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Missouri Senate Bill SB31

Missouri 2025 Regular Session

Missouri Senate Bill SB31 Compare Versions

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22 FIRST REGULAR SESSION
33 SENATE BILL NO. 31
44 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
55 INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BECK.
66 0378S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
77 AN ACT
88 To amend chapter 324, RSMo, by adding thereto nine new sections relating to statewide
99 mechanical contractor licenses, with penalty provisions.
1010
1111 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
1212 Section A. Chapter 324, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto 1
1313 nine new sections, to be known as sections 324.950, 324.953, 2
1414 324.956, 324.959, 324.962, 324.965, 324.968, 324.971, and 3
1515 324.974, to read as follows:4
1616 324.950. 1. The provisions of sections 324.950 to 1
1717 324.974 shall be known and may be cited as the "Missouri 2
1818 Statewide Mechanical Contractor Licensing Act" and shall not 3
1919 be affected by the provisions of section 324.009. The 4
2020 provisions of sections 324.950 to 324.974 shall not be 5
2121 construed to affect the provisions of chapter 341. 6
2222 2. As used in sections 324.950 to 324.974, unless the 7
2323 context clearly indicates otherwise, the following terms 8
2424 shall mean: 9
2525 (1) "Apprentice", a person who holds a valid statewide 10
2626 mechanical apprentice license to perform mechanica l work 11
2727 for, and under the direct supervision of, a journeyman; 12
2828 (2) "Contractor", a person who holds a valid statewide 13
2929 mechanical contractor license and who is employed by a 14
3030 corporation, firm, institution, organization, or company to 15
3131 perform mechanical work and directly supervise the 16
3232 performance of mechanical work by journeymen; 17 SB 31 2
3333 (3) "Division", the division of professional 18
3434 registration within the department of commerce and insurance; 19
3535 (4) "Journeyman", a person who holds a valid statew ide 20
3636 mechanical journeyman license to perform mechanical work 21
3737 for, and under the supervision of and inspection of, a 22
3838 contractor, and to supervise and inspect the mechanical work 23
3939 of an apprentice; 24
4040 (5) "Local license", a license issued by a politica l 25
4141 subdivision and valid only in that political subdivision 26
4242 that is required to bid, accept, or perform mechanical work; 27
4343 (6) "Mechanical work", work per the International Code 28
4444 Council, International Association of Plumbing and 29
4545 Mechanical Officials , 30 CSR 20, or the National Fire 30
4646 Protection Association (NFPA) 99. 31
4747 (a) The term "mechanical work" shall include the 32
4848 design, installation, maintenance, construction, alteration, 33
4949 repair, and inspection of any: 34
5050 a. HVAC system and associated ap purtenances; 35
5151 b. HVAC duct system and associated appurtenances; 36
5252 c. Exhaust systems and associated appurtenances; 37
5353 d. Combustion air or make up air and associated 38
5454 appurtenances; 39
5555 e. Chimneys and vents and associated appurtenances, 40
5656 excluding those regulated by local ordinances as such 41
5757 existed on April 18, 2023; 42
5858 f. Hydronic piping systems and associated 43
5959 appurtenances that are part of an HVAC system; 44
6060 g. Boilers, water heaters that are one hundred twenty 45
6161 gallons and above, o r two hundred thousand British thermal 46
6262 units (BTUs) and above, and pressure vessels and associated 47
6363 appurtenances, excluding those covered by a nationally 48
6464 standardized plumbing code, those regulated by local 49 SB 31 3
6565 ordinances as such existed on April 18, 2023, or those used 50
6666 for potable water systems; 51
6767 h. Process piping systems and associated appurtenances; 52
6868 i. Fuel gas distribution piping and associated 53
6969 appurtenances, excluding those regulated by local ordinances 54
7070 as such existed on April 18, 2023; 55
7171 j. Fuel oil-fired and solid fuel appliances and 56
7272 associated appurtenances, excluding those covered by a 57
7373 nationally standardized plumbing code or local ordinances 58
7474 promulgated by a political subdivision of this state as such 59
7575 ordinances existed on Ap ril 18, 2023; 60
7676 k. Fuel oil piping and storage vessels and associated 61
7777 appurtenances; 62
7878 l. Fuel oil-fired and solid fuel appliance venting 63
7979 systems and associated appurtenances; 64
8080 m. Equipment and appliances intended to utilize solar 65
8181 energy for space heating or cooling together with associated 66
8282 appurtenances; 67
8383 n. Process heating and associated appurtenances; 68
8484 o. Refrigeration systems, including all equipment and 69
8585 components thereof and associated appurtenances; 70
8686 p. Nonmedical air, nonmedical oxygen, and nonmedical 71
8787 vacuum piping for mechanical equipment and associated 72
8888 appurtenances, excluding work covered by a nationally 73
8989 standardized plumbing code; 74
9090 q. Liquefied petroleum gas distribution piping and 75
9191 associated appurtenance s, excluding work covered by a 76
9292 nationally standardized plumbing code or local ordinances as 77
9393 such ordinances existed on April 18, 2023; 78
9494 r. Biogas, biodiesel, hydrogen processing systems, and 79
9595 ethanol distribution and associated appurtenances; 80 SB 31 4
9696 s. Chillers, cooling towers, and associated support 81
9797 steel and appurtenances for cooling towers; 82
9898 t. Petroleum piping and venting together with 83
9999 associated equipment and associated appurtenances, pumps, 84
100100 and tanks governed by NFPA 30 and 30a; 85
101101 u. All fuel and petroleum pipelines, piping, and 86
102102 associated pumping stations with associated equipment and 87
103103 appurtenances; and 88
104104 v. All associated equipment and facilities related to 89
105105 subparagraphs a. to u. of this paragraph. 90
106106 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision 91
107107 to the contrary, the term "mechanical work" shall not 92
108108 include, and the provisions of sections 324.950 to 324.974 93
109109 shall not apply to, the design, installation, maintenance, 94
110110 construction, alteration, repair, or inspectio n of any: 95
111111 a. Solid-fuel or gas-fueled hearth appliance, 96
112112 including, but not limited to, wood stoves and fireplaces, 97
113113 manufacturer-specified venting systems, fireplace chimneys, 98
114114 outdoor cooking appliances with manufacturer -specified 99
115115 venting systems, outdoor fireplaces, or outdoor fire pits; 100
116116 b. Propane-related equipment for which certification 101
117117 is required by any regulation adopted under subdivision (3) 102
118118 of subsection 13 of section 323.035; or 103
119119 c. Fire sprinkler or suppression systems. 104
120120 Additional certification may be required by the division for 105
121121 a particular scope of mechanical work; 106
122122 (7) "Residential work", service -related and 107
123123 replacement-related mechanical work in an existing domicile 108
124124 for or on behalf of the individual owners or re nters 109
125125 occupying: 110
126126 (a) Single-family houses; 111 SB 31 5
127127 (b) An individual dwelling unit in a duplex, triplex, 112
128128 or fourplex; or 113
129129 (c) An individual dwelling unit in an apartment 114
130130 building containing five or more apartments. 115
131131 The term "residential work" s hall not include new 116
132132 construction or work required for a building or structure as 117
133133 a whole that services more than one dwelling unit; 118
134134 (8) "Statewide mechanical apprentice license", a valid 119
135135 license issued by the division to an apprentice to 120
136136 physically perform mechanical work under the direct 121
137137 supervision and inspection of a journeyman; 122
138138 (9) "Statewide mechanical contractor license", a valid 123
139139 license issued by the division to a contractor to bid and 124
140140 accept mechanical work in any political subdi vision 125
141141 regardless of local requirements to bid and accept 126
142142 mechanical work, to physically perform mechanical work, and 127
143143 to directly supervise and inspect the mechanical work of a 128
144144 journeyman; 129
145145 (10) "Statewide mechanical journeyman license", a 130
146146 valid license issued by the division to a journeyman to 131
147147 physically perform mechanical work under the supervision and 132
148148 inspection of a contractor and to directly supervise and 133
149149 inspect the mechanical work of an apprentice. 134
150150 324.953. 1. The division shall adopt, implement, 1
151151 rescind, amend, and administer such rules as may be 2
152152 necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 324.950 to 3
153153 324.974, including but not limited to, the following: 4
154154 (1) Training, education, and experience requireme nts 5
155155 for licensure under sections 324.950 to 324.974; 6
156156 (2) Application forms and fees; 7 SB 31 6
157157 (3) Professional education units for license renewal 8
158158 and approval of professional education programs; 9
159159 (4) Renewal dates, notifications of renewal, and 10
160160 renewal applications and fees; 11
161161 (5) Inactive licenses and reinstatement procedures; and 12
162162 (6) Professional conduct and ethical standards of 13
163163 business practice for licensees. 14
164164 Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in 15
165165 section 536.010, that is created under the authority 16
166166 delegated in this section shall become effective only if it 17
167167 complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of 18
168168 chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This 19
169169 section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the 20
170170 powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 21
171171 536 to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove 22
172172 and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, 23
173173 then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule pro posed 24
174174 or adopted after August 28, 2025, shall be invalid and void. 25
175175 2. For the purpose of sections 324.950 to 324.974, the 26
176176 division shall: 27
177177 (1) Employ, within the limits of the appropriations 28
178178 for such purpose, employees as are necessary to car ry out 29
179179 the provisions of sections 324.950 to 324.974; 30
180180 (2) Exercise all administrative functions; 31
181181 (3) Establish all applicable fees, set at an amount 32
182182 that shall not substantially exceed the cost of 33
183183 administering sections 324.950 to 324.974; 34
184184 (4) Deposit all fees collected by transmitting such 35
185185 funds to the department of revenue for deposit to the state 36
186186 treasury to the credit of the Missouri mechanical contractor 37
187187 licensing fund established under section 324.956; 38 SB 31 7
188188 (5) Enter into agreements with the boiler and pressure 39
189189 vessel safety unit within the division of fire safety of the 40
190190 department of public safety to investigate complaints 41
191191 against a licensee from persons who receive services from 42
192192 the licensee and for the submission of a r eport to the 43
193193 division of such investigation; provided that the division 44
194194 shall retain the authority to institute any enforcement 45
195195 action against a licensee as a result of an investigation 46
196196 under this subdivision. Nothing in this subdivision shall 47
197197 be construed to prevent the boiler and pressure vessel 48
198198 safety unit from reporting a violation of sections 324.950 49
199199 to 324.974 found during a routine inspection to the 50
200200 division; and 51
201201 (6) Institute actions to enforce compliance with the 52
202202 provisions of sections 324.950 to 324.974. 53
203203 3. No new licensing activity assigned to the division 54
204204 under sections 324.950 to 324.974 shall become effective 55
205205 until the initial rules filed under this section have become 56
206206 effective. 57
207207 324.956. There is hereby created in the state treasury 1
208208 the "Missouri Mechanical Contractor Licensing Fund", which 2
209209 shall consist of moneys collected under sections 324.950 to 3
210210 324.974. The state treasurer shall be custodian of the fund 4
211211 and may approve disbursements from th e fund in accordance 5
212212 with sections 30.170 and 30.180. Upon appropriation, moneys 6
213213 in the fund shall be used solely for the administration of 7
214214 sections 324.950 to 324.974. The provisions of section 8
215215 33.080 to the contrary notwithstanding, moneys in this fund 9
216216 shall not be transferred and placed to the credit of general 10
217217 revenue until the amount in the fund at the end of the 11
218218 biennium exceeds three times the amount of the appropriation 12
219219 from the fund for the preceding fiscal year. The amount, if 13 SB 31 8
220220 any, in the fund which shall lapse is that amount in the 14
221221 fund which exceeds the appropriate multiple of the 15
222222 appropriations from the fund for the preceding fiscal year. 16
223223 The state treasurer shall invest moneys in the fund in the 17
224224 same manner as other funds are i nvested. Any interest and 18
225225 moneys earned on such investments shall be credited to the 19
226226 fund. 20
227227 324.959. The provisions of sections 324.950 to 324.974 1
228228 shall not apply to mechanical work, including residential 2
229229 work, performed in any coun ty with more than two hundred 3
230230 sixty thousand but fewer than three hundred thousand 4
231231 inhabitants, any county with more than fifty thousand but 5
232232 fewer than sixty thousand inhabitants and with a county seat 6
233233 with more than ten thousand but fewer than twelve thousand 7
234234 six hundred inhabitants, or any county with more than one 8
235235 hundred twenty thousand but fewer than one hundred fifty 9
236236 thousand inhabitants, or any political subdivision contained 10
237237 within such counties. 11
238238 324.962. 1. The applicant for a statewide mechanical 1
239239 contractor license shall have: 2
240240 (1) Completed the application form provided by the 3
241241 division and pay any applicable application fees; 4
242242 (2) Provided proof of liability insurance in the 5
243243 amount of one million dollars a nd posted bond with each 6
244244 political subdivision in which he or she will perform work, 7
245245 as required by that political subdivision; and 8
246246 (3) Completed the educational, training, and 9
247247 experience requirements equal to or greater than that of a 10
248248 contractor's license, as such existed on April 18, 2023, in 11
249249 the mechanical code or ordinance of any county with more 12
250250 than one million inhabitants. 13 SB 31 9
251251 2. The applicant for a statewide mechanical journeyman 14
252252 license shall have: 15
253253 (1) Completed the application form provided by the 16
254254 division and pay any applicable application fees; and 17
255255 (2) Completed the educational, training, and 18
256256 experience requirements equal to or greater than that of a 19
257257 journeyman license, as such existed on April 18, 2023, in 20
258258 the mechanical code or ordinance of any county with more 21
259259 than one million inhabitants. 22
260260 3. The applicant for a statewide mechanical apprentice 23
261261 license shall have: 24
262262 (1) Completed the application form provided by the 25
263263 division and pay any applicable appl ication fees; and 26
264264 (2) Completed the educational, training, and 27
265265 experience requirements equal to or greater than that of an 28
266266 apprentice license, as such existed on April 18, 2023, in 29
267267 the mechanical code or ordinance of any county with more 30
268268 than one million inhabitants. 31
269269 324.965. 1. Any corporation, firm, institution, 1
270270 organization, company, or representative thereof engaging in 2
271271 mechanical work in a political subdivision that requires a 3
272272 local license in order to perform such wor k shall: 4
273273 (1) Have in its employ, at a supervisory level, at 5
274274 least one statewide mechanical contractor licensee, or an 6
275275 equivalent local licensee. A statewide mechanical 7
276276 contractor licensee shall represent only one firm, company, 8
277277 corporation, institution, or organization at one time; 9
278278 (2) For purposes of performing residential work, have 10
279279 either a statewide mechanical contractor licensee or a 11
280280 statewide mechanical journeyman licensee to perform, direct, 12
281281 inspect, or supervise the work, or the equivalent local 13
282282 licensee; and 14 SB 31 10
283283 (3) For all other mechanical work, have at least one 15
284284 statewide mechanical journeyman licensee on site for every 16
285285 statewide mechanical apprentice licensee performing the 17
286286 work, or the equivalent local licensee. 18
287287 2. Any person performing mechanical work in a 19
288288 political subdivision that does not require the person to 20
289289 hold a local license, or any person who possesses such local 21
290290 license, shall not be required to obtain or possess a 22
291291 statewide license under sections 3 24.950 to 324.974 to 23
292292 perform mechanical work in such political subdivision. 24
293293 3. (1) Political subdivisions shall not be prohibited 25
294294 from establishing their own mechanical contractor, 26
295295 journeyman, or apprentice licenses, but shall recognize a 27
296296 statewide license in lieu of the equivalent local license 28
297297 for the purpose of performing mechanical work in such 29
298298 political subdivision. A statewide licensee under sections 30
299299 324.950 to 324.974 shall be deemed eligible to perform 31
300300 mechanical work and to obtain p ermits to perform said work 32
301301 from any political subdivision in this state commensurate 33
302302 with the corresponding local license. 34
303303 (2) Nothing in sections 324.950 to 324.974 shall be 35
304304 construed to prohibit a political subdivision from enforcing 36
305305 any of the political subdivision's codes, ordinances, or 37
306306 laws; inspecting the work of licensees; or reporting 38
307307 suspected violations of sections 324.950 to 324.974 to the 39
308308 division for investigation of the licensee. 40
309309 4. (1) If a political subdivision does not recognize 41
310310 a statewide license in lieu of an equivalent local license 42
311311 for the purposes of performing mechanical work or obtaining 43
312312 permits to perform mechanical work within the political 44
313313 subdivision, then a statewide licensee may file a complaint 45
314314 with the division. 46 SB 31 11
315315 (2) The division shall perform an investigation into 47
316316 the complaint, and if the division finds that the political 48
317317 subdivision failed to recognize a statewide license in 49
318318 accordance with the provisions of this section, then the 50
319319 division shall notify the political subdivision that the 51
320320 political subdivision has violated the provisions of this 52
321321 section and has thirty days to comply with the law. 53
322322 (3) If, after thirty days of notification by the 54
323323 division, the political subdivision co ntinues to refuse or 55
324324 fail to recognize a statewide license, then the division 56
325325 shall notify the director of the department of revenue, who 57
326326 shall withhold any moneys that the noncompliant political 58
327327 subdivision would otherwise be entitled to from local sa les 59
328328 tax, as defined in section 32.085, until the director has 60
329329 received notice from the division that the political 61
330330 subdivision is in compliance with this section. 62
331331 (4) When the political subdivision becomes compliant 63
332332 with the provisions of this se ction, the division shall 64
333333 notify the director of the department of revenue who shall 65
334334 disburse all funds held under this subsection. Moneys held 66
335335 by the director of the department of revenue under this 67
336336 subsection shall not be deemed to be state funds an d shall 68
337337 not be commingled with any funds of the state. 69
338338 324.968. Licenses issued under sections 324.950 to 1
339339 324.974 shall expire on a renewal date established in rule 2
340340 by the division. The term of licensure shall be three 3
341341 years. The division shall mail a renewal notice prior to 4
342342 the renewal date. Professional education units needed for 5
343343 license renewal, as well as procedures involving inactive 6
344344 licenses and reinstatement of licenses shall be equal to 7
345345 those in the mechanical code or ordinance, as such existed 8 SB 31 12
346346 on April 18, 2023, of any county with more than one million 9
347347 inhabitants. 10
348348 324.971. 1. The division may refuse to issue or renew 1
349349 or may suspend any license under sections 324.950 to 324.974 2
350350 for one or any combination of causes stated in subsection 3 3
351351 of this section. The division shall notify the applicant in 4
352352 writing of the reasons for the refusal and shall advise the 5
353353 applicant of his or her right to file a complaint with the 6
354354 administrative hearing commi ssion as provided by chapter 621. 7
355355 2. The division shall publish via electronic media and 8
356356 update on a weekly basis a list of valid statewide 9
357357 mechanical contractor licensees under sections 324.950 to 10
358358 324.974, a list of current enforcement actions ag ainst such 11
359359 licensees, and the procedures for filing grievances against 12
360360 any statewide mechanical contractor, mechanical journeyman, 13
361361 and mechanical apprentice licensees. 14
362362 3. The division may cause a complaint to be filed with 15
363363 the administrative hear ing commission as provided by chapter 16
364364 621 against any licensee under sections 324.950 to 324.974 17
365365 or any person who has failed to renew or has surrendered his 18
366366 or her license for any one or any combination of the 19
367367 following causes: 20
368368 (1) The final adjudication and finding of guilty, or 21
369369 the entering of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, in a 22
370370 criminal prosecution under the laws of any state, of the 23
371371 United States, or of any country, for any offense reasonably 24
372372 related to the qualifications, duties, a nd responsibilities 25
373373 of a licensee under sections 324.950 to 324.974 for any 26
374374 offense an essential element of which is fraud, dishonesty, 27
375375 or an act of violence; 28
376376 (2) Use of fraud, deception, misrepresentation, or 29
377377 bribery in securing any license issu ed under sections 30 SB 31 13
378378 324.950 to 324.974 or in obtaining permission to take any 31
379379 examination given or required under sections 324.950 to 32
380380 324.974; 33
381381 (3) Obtaining or attempting to obtain any fee, charge, 34
382382 tuition, or other compensation by fraud, deception , or 35
383383 misrepresentation; 36
384384 (4) Incompetence, misconduct, gross negligence, fraud, 37
385385 misrepresentation, or dishonesty in the performance of the 38
386386 functions and duties of any profession licensed or regulated 39
387387 under sections 324.950 to 324.974; 40
388388 (5) Violation of, or assisting or enabling any person 41
389389 to violate, any provision of sections 324.950 to 324.974 or 42
390390 any lawful rule adopted under sections 324.950 to 324.974; 43
391391 (6) Impersonation of any person holding a license or 44
392392 allowing any person to use his or her license; 45
393393 (7) Final adjudication of a person as incompetent by a 46
394394 court of competent jurisdiction; 47
395395 (8) Assisting or enabling any person to practice, or 48
396396 offer to practice, any profession licensed or regulated 49
397397 under sections 324.950 t o 324.974 who is not licensed and 50
398398 currently eligible to practice under sections 324.950 to 51
399399 324.974 or who does not possess an active equivalent local 52
400400 license if required by a political subdivision; or 53
401401 (9) Issuance of a license based upon a materia l 54
402402 mistake of fact. 55
403403 4. After the filing of such complaint, the proceedings 56
404404 shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of 57
405405 chapter 621. Upon a finding by the administrative hearing 58
406406 commission that the grounds provided in subsection 3 of t his 59
407407 section for disciplinary action are met, the division may, 60
408408 singly or in combination, censure or place the person named 61
409409 in the complaint on probation with such terms and conditions 62 SB 31 14
410410 as the division deems appropriate for a period not to exceed 63
411411 five years, or may suspend, for a period not to exceed three 64
412412 years, or revoke the license. 65
413413 5. An individual whose license has been revoked shall 66
414414 wait at least one year from the date of revocation to apply 67
415415 for relicensure. Relicensure shall be at the di scretion of 68
416416 the division after compliance with all requirements of 69
417417 sections 324.950 to 324.974 relative to the previous 70
418418 licensing of the applicant. 71
419419 324.974. 1. Any person who knowingly violates any 1
420420 provision of sections 324.950 to 324.974 is guilty of a 2
421421 class B misdemeanor. 3
422422 2. Any officer or agent of a corporation or member or 4
423423 agent of a partnership or association who knowingly and 5
424424 personally participates in or is an accessory to any 6
425425 violation of sections 324.950 to 324.97 4 is guilty of a 7
426426 class B misdemeanor. 8
427427 3. The division may cause a complaint to be filed for 9
428428 any violation of sections 324.950 to 324.974 in any court of 10
429429 competent jurisdiction and perform such other acts as may be 11
430430 necessary to enforce the provisi ons of sections 324.950 to 12
431431 324.974. 13
432432