Req. No. 1920 Page 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 STATE OF OKLAHOMA 1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021) COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE BILL 317 By: Daniels of the Senate and Sims of the House COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE An Act relating to electricians; amending 59 O.S. 2011, Sections 1682, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 17, O.S.L. 2018, 1686, 1688 and 1689, as amended by Section 23, Chapter 313, O.S.L. 2015 (59 O.S. Supp. 2020, Sections 1682 and 1689), which relate to the Electrical License Act; modifying language; adding definition; authorizing issuance of certain certification; stating qualifications for certification; providing for supervisory authority for student interns; prohibiting student interns on high voltage systems; updating statutory reference; providing for codification; and providing an effective date. BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA: SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2011, Sect ion 1682, as amended by Section 1, Chapter 17, O.S.L. 2018 (59 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 1682), is amended to read as follows: Section 1682. A. As used in the Electrical License Act: 1. “Board” means the Construction Industries Board; Req. No. 1920 Page 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 2. “Committee” means the Committee of Electrical Examiners appointed by the Board; 3. “Electrical apprentice” means any person sixteen (16) years of age or older whose p rincipal occupation is the learning of and assisting in the installation of electrical work under the di rect supervision of a licensed journeyman electrician or electrical contractor; 4. “Journeyman electrician” means any person other than an electrical contractor who engages in the actual installatio n, alteration, repair or renovation of electrical facilit ies or electrical construction work unless specifically exempted by the provisions of the Electrical License Act; 5. “Electrical contractor ” means any person skilled in the planning, superintending and practical installation of electrical facilities who is familiar with the laws, rules and regula tions governing such work. Electrical c ontractor also means any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, l imited liability company, or business performin g skills of an electrical contractor or an electrician or the business of contracting, or furnishin g labor or labor and materials for the i nstallation, repair, maintenance or renovation of electrical facilitie s or electrical construction work according to the provisions of the Electrical License Act; Req. No. 1920 Page 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 6. “Electrical facilities” means all wiring, fixture s, appurtenances, and appliances for, an d in connection with, a supply of electricity within or adjacent to an y building, structure or conveyance on the prem ises but not including the connection with a power supply meter or other power supply source; 7. “Category” means the classification by wh ich licenses and electrical work may be limited. Such categories shal l include but shall not be limited to installat ion, maintenance, repair, alteration, residential, oilfie ld, and commercial; 8. “Temporary journeyman electrician” means any person other than a person permanently licensed as a journeyman electrician or electrical contractor in this state who meets the t emporary licensure requirements of Section 1685.1 of this title; 9. “Variance and Appeals Board ” means the Oklahoma State Electrical Installation Code Variance and Appeals Board; 10. “Electrical construction work” means installation, fabrication or assembly of equipment or systems included in “premises wiring” as defined in the National Electrical Cod e (reference 158:40-1-4. Standard of Installation), and which is hereby adopted and incorporated by reference . Electrical construction work includes , but is not limited to, installation of raceway systems used fo r any electrical purposes, and installatio n of field-assembled systems such as ice and snow melting, pipe- tracing, and manufactured wiring systems. Ele ctrical construction Req. No. 1920 Page 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 work shall not includ e in-plant work performed by employees of the company owning the plant, work performed by telecommunicat ions employees for telecommunications co mpanies, or installation of factory-assembled appliances or machinery which is not part of the premises wiring unless wiring interconnections external to the equipment are required in the field; and 11. “Electrical work” means work consisting primarily of the layout, installation, maintenance, repair, testing or replacement of all or part of electrical wires, condu its, apparatus, fixtures, appliances or equipment for transmit ting, carrying, controlling or using electricity in, on, outside or attached to a building, structure, property or premises. Electrical work shall not mean work that is related to or facilitate s the construction, installation or maintenance of all or part of an electrical system, but which does not involve actual work with any of the e lectrical components provided in this definition ; and 12. “Student electrical intern” means any person sixteen (16) years of age or older who complies with the requirements for registration under Section 1686 of this ti tle. B. Class 2 and Class 3 circuits shall be exempt from the requirements of electrical licensing of eit her an electrical contractor or a journeyman el ectrician, provided t he work is performed in accordance with the National Fire Prot ection Association 70 requirements for Cla ss 2 and Class 3 circuits. Req. No. 1920 Page 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2 011, Section 1686, is amended to read as fol lows: Section 1686. A. The Construction Industrie s Board shall, upon proper application and payment of fee, register as an electrical apprentice and issue a certificate of such registration to any person who furnishes satisfactory proof to the Board that the applicant is: 1. Sixteen (16) years of age or over older; or 2. Enrolled in a school or federal training program for electrical apprentices recognized by the Board, or employed as an electrical apprentice with an active licensed electrical contract or. B. The Construction Industries Board shall, up on proper application and payment of fee, register as a student electrical intern and issue a certificate of such registration to any person who furnishes satisf actory proof to the Board that the applicant is: 1. Sixteen (16) years of age or older; and 2. Enrolled in high school and enrolled in a work -ready or similar program recognized by the Board. C. All applications for examination, license or renewal of license shall be made in writing to the Board on forms provided, if necessary, by the Board. All applications shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee. C. D. Apprentices and student electrical interns, when required by the Board, shall provide such docu ments, statements or other Req. No. 1920 Page 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 information as may be necessary to submit to a national criminal history record check as defined by Section 150.9 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes. SECTION 3. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2011, Section 1688, i s amended to read as follows: Section 1688. A. No license shall be issued for longer than one (1) year, and all licenses shall expire on the last day in the birth month of the licensee . A license may be renewed upon application and payment of fees thirt y (30) days preceding or following the date the license is due. Licenses renewed more than thirty (30) days following the date of expiration may be renewed only upon application and pay ment of all required fees and payment of any penalty for late renewal established by the Board and upon compliance with any applicable continuing education requireme nts established by the Board and this act the Electrical License Act . No penalty for late renewal shall be charged to any holder of a license which expires whil e the holder is in military service, if an application for renewal is made within one (1) year following the service discharge of the holder. B. No journeyman or contractor license shal l be renewed unless the licensee has compl eted the required hours of c ontinuing education, as determined and approved by the Committee of Electrical Examiners and approved by the Construction Industries Board. Req. No. 1920 Page 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 C. An apprentice registration certificate or a student intern registration certificate shall be issued for one (1 ) year, at which time the apprentice may reregist er upon meeting the requirements of the Construction Industries Board and paying the renewal fee . SECTION 4. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2011, Section 1689, as amended by Section 23, Chapter 313, O.S.L. 2015 (59 O.S. Supp. 2020, Section 1689), is amended to read as follows: Section 1689. A. The Construction Industries Board or its designee and the Committee of Electrical Ex aminers shall act as the Electrical Hearing Board and shall comply w ith the provisions of Article II of the Administr ative Procedures Act, Section 308a et seq. of Title 75 of the Oklahoma Statutes. B. Any administrative hearing on suspensions, revocations or fines shall be conducted by a hearing examiner appointed by the Board. The hearing examiner ’s decision shall be a final decision which may be appealed to a district c ourt in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act. C. The Electrical Hearing Board may, upon its own motion, and shall, upon written complaint f iled by any person, investigate the business transactions of any electrical contractor, journeyman electrician or, electrical apprentice , student electrical intern or poultry house contrac tor license. Upon a finding by clear and convincing evidence, the B oard shall suspend or revoke any license or registration obtained by fals e or fraudulent representation. Req. No. 1920 Page 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Upon a finding by clear and convincing evidence, the Board s hall also suspend or revoke any license or registration for any of the following: 1. Making a material misstatement in the application for a license or registrati on, or the renewal of a license or registration; 2. Loaning or illegally using a license; 3. Demonstrating incomp etence to act as a journeyman electrician or electrical contractor; 4. Violating any provisions of the Electrical Li cense Act, or any rule or order prescribed by the Board or any ord inance for the installation of electrical facilitie s made or enacted by a city or town by authority of the Electrical License Act; 5. Willfully failing to perform normal business obligation s without justifiable ca use; or 6. Failing to maintain a registra tion or license as required by law in another state while registered in t his state as a nonresident contractor. D. Any person whose license or registration has been revoked by the Electrical Hearing Board may appl y for a new license one (1) year from the date of such revocation. E. Notwithstanding any ot her provision of law, a political subdivision of this state that has adopted a nationally recognized electrical code and appointed an inspe ctor pursuant to the Req. No. 1920 Page 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 provisions of Section 1693 of this title or p ursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Inspector s Act for such work sh all have jurisdiction over the interpretation of the code and the installation of all electrical work done in that po litical subdivision, subject to the provisions of the Oklahoma Ins pectors Act. Provided, a state inspector may work directly with an electrical contractor, journeyman electrician or, electrical apprentice or student electrical intern in such a locality if a violation of the code creates an immediate threat to life or health. F. In the case of a complaint about, investigation of , or inspection of any license, registration, permit or electrical work in any political subdivision of this state which has not adopted a nationally recognized elect rical code and appointed an inspector pursuant to the provisions of Section 1693 of this title or pursu ant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Inspectors Act for such work, the Construction Industries Board shall hav e jurisdiction over such matters. G. 1. No individual, business, company, corporation, association or other entity subject to the provisions of the Electrical License Act shall install, modify or alter electrica l facilities in any incorporated area of th is state which has not adopted a nationally recognized electrical code and appointed an inspector pursuant to the provisions of Section 1693 of t his title or pursuant to the provisions of the Oklahoma Inspectors A ct for Req. No. 1920 Page 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 such work without providing notice o f such electrical work to the Construction Industries Board. A notice form for reproduction by an individual or entity required to make such not ice shall be provided by the Construction Industries Board upon requ est. 2. Notice to the Construction Industr ies Board pursuant to this subsection shall not be required for electrical maintenance or replacement of existing electrical appliances or fixtur es or of any petroleum refinery or its research facilities. 3. Enforcement of this subsection is authorized pu rsuant to the Electrical License Act, or u nder authority granted to the Construction Industri es Board. SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified in the Oklahoma Statutes as Sec tion 1699 of Title 59, unless there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as f ollows: One student electrical intern is allowed to work per physical job site with direct supervision under a single journeyman or electrical contractor; provided, howeve r, that no such student electrical intern shall b e counted against the maximum number of apprentices who are allowed by law or regulation to work under the supervision of a single journeym an or contractor. A student electrical intern is not allowed to work on high voltage systems defined by the National Electrical Code. Req. No. 1920 Page 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 SECTION 6. This act shall become effective November 1, 202 1. 58-1-1920 NP 3/3/2021 4:31:06 PM