FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 392
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR SCHROER.
1403S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To amend chapter 324, RSMo, by adding thereto nine new sections relating to statewide
mechanical contractor licenses, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapter 324, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto 1
nine new sections, to be known as sections 324.950, 324.953, 2
324.956, 324.959, 324.962, 324.965, 324.968, 324.971, and 3
324.974, to read as follows:4
324.950. 1. The provisions of sections 324.950 to 1
324.974 shall be known and may be cited as the "Missouri 2
Statewide Mechanical Contractor Licensing Act" and shall not 3
be affected by the provisions of section 324.009. The 4
provisions of sections 324.950 to 324.974 shall not be 5
construed to affect the provisio ns of chapter 341. 6
2. As used in sections 324.950 to 324.974, unless the 7
context clearly indicates otherwise, the following terms 8
shall mean: 9
(1) "Apprentice", a person who holds a valid statewide 10
mechanical apprentice license to perform mec hanical work 11
for, and under the direct supervision of, a journeyman; 12
(2) "Contractor", a person who holds a valid statewide 13
mechanical contractor license and who is employed by a 14
corporation, firm, institution, organization, or company to 15
perform mechanical work and directly supervise the 16
performance of mechanical work by journeymen; 17 SB 392 2
(3) "Division", the division of professional 18
registration within the department of commerce and insurance; 19
(4) "Journeyman", a person who holds a valid statewide 20
mechanical journeyman license to perform mechanical work 21
for, and under the supervision of and inspection of, a 22
contractor, and to supervise and inspect the mechanical work 23
of an apprentice; 24
(5) "Local license", a license issued by a po litical 25
subdivision and valid only in that political subdivision 26
that is required to bid, accept, or perform mechanical work; 27
(6) "Mechanical work", work per the International Code 28
Council, International Association of Plumbing and 29
Mechanical Officials, 30 CSR 20, or the National Fire 30
Protection Association (NFPA) 99. 31
(a) The term "mechanical work" shall include the 32
design, installation, maintenance, construction, alteration, 33
repair, and inspection of any: 34
a. HVAC system and associa ted appurtenances; 35
b. HVAC duct system and associated appurtenances; 36
c. Exhaust systems and associated appurtenances; 37
d. Combustion air or make up air and associated 38
appurtenances; 39
e. Chimneys and vents and associated appurtenances , 40
excluding those regulated by local ordinances as such 41
existed on April 18, 2023; 42
f. Hydronic piping systems and associated 43
appurtenances that are part of an HVAC system; 44
g. Boilers, water heaters that are one hundred twenty 45
gallons and above, or two hundred thousand British thermal 46
units (BTUs) and above, and pressure vessels and associated 47
appurtenances, excluding those covered by a nationally 48
standardized plumbing code, those regulated by local 49 SB 392 3
ordinances as such existed on April 18, 2023, or those used 50
for potable water systems; 51
h. Process piping systems and associated appurtenances; 52
i. Fuel gas distribution piping and associated 53
appurtenances, excluding those regulated by local ordinances 54
as such existed on April 18, 2023; 55
j. Fuel oil-fired and solid fuel appliances and 56
associated appurtenances, excluding those covered by a 57
nationally standardized plumbing code or local ordinances 58
promulgated by a political subdivision of this state as such 59
ordinances existed on April 18, 2023; 60
k. Fuel oil piping and storage vessels and associated 61
appurtenances; 62
l. Fuel oil-fired and solid fuel appliance venting 63
systems and associated appurtenances; 64
m. Equipment and appliances intended to utilize solar 65
energy for space heating or cooling together with associated 66
appurtenances; 67
n. Process heating and associated appurtenances; 68
o. Refrigeration systems, including all equipment and 69
components thereof and associated appurtenances; 70
p. Nonmedical air, nonmedical oxygen, and nonmedical 71
vacuum piping for mechanical equipment and associated 72
appurtenances, excluding work covered by a nationally 73
standardized plumbing code; 74
q. Liquefied petroleum gas distribution piping and 75
associated appurtenances, excluding work covered by a 76
nationally standardized plumbing code or local ordinances as 77
such ordinances existed on April 18, 2023; 78
r. Biogas, biodiesel, hydrogen processing systems, and 79
ethanol distribution and associated appurtenances; 80 SB 392 4
s. Chillers, cooling towers, and associated support 81
steel and appurtenances for cooling towers; 82
t. Petroleum piping and venting together with 83
associated equipment and associated appurtenances, pumps, 84
and tanks governed by NFPA 30 and 30a; 85
u. All fuel and petroleum pipelines, piping, and 86
associated pumping stations with associated equipment and 87
appurtenances; and 88
v. All associated equipment and facilities related to 89
subparagraphs a. to u. of this paragraph. 90
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision 91
to the contrary, the term "mechanical work" shall not 92
include, and the provisions of sections 324.950 to 324.974 93
shall not apply to, the design, installation, maintenance, 94
construction, alteration, repair, or ins pection of any: 95
a. Solid-fuel or gas-fueled hearth appliance, 96
including, but not limited to, wood stoves and fireplaces, 97
manufacturer-specified venting systems, fireplace chimneys, 98
outdoor cooking appliances with manufacturer -specified 99
venting systems, outdoor fireplaces, or outdoor fire pits; 100
b. Propane-related equipment for which certification 101
is required by any regulation adopted under subdivision (3) 102
of subsection 13 of section 323.035; or 103
c. Fire sprinkler or suppression systems . 104
Additional certification may be required by the division for 105
a particular scope of mechanical work; 106
(7) "Residential work", service -related and 107
replacement-related mechanical work in an existing domicile 108
for or on behalf of the individual owners or renters 109
occupying: 110
(a) Single-family houses; 111 SB 392 5
(b) An individual dwelling unit in a duplex, triplex, 112
or fourplex; or 113
(c) An individual dwelling unit in an apartment 114
building containing five or more apartments. 115
The term "residential w ork" shall not include new 116
construction or work required for a building or structure as 117
a whole that services more than one dwelling unit; 118
(8) "Statewide mechanical apprentice license", a valid 119
license issued by the division to an apprentice to 120
physically perform mechanical work under the direct 121
supervision and inspection of a journeyman; 122
(9) "Statewide mechanical contractor license", a valid 123
license issued by the division to a contractor to bid and 124
accept mechanical work in any political subdivision 125
regardless of local requirements to bid and accept 126
mechanical work, to physically perform mechanical work, and 127
to directly supervise and inspect the mechanical work of a 128
journeyman; 129
(10) "Statewide mechanical journeyman license", a 130
valid license issued by the division to a journeyman to 131
physically perform mechanical work under the supervision and 132
inspection of a contractor and to directly supervise and 133
inspect the mechanical work of an apprentice. 134
324.953. 1. The division shall adopt, implement, 1
rescind, amend, and administer such rules as may be 2
necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 324.950 to 3
324.974, including but not limited to, the following: 4
(1) Training, education, and experience req uirements 5
for licensure under sections 324.950 to 324.974; 6
(2) Application forms and fees; 7 SB 392 6
(3) Professional education units for license renewal 8
and approval of professional education programs; 9
(4) Renewal dates, notifications of renewal , and 10
renewal applications and fees; 11
(5) Inactive licenses and reinstatement procedures; and 12
(6) Professional conduct and ethical standards of 13
business practice for licensees. 14
Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in 15
section 536.010, that is created under the authority 16
delegated in this section shall become effective only if it 17
complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of 18
chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028. This 19
section and chapter 536 are nonsev erable and if any of the 20
powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 21
536 to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove 22
and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, 23
then the grant of rulemaking authority and any ru le proposed 24
or adopted after August 28, 2025, shall be invalid and void. 25
2. For the purpose of sections 324.950 to 324.974, the 26
division shall: 27
(1) Employ, within the limits of the appropriations 28
for such purpose, employees as are necessary to carry out 29
the provisions of sections 324.950 to 324.974; 30
(2) Exercise all administrative functions; 31
(3) Establish all applicable fees, set at an amount 32
that shall not substantially exceed the cost of 33
administering sections 324.950 to 324. 974; 34
(4) Deposit all fees collected by transmitting such 35
funds to the department of revenue for deposit to the state 36
treasury to the credit of the Missouri mechanical contractor 37
licensing fund established under section 324.956; 38 SB 392 7
(5) Enter into agreements with the boiler and pressure 39
vessel safety unit within the division of fire safety of the 40
department of public safety to investigate complaints 41
against a licensee from persons who receive services from 42
the licensee and for the submission of a report to the 43
division of such investigation; provided that the division 44
shall retain the authority to institute any enforcement 45
action against a licensee as a result of an investigation 46
under this subdivision. Nothing in this subdivision shall 47
be construed to prevent the boiler and pressure vessel 48
safety unit from reporting a violation of sections 324.950 49
to 324.974 found during a routine inspection to the 50
division; and 51
(6) Institute actions to enforce compliance with the 52
provisions of sections 324.950 to 324.974. 53
3. No new licensing activity assigned to the division 54
under sections 324.950 to 324.974 shall become effective 55
until the initial rules filed under this section have become 56
effective. 57
324.956. There is hereby created in the state treasury 1
the "Missouri Mechanical Contractor Licensing Fund", which 2
shall consist of moneys collected under sections 324.950 to 3
324.974. The state treasurer shall be custodian of the fund 4
and may approve disbursements f rom the fund in accordance 5
with sections 30.170 and 30.180. Upon appropriation, moneys 6
in the fund shall be used solely for the administration of 7
sections 324.950 to 324.974. The provisions of section 8
33.080 to the contrary notwithstanding, moneys in this fund 9
shall not be transferred and placed to the credit of general 10
revenue until the amount in the fund at the end of the 11
biennium exceeds three times the amount of the appropriation 12
from the fund for the preceding fiscal year. The amount, if 13 SB 392 8
any, in the fund which shall lapse is that amount in the 14
fund which exceeds the appropriate multiple of the 15
appropriations from the fund for the preceding fiscal year. 16
The state treasurer shall invest moneys in the fund in the 17
same manner as other funds are invested. Any interest and 18
moneys earned on such investments shall be credited to the 19
fund. 20
324.959. The provisions of sections 324.950 to 324.974 1
shall not apply to mechanical work, including residential 2
work, performed in an y county with more than two hundred 3
sixty thousand but fewer than three hundred thousand 4
inhabitants, any county with more than fifty thousand but 5
fewer than sixty thousand inhabitants and with a county seat 6
with more than ten thousand but fewer than t welve thousand 7
six hundred inhabitants, or any county with more than one 8
hundred twenty thousand but fewer than one hundred fifty 9
thousand inhabitants, or any political subdivision contained 10
within such counties. 11
324.962. 1. The applicant for a statewide mechanical 1
contractor license shall have: 2
(1) Completed the application form provided by the 3
division and pay any applicable application fees; 4
(2) Provided proof of liability insurance in the 5
amount of one million dol lars and posted bond with each 6
political subdivision in which he or she will perform work, 7
as required by that political subdivision; and 8
(3) Completed the educational, training, and 9
experience requirements equal to or greater than that of a 10
contractor's license, as such existed on April 18, 2023, in 11
the mechanical code or ordinance of any county with more 12
than one million inhabitants. 13 SB 392 9
2. The applicant for a statewide mechanical journeyman 14
license shall have: 15
(1) Completed the application form provided by the 16
division and pay any applicable application fees; and 17
(2) Completed the educational, training, and 18
experience requirements equal to or greater than that of a 19
journeyman license, as such existed on April 18, 2023, in 20
the mechanical code or ordinance of any county with more 21
than one million inhabitants. 22
3. The applicant for a statewide mechanical apprentice 23
license shall have: 24
(1) Completed the application form provided by the 25
division and pay any applicabl e application fees; and 26
(2) Completed the educational, training, and 27
experience requirements equal to or greater than that of an 28
apprentice license, as such existed on April 18, 2023, in 29
the mechanical code or ordinance of any county with more 30
than one million inhabitants. 31
324.965. 1. Any corporation, firm, institution, 1
organization, company, or representative thereof engaging in 2
mechanical work in a political subdivision that requires a 3
local license in order to perform su ch work shall: 4
(1) Have in its employ, at a supervisory level, at 5
least one statewide mechanical contractor licensee, or an 6
equivalent local licensee. A statewide mechanical 7
contractor licensee shall represent only one firm, company, 8
corporation, institution, or organization at one time; 9
(2) For purposes of performing residential work, have 10
either a statewide mechanical contractor licensee or a 11
statewide mechanical journeyman licensee to perform, direct, 12
inspect, or supervise the work, o r the equivalent local 13
licensee; and 14 SB 392 10
(3) For all other mechanical work, have at least one 15
statewide mechanical journeyman licensee on site for every 16
statewide mechanical apprentice licensee performing the 17
work, or the equivalent local licensee. 18
2. Any person performing mechanical work in a 19
political subdivision that does not require the person to 20
hold a local license, or any person who possesses such local 21
license, shall not be required to obtain or possess a 22
statewide license under sect ions 324.950 to 324.974 to 23
perform mechanical work in such political subdivision. 24
3. (1) Political subdivisions shall not be prohibited 25
from establishing their own mechanical contractor, 26
journeyman, or apprentice licenses, but shall recognize a 27
statewide license in lieu of the equivalent local license 28
for the purpose of performing mechanical work in such 29
political subdivision. A statewide licensee under sections 30
324.950 to 324.974 shall be deemed eligible to perform 31
mechanical work and to ob tain permits to perform said work 32
from any political subdivision in this state commensurate 33
with the corresponding local license. 34
(2) Nothing in sections 324.950 to 324.974 shall be 35
construed to prohibit a political subdivision from enforcing 36
any of the political subdivision's codes, ordinances, or 37
laws; inspecting the work of licensees; or reporting 38
suspected violations of sections 324.950 to 324.974 to the 39
division for investigation of the licensee. 40
4. (1) If a political subdivision do es not recognize 41
a statewide license in lieu of an equivalent local license 42
for the purposes of performing mechanical work or obtaining 43
permits to perform mechanical work within the political 44
subdivision, then a statewide licensee may file a complaint 45
with the division. 46 SB 392 11
(2) The division shall perform an investigation into 47
the complaint, and if the division finds that the political 48
subdivision failed to recognize a statewide license in 49
accordance with the provisions of this section, then the 50
division shall notify the political subdivision that the 51
political subdivision has violated the provisions of this 52
section and has thirty days to comply with the law. 53
(3) If, after thirty days of notification by the 54
division, the political subdivis ion continues to refuse or 55
fail to recognize a statewide license, then the division 56
shall notify the director of the department of revenue, who 57
shall withhold any moneys that the noncompliant political 58
subdivision would otherwise be entitled to from lo cal sales 59
tax, as defined in section 32.085, until the director has 60
received notice from the division that the political 61
subdivision is in compliance with this section. 62
(4) When the political subdivision becomes compliant 63
with the provisions of t his section, the division shall 64
notify the director of the department of revenue who shall 65
disburse all funds held under this subsection. Moneys held 66
by the director of the department of revenue under this 67
subsection shall not be deemed to be state fu nds and shall 68
not be commingled with any funds of the state. 69
324.968. Licenses issued under sections 324.950 to 1
324.974 shall expire on a renewal date established in rule 2
by the division. The term of licensure shall be three 3
years. The division shall mail a renewal notice prior to 4
the renewal date. Professional education units needed for 5
license renewal, as well as procedures involving inactive 6
licenses and reinstatement of licenses shall be equal to 7
those in the mechanical co de or ordinance, as such existed 8 SB 392 12
on April 18, 2023, of any county with more than one million 9
inhabitants. 10
324.971. 1. The division may refuse to issue or renew 1
or may suspend any license under sections 324.950 to 324.974 2
for one or any combination of causes stated in subsection 3 3
of this section. The division shall notify the applicant in 4
writing of the reasons for the refusal and shall advise the 5
applicant of his or her right to file a complaint with the 6
administrative hearing commission as provided by chapter 621. 7
2. The division shall publish via electronic media and 8
update on a weekly basis a list of valid statewide 9
mechanical contractor licensees under sections 324.950 to 10
324.974, a list of current enforcement acti ons against such 11
licensees, and the procedures for filing grievances against 12
any statewide mechanical contractor, mechanical journeyman, 13
and mechanical apprentice licensees. 14
3. The division may cause a complaint to be filed with 15
the administrative hearing commission as provided by chapter 16
621 against any licensee under sections 324.950 to 324.974 17
or any person who has failed to renew or has surrendered his 18
or her license for any one or any combination of the 19
following causes: 20
(1) The final adjudication and finding of guilty, or 21
the entering of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, in a 22
criminal prosecution under the laws of any state, of the 23
United States, or of any country, for any offense reasonably 24
related to the qualifications, dut ies, and responsibilities 25
of a licensee under sections 324.950 to 324.974 for any 26
offense an essential element of which is fraud, dishonesty, 27
or an act of violence; 28
(2) Use of fraud, deception, misrepresentation, or 29
bribery in securing any licens e issued under sections 30 SB 392 13
324.950 to 324.974 or in obtaining permission to take any 31
examination given or required under sections 324.950 to 32
324.974; 33
(3) Obtaining or attempting to obtain any fee, charge, 34
tuition, or other compensation by fraud, dec eption, or 35
misrepresentation; 36
(4) Incompetence, misconduct, gross negligence, fraud, 37
misrepresentation, or dishonesty in the performance of the 38
functions and duties of any profession licensed or regulated 39
under sections 324.950 to 324.974; 40
(5) Violation of, or assisting or enabling any person 41
to violate, any provision of sections 324.950 to 324.974 or 42
any lawful rule adopted under sections 324.950 to 324.974; 43
(6) Impersonation of any person holding a license or 44
allowing any person t o use his or her license; 45
(7) Final adjudication of a person as incompetent by a 46
court of competent jurisdiction; 47
(8) Assisting or enabling any person to practice, or 48
offer to practice, any profession licensed or regulated 49
under sections 324.950 to 324.974 who is not licensed and 50
currently eligible to practice under sections 324.950 to 51
324.974 or who does not possess an active equivalent local 52
license if required by a political subdivision; or 53
(9) Issuance of a license based upon a m aterial 54
mistake of fact. 55
4. After the filing of such complaint, the proceedings 56
shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of 57
chapter 621. Upon a finding by the administrative hearing 58
commission that the grounds provided in subsection 3 of this 59
section for disciplinary action are met, the division may, 60
singly or in combination, censure or place the person named 61
in the complaint on probation with such terms and conditions 62 SB 392 14
as the division deems appropriate for a period not to exceed 63
five years, or may suspend, for a period not to exceed three 64
years, or revoke the license. 65
5. An individual whose license has been revoked shall 66
wait at least one year from the date of revocation to apply 67
for relicensure. Relicensure shall be at the discretion of 68
the division after compliance with all requirements of 69
sections 324.950 to 324.974 relative to the previous 70
licensing of the applicant. 71
324.974. 1. Any person who knowingly violates any 1
provision of sections 324.9 50 to 324.974 is guilty of a 2
class B misdemeanor. 3
2. Any officer or agent of a corporation or member or 4
agent of a partnership or association who knowingly and 5
personally participates in or is an accessory to any 6
violation of sections 324.950 to 324.974 is guilty of a 7
class B misdemeanor. 8
3. The division may cause a complaint to be filed for 9
any violation of sections 324.950 to 324.974 in any court of 10
competent jurisdiction and perform such other acts as may be 11
necessary to enforce the p rovisions of sections 324.950 to 12
324.974. 13