; and

                   H. not move or obliterate markings made pursuant to Chapter 62, Article 14 NMSA 1978 or fabricate markings in an unmarked location for the purpose of concealing or avoiding liability for a violation of or noncompliance with the provisions of Chapter 62, Article 14 NMSA 1978."

         SECTION 4. Section 62-14-4 NMSA 19