HB2869 - 572R

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 32, chapter 10, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding article 6, to read:

ARTICLE 6. CERTIFICATION OF ELECTRICIANS

START_STATUTE32-1191. Definitions

In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Apprentice" means a person who works in the electrical trade, who is enrolled in an approved apprenticeship program and who has not worked sufficient hours in the electrical trade to qualify for the commercial electrical worker certification pursuant to this article.

2. "Approved apprenticeship program" means a program for training and certification as an apprentice commercial electrical worker that is approved by the department of economic security.

3. "Electrical contractor" means a commercial contractor who is engaged in the business of installing or repairing, or contracting to install or repair, electrical wiring systems that use or consume electricity greater than one hundred volts.

4. "Electrical wiring":

(a) Means wiring or equipment that is used or necessary for the general distribution of use of electrical energy.

(b) Includes conduits, fixtures, appliances, devices, equipment, overhead or underground wiring systems or other equipment.

5. "Electrical worker":

(a) Means a commercial electrician, trainee or apprentice who is employed by an electrical contractor and who is required to be certificated pursuant to this article for the purpose of installing or repairing electrical wiring.

(b) Does not include:

(i) A sole proprietor.

(ii) An employee of a cable television system that is licensed pursuant to title 9, chapter 5, article 1.1 who installs, maintains, services or repairs facilities that are owned or leased by the cable television system.

(iii) An electronic systems technician.

(iv) An employee of a utility who performs electrical construction and maintenance of electrical wiring for the generation and distribution of electrical current if the wiring is an integral part of a system owned and operated by the utility or municipal light or power department.

(v) An employee of a utility who installs, operates, maintains or repairs telephone, signal or communication systems.

6. "Electrician" means a person who has worked the minimum number of hours for a commercial electrical worker certificate or has completed an approved apprenticeship program and who has passed the commercial electrical worker certification examination pursuant to this article.

7. "Electronic systems technician" means a person whose primary occupation is the design or integration, installation and field maintenance or service of cabling infrastructure and products that:

(a) Transport less than one hundred volts of voice, video, audio and data signals in a commercial premise.

(b) Capture and display or otherwise enunciate signals.

(d) Use signals to control mechanical and electrical apparatus.

8. "Install" means to connect and integrate electrical wiring with manufactured electrical equipment as necessary for physical accommodation and functional operation of an electrical system at a jobsite.

9. "Jobsite" means the location where an electrical contractor is obligated to perform contractual duties.

10. "Sole proprietor" means a qualifying person for the purposes of obtaining an electrical contractor license pursuant to this chapter.

11. "Trainee" means a person who does not have a commercial electrical worker certificate pursuant to this article, who works at the electrical trade for an electrical contractor, who is not enrolled in an approved apprenticeship program and who has not worked sufficient hours at the electrical trade to qualify as an electrician. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE32-1192. Electrical worker certification; registrar; duties; civil penalties; rules

A. A person shall hold an active commercial electrical worker certification pursuant to this article to work with electrical wiring for an electrical contractor licensed pursuant to this chapter. No other certification or license is required to conduct electrical work in this state.

B. The registrar shall issue a commercial electrical worker certificate to qualified applicants pursuant to this article. The certification shall be signed by the registrar and attested by the official seal of the registrar.

C. The certified commercial electrical worker shall possess the certificate issued pursuant to this article at all times on jobsites and when performing duties within the scope of the certification. The certified commercial electrical worker shall present the certificate to any person or any state, county or city inspector or agency on request. Failure to display a certificate pursuant to this subsection is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $300.

D. The commercial electrical worker certificate shall be issued in the following classifications:

1. Commercial electrical worker.

2. Apprentice commercial electrical worker.

3. Trainee commercial electrical worker.

E. The registrar shall adopt rules to implement this article, including rules that specify the amount of the application fee, the content, format and qualifying scores of any examination, the amount of renewal fees, civil penalties for a violation of this article and provisions regarding reciprocity with other jurisdictions.

F. The registrar shall offer examinations at times and places prescribed by the registrar.

G. During scheduled work hours, the registrar or the registrar's authorized representative may enter with or without notice onto public or private property for the purpose of determining:

1. That only commercial electrical workers who are certified pursuant to this article are performing electrical work.

2. Whether a certified commercial electrical worker is practicing beyond the scope of the electrical worker's certificate.

3. Whether a certified commercial electrical worker has violated any provision of this article. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE32-1193. Application for certification; requirements

To be a qualified applicant for a commercial electrical worker certificate, a person shall apply for certification on a form prescribed by the registrar and shall pay an application fee in an amount determined by the registrar. The application shall indicate the classification for which the application is made and shall contain the following:

1. For a commercial electrical worker certificate, proof of having a minimum of eight thousand hours of experience as an electrician or of successfully completing an approved apprenticeship program.

2. For an apprentice commercial electrical worker certificate, proof of enrollment in an approved apprenticeship program.

3. For a trainee commercial electrical worker, proof of having the qualifications required by the registrar and as prescribed by rule.

4. Proof of satisfactory completion of an examination that is approved and conducted by the registrar.

5. Proof of meeting any other requirement relating to obtaining and retaining an appropriate commercial electrical worker certificate. END_STATUTE

START_STATUTE32-1194. Certification renewal; requirements

A. A commercial electrical worker certificate is valid for three years and expires on the anniversary of the applicant's birth month.

B. To renew a commercial electrical worker certificate, an applicant shall:

1. Pay a fee in an amount determined by the registrar.

2. Submit satisfactory evidence that the applicant has completed at least twenty-four hours of approved further electrical education.

3. Provide evidence that the applicant has worked in the electrical industry for at least two thousand hours during the period before the renewal.

C. If a person fails to provide the information required by this section on or before the first day of the month immediately following the applicant's birth month, the applicant must pass the approved commercial electrical worker examination before a new certificate is issued and pay the initial examination fee prescribed by the registrar. END_STATUTE