Revision: Jan. 30, 2017, 10:37 a.m.
HB 298 - AS INTRODUCED
2017 SESSION
17-0242
10/04
HOUSE BILL 298
AN ACT relative to the mechanical licensing board.
SPONSORS: Rep. McGuire, Merr. 29
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
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This bill clarifies definitions of persons licensed by the mechanical licensing board, qualifies rulemaking concerning master and apprentice plumbers, requires business entities to show proof of good standing and insurance, and exempts inspectors from license renewal fees.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
17-0242
10/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Seventeen
AN ACT relative to the mechanical licensing board.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Mechanical Licensing; Definitions. Amend RSA 153:27 to read as follows:
153:27 Definitions. In this subdivision:
I. "Board'' means the mechanical licensing board established in RSA 153:27-a.
II. "Domestic appliance technician'' means any person engaged in the installation, servicing, and repair of liquefied propane or natural gas domestic appliances designed specifically for residential use, limited to residential clothes dryers and their venting systems, domestic stove tops, cook stoves and ranges and their venting systems, [or] outdoor cooking equipment, generators utilizing a fixed fuel gas piping system, and pool heaters.
III. "Fuel gas fitter'' means a hearth system installation and service technician, a domestic appliance technician, a fuel gas installation technician, a fuel gas service technician, or a fuel gas piping installer regulated by this subdivision.
IV. "Fuel gas fitting'' means the installation, repair, alteration, service, demolition or removal of pipes, fixtures, fittings, appliances, equipment, or apparatus necessary for supplying natural gas or propane for residential or non-residential use from the point of delivery and all gas piping before connection to the combustion zone and including the applicable venting of flue gases to the outside atmosphere and the provisions for air for combustion and ventilation.
V. "Fuel gas installation technician'' means any person engaged in the installation of inside and outside piping from the outlet of the gas meter or first stage regulator or residential and non-residential fuel gas appliances and equipment, including but not limited to heating equipment systems or water heating systems using liquefied propane gas or natural gas.
VI. "Fuel gas piping installer'' means any person engaged in the installation of liquefied propane gas or natural gas piping or who is a New Hampshire licensed plumber, approved by the board through affidavit, experience, education or training in the use of NFPA 54, national fuel gas code as adopted pursuant to RSA 153:5 in the state fire code.
VII. "Fuel gas service technician'' means any person engaged in the servicing and repair of inside and outside piping from the outlet of the gas meter or first stage regulator or residential and non-residential fuel gas appliances and equipment, including but not limited to heating equipment systems or water heating systems using liquefied propane gas or natural gas.
VIII. "Fuel gas trainee'' means any person engaged in the process of meeting the licensing requirements of this subdivision, who shall work under the direct supervision of a licensed fuel gas fitter in the repair or installation of inside and outside piping from a gas meter or first stage regulator, and the repair or installation of residential and nonresidential fuel gas appliances and equipment, including but not limited to heating equipment systems, hot water heating systems, domestic appliances, or hearth equipment systems utilizing liquefied propane gas or natural gas.
IX. "Hearth system installation and service technician'' means any person engaged in the installation, servicing, and repair of liquefied propane or natural gas hearth appliances and venting systems.
X. "Journeyman plumber'' means any person who customarily performs the work of installing, maintaining, and repairing plumbing and drainage under the direction of a master plumber.
XI. "License'' means any license issued pursuant to this subdivision.
XII. "Master plumber'' means any person, firm, corporation, or limited liability company that, as a business, hires or employs a person or persons to do plumbing work, or, without hiring any person, does that work as a principal business or as auxiliary to a principal business for its own account.
XIII. "Person'' means an individual, natural person.
XIV. "Plumbing'' means the practice, materials, and fixtures used in the installing, maintenance, extension, and alteration of all piping, fixtures, plumbing appliances, and plumbing appurtenances within or adjacent to any structure, in connection with sanitary drainage or storm drainage facilities; venting systems; and public or private water systems which shall include the maintenance, repair, or replacement of existing water well pumps. For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "plumbing'' shall not apply beyond the first fitting beyond the foundation wall of the building or 5 feet of pipe from the building.
XV. "Plumbing apprentice'' means any person who is engaged in learning and assisting in the installation of plumbing and drainage under an apprenticeship program that meets the requirements of the state apprenticeship advisory council established in RSA 278 and the rules of the board.
XVI. "Water treatment system'' means any apparatus for treating or processing water to modify, enhance, or improve its quality or to meet a specific water quality need, desire, or standard, and the pipes, fittings, and other components servicing such apparatus.
XVII. "Water treatment technician'' means any person who installs, maintains, or repairs water treatment systems.
XVIII. "Water treatment trainee'' means any person who is engaged in learning about and assisting in installing, maintaining, or repairing water treatment systems under the direct supervision of a water treatment technician certified under this subdivision.
2 Mechanical Licensing Board; Rulemaking; Education and Experience. Amend RSA 153:28, I(a) (7)-(9) to read as follows:
(7) Master plumber; provided that the standards adopted in rules shall require 2,000 hours of field experience, in addition to the successful completion of the educational requirements adopted by the board which shall include business and industry preparation in order to be a licensed master plumber.
(8) Journeyman plumber.
(9) Apprentice plumber; provided that the standards adopted in rules shall contain a provision for year-one apprentices to test out of subject matter, and that they further permit an apprentice who has no less than 2,000 hours of field experience and can demonstrate successful completion of year 2 curriculum of a course approved and administered by the board to no longer require the direct supervision of a journeyman and/or master plumber for limited duties as permitted in rules of the board.
3 Business Entities License. Amend RSA 153:29-a, I to read as follows:
I. The board may issue a business entity a license without examination or continuing education requirements to corporations, partnerships, or limited liability companies engaged in fuel gas fitting and/or plumbing, provided one or more officers of the corporation, or designee, or one or more members of the partnership, or designee, or one or more managing members of the limited liability company, or designee, hold an active and current license as a fuel gas domestic appliance technician, hearth installation and service technician, or fuel gas service technician or master plumber for the appropriate mechanical business entity license, or any combination thereof, provided that the licensee of record is properly licensed for each of the business entities listed by the applicant under this subdivision. Within 30 days after the death or withdrawal of the licensed person as a corporate officer, or designee, or member of the partnership, or designee, or one or more managing members of the limited liability company, or designee, the licensed person, corporation, partnership, or limited liability company shall give notice thereof to the board and, if no other officer, partner, manager or designee, is licensed as a fuel gas domestic appliance technician, hearth installation and service technician, or fuel gas service technician or master plumber, the corporation, or partnership, or limited liability company shall not act as a fuel gas fitter or plumber until some other officer, member, or designee, has obtained a license as a fuel gas domestic appliance technician, hearth installation and service technician, or fuel gas service technician or master plumber. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the board shall not require a fee for a business entity engaged in fuel gas fitting and/or plumbing where a licensed fuel gas domestic appliance technician, hearth installation and service technician, or fuel gas service technician or master plumber is the sole individual holding the license of the business entity.
4 New Paragraph; Business Entities; Good Standing; Insurance. Amend RSA 153:29-a by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:
VI. All business entities shall provide proof of good standing with the secretary of state and proof of liability insurance prior to issuance and renewal of a business entity license.
5 New Paragraph; License Renewal; Exception. Amend RSA 153:30 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
IV. The board shall not assess a renewal fee for any license required to be maintained by a mechanical inspector appointed under the authority of RSA 153:34; provided that the licensee shall not use his or her licenses for business, profit, or acquiring permits in any local municipality.
6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.