1     
ELECTRICIAN LICENSING AMENDMENTS

2     
2015 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Daniel McCay

5     
Senate Sponsor: Todd Weiler

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill modifies the Utah Construction Trades Licensing Act.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This bill:
12          ▸     authorizes a licensed master electrician, residential master electrician, journeyman
13     electrician, residential journeyman electrician, or apprentice electrician to install,
14     repair, or replace an alarm system without being licensed as an alarm business or
15     company, or as an alarm company agent; and
16          ▸     makes technical changes.
17     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
18          None
19     Other Special Clauses:
20          None
21     Utah Code Sections Affected:
22     AMENDS:
23          58-55-305, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapters 430 and 449
24     

25     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
26          Section 1. Section 58-55-305 is amended to read:
27          58-55-305. Exemptions from licensure.

28          (1) In addition to the exemptions from licensure in Section 58-1-307, the following
29     persons may engage in acts or practices included within the practice of construction trades,
30     subject to the stated circumstances and limitations, without being licensed under this chapter:
31          (a) an authorized representative of the United States government or an authorized
32     employee of the state or any of its political subdivisions when working on construction work of
33     the state or the subdivision, and when acting within the terms of the person's trust, office, or
34     employment;
35          (b) a person engaged in construction or operation incidental to the construction and
36     repair of irrigation and drainage ditches of regularly constituted irrigation districts, reclamation
37     districts, and drainage districts or construction and repair relating to farming, dairying,
38     agriculture, livestock or poultry raising, metal and coal mining, quarries, sand and gravel
39     excavations, well drilling, as defined in Section 73-3-25, hauling to and from construction
40     sites, and lumbering;
41          (c) public utilities operating under the rules of the Public Service Commission on work
42     incidental to their own business;
43          (d) sole owners of property engaged in building:
44          (i) no more than one residential structure per year and no more than three residential
45     structures per five years on their property for their own noncommercial, nonpublic use; except,
46     a person other than the property owner or individuals described in Subsection (1)(e), who
47     engages in building the structure must be licensed under this chapter if the person is otherwise
48     required to be licensed under this chapter; or
49          (ii) structures on their property for their own noncommercial, nonpublic use which are
50     incidental to a residential structure on the property, including sheds, carports, or detached
51     garages;
52          (e) (i) a person engaged in construction or renovation of a residential building for
53     noncommercial, nonpublic use if that person:
54          (A) works without compensation other than token compensation that is not considered
55     salary or wages; and
56          (B) works under the direction of the property owner who engages in building the
57     structure; and
58          (ii) as used in this Subsection (1)(e), "token compensation" means compensation paid

59     by a sole owner of property exempted from licensure under Subsection (1)(d) to a person
60     exempted from licensure under this Subsection (1)(e), that is:
61          (A) minimal in value when compared with the fair market value of the services
62     provided by the person;
63          (B) not related to the fair market value of the services provided by the person; and
64          (C) is incidental to the providing of services by the person including paying for or
65     providing meals or refreshment while services are being provided, or paying reasonable
66     transportation costs incurred by the person in travel to the site of construction;
67          (f) a person engaged in the sale or merchandising of personal property that by its design
68     or manufacture may be attached, installed, or otherwise affixed to real property who has
69     contracted with a person, firm, or corporation licensed under this chapter to install, affix, or
70     attach that property;
71          (g) a contractor submitting a bid on a federal aid highway project, if, before
72     undertaking construction under that bid, the contractor is licensed under this chapter;
73          (h) (i) a person engaged in the alteration, repair, remodeling, or addition to or
74     improvement of a building with a contracted or agreed value of less than $3,000, including
75     both labor and materials, and including all changes or additions to the contracted or agreed
76     upon work; and
77          (ii) notwithstanding Subsection (1)(h)(i) and except as otherwise provided in this
78     section:
79          (A) work in the plumbing and electrical trades on a Subsection (1)(h)(i) project within
80     any six month period of time:
81          (I) must be performed by a licensed electrical or plumbing contractor, if the project
82     involves an electrical or plumbing system; and
83          (II) may be performed by a licensed journeyman electrician or plumber or an individual
84     referred to in Subsection (1)(h)(ii)(A)(I), if the project involves a component of the system
85     such as a faucet, toilet, fixture, device, outlet, or electrical switch;
86          (B) installation, repair, or replacement of a residential or commercial gas appliance or a
87     combustion system on a Subsection (1)(h)(i) project must be performed by a person who has
88     received certification under Subsection 58-55-308(2) except as otherwise provided in
89     Subsection 58-55-308(2)(d) or 58-55-308(3);

90          (C) installation, repair, or replacement of water-based fire protection systems on a
91     Subsection (1)(h)(i) project must be performed by a licensed fire suppression systems
92     contractor or a licensed journeyman plumber;
93          (D) work as an alarm business or company or as an alarm company agent shall be
94     performed by a licensed alarm business or company or a licensed alarm company agent, except
95     [as otherwise provided in this chapter] that the installation, repair, or replacement of an alarm
96     system may also be performed by a person licensed under this chapter as a master electrician,
97     residential master electrician, journeyman electrician, residential journeyman electrician, or
98     apprentice electrician;
99          (E) installation, repair, or replacement of an alarm system on a Subsection (1)(h)(i)
100     project must be performed by a licensed alarm business or company [or], a licensed alarm
101     company agent, a licensed master electrician, a licensed residential master electrician, a
102     licensed journeyman electrician, a licensed residential journeyman electrician, or a licensed
103     apprentice electrician;
104          (F) installation, repair, or replacement of a heating, ventilation, or air conditioning
105     system (HVAC) on a Subsection (1)(h)(i) project must be performed by an HVAC contractor
106     licensed by the division;
107          (G) installation, repair, or replacement of a radon mitigation system or a soil
108     depressurization system must be performed by a licensed contractor; and
109          (H) if the total value of the project is greater than $1,000, the person shall file with the
110     division a one-time affirmation, subject to periodic reaffirmation as established by division
111     rule, that the person has:
112          (I) public liability insurance in coverage amounts and form established by division
113     rule; and
114          (II) if applicable, workers compensation insurance which would cover an employee of
115     the person if that employee worked on the construction project;
116          (i) a person practicing a specialty contractor classification or construction trade which
117     the director does not classify by administrative rule as significantly impacting the public's
118     health, safety, and welfare;
119          (j) owners and lessees of property and persons regularly employed for wages by owners
120     or lessees of property or their agents for the purpose of maintaining the property, are exempt

121     from this chapter when doing work upon the property;
122          (k) (i) a person engaged in minor plumbing work that is incidental, as defined by the
123     division by rule, to the replacement or repair of a fixture or an appliance in a residential or
124     small commercial building, or structure used for agricultural use, as defined in Section
125     15A-1-202, provided that no modification is made to:
126          (A) existing culinary water, soil, waste, or vent piping; or
127          (B) a gas appliance or combustion system; and
128          (ii) except as provided in Subsection (1)(e), installation for the first time of a fixture or
129     an appliance is not included in the exemption provided under Subsection (1)(k)(i);
130          (l) a person who ordinarily would be subject to the plumber licensure requirements
131     under this chapter when installing or repairing a water conditioner or other water treatment
132     apparatus if the conditioner or apparatus:
133          (i) meets the appropriate state construction codes or local plumbing standards; and
134          (ii) is installed or repaired under the direction of a person authorized to do the work
135     under an appropriate specialty contractor license;
136          (m) a person who ordinarily would be subject to the electrician licensure requirements
137     under this chapter when employed by:
138          (i) railroad corporations, telephone corporations or their corporate affiliates, elevator
139     contractors or constructors, or street railway systems; or
140          (ii) public service corporations, rural electrification associations, or municipal utilities
141     who generate, distribute, or sell electrical energy for light, heat, or power;
142          (n) a person involved in minor electrical work incidental to a mechanical or service
143     installation, including the outdoor installation of an above-ground, prebuilt hot tub;
144          (o) a person who ordinarily would be subject to the electrician licensure requirements
145     under this chapter but who during calendar years 2009, 2010, or 2011 was issued a specialty
146     contractor license for the electrical work associated with the installation, repair, or maintenance
147     of solar energy panels, may continue the limited electrical work for solar energy panels under a
148     specialty contractor license;
149          (p) a student participating in construction trade education and training programs
150     approved by the commission with the concurrence of the director under the condition that:
151          (i) all work intended as a part of a finished product on which there would normally be

152     an inspection by a building inspector is, in fact, inspected and found acceptable by a licensed
153     building inspector; and
154          (ii) a licensed contractor obtains the necessary building permits;
155          (q) a delivery person when replacing any of the following existing equipment with a
156     new gas appliance, provided there is an existing gas shutoff valve at the appliance:
157          (i) gas range;
158          (ii) gas dryer;
159          (iii) outdoor gas barbeque; or
160          (iv) outdoor gas patio heater;
161          (r) a person performing maintenance on an elevator as defined in Subsection
162     58-55-102(14), if the maintenance is not related to the operating integrity of the elevator; [and]
163          (s) an apprentice or helper of an elevator mechanic licensed under this chapter when
164     working under the general direction of the licensed elevator mechanic[.]; and
165          (t) a person engaged in the installation, repair, or replacement of an alarm system, who
166     would ordinarily be subject to licensure as an alarm business or company or an alarm company
167     agent, if the person is licensed under this chapter as a master electrician, residential master
168     electrician, journeyman electrician, residential journeyman electrician, or apprentice electrician.
169          (2) A compliance agency as defined in Section 15A-1-202 that issues a building permit
170     to a person requesting a permit as a sole owner of property referred to in Subsection (1)(d) shall
171     notify the division, in writing or through electronic transmission, of the issuance of the permit.






Legislative Review Note
     as of 2-20-15 8:44 AM


Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel