BILL NUMBER: AB 2523 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 21, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eng
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Sections 3099.2 3099,
3099.2, and 3099.4 of the Labor Code, relating to
apprenticeship.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2523, as amended, Eng. Apprenticeship: electricians.
Existing law requires the certification of electricians by the
Division of Apprenticeship Standards, except as specified.
Existing specified. Existing law
allows the chief of the division to approve an apprenticeship program
under specified circumstances.
This bill would require that continuing education instruction by
an entity that is not approved by the chief of the division as
described above be provided under the jurisdiction of the State
Department of Education or the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges.
Existing law allows an uncertified person to perform electrical
work for which certification is required if certain requirements are
met, including that the person has completed or is enrolled in a
curriculum of classroom instruction approved by the electrician
certification curriculum committee and provided under the
jurisdiction of the State Department of Education, the Board of
Governors of the California Community Colleges, or the Bureau for
Private Postsecondary Education.
This bill would require that the curriculum of classroom
instruction discussed above be provided by an eligible educational
provider, as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 3099 of the Labor
Code is amended to read:
3099. (a) The Division of Apprenticeship Standards shall do all
of the following:
(1) On or before July 1, 2001, establish and validate minimum
standards for the competency and training of electricians through a
system of testing and certification.
(2) On or before March 1, 2000, establish an advisory committee
and panels as necessary to carry out the functions under this
section. There shall be contractor representation from both joint
apprenticeship programs and unilateral nonunion programs in the
electrical contracting industry.
(3) On or before July 1, 2001, establish fees necessary to
implement this section.
(4) On or before July 1, 2001, establish and adopt regulations to
enforce this section.
(5) Issue certification cards to electricians who have been
certified pursuant to this section. Fees collected pursuant to
paragraph (3) are continuously appropriated in an amount sufficient
to pay the costs of issuing certification cards, and that amount may
be expended for that purpose by the division.
(6) On or before July 1, 2003, establish an electrical
certification curriculum committee comprised of representatives of
the State Department of Education, the California Community Colleges,
and the division. The electrical certification curriculum committee
shall do all of the following:
(A) Establish written educational curriculum standards for
enrollees in training programs established pursuant to Section
3099.4.
(B) If an educational provider's curriculum meets the written
educational curriculum standards established in accordance with
subparagraph (A), designate that curriculum as an approved curriculum
of classroom instruction.
(C) At the committee's discretion, review the approved curriculum
of classroom instruction of any designated educational provider. The
committee may withdraw its approval of the curriculum if the
educational provider does not continue to meet the established
written educational curriculum standards.
(D) Require each designated educational provider to submit an
annual notice to the committee stating whether the educational
provider is continuing to offer the approved curriculum of classroom
instruction and whether any material changes have been made to the
curriculum since its approval.
(b) There shall be no discrimination for or against any person
based on membership or nonmembership in a union.
(c) As used in this section, "electricians" includes all persons
who engage in the connection of electrical devices for
electrical contractors licensed pursuant to Section 7058 of
the Business and Professions Code , specifically,
contractors classified as electrical contractors in the Contractors'
State License Board Rules and Regulations . This section
does not apply to electrical connections under 100 volt-amperes. This
section does not apply to persons performing work to which Section
7042.5 of the Business and Professions Code is applicable, or to
electrical work ordinarily and customarily performed by stationary
engineers. This section does not apply to electrical work in
connection with the installation, operation, or maintenance of
temporary or portable electrical equipment performed by technicians
in the theatrical, motion picture production, television, hotel,
exhibition, or trade show industries.
SECTION 1. SEC. 2. Section 3099.2 of
the Labor Code is amended to read:
3099.2. (a) (1) Persons who perform work as electricians shall
become certified pursuant to Section 3099 by the deadline specified
in this subdivision. After the applicable deadline, uncertified
persons shall not perform electrical work for which certification is
required.
(2) The deadline for certification as a general electrician or
fire/life safety technician is January 1, 2006, except that persons
who applied for certification prior to January 1, 2006, have until
January 1, 2007, to pass the certification examination. The deadline
for certification as a residential electrician is January 1, 2007,
and the deadline for certification as a voice data video technician
or a nonresidential lighting technician is January 1, 2008. The
California Apprenticeship Council may extend the certification date
for any of these three categories of electricians up to January 1,
2009, if the council concludes that the existing deadline will not
provide persons sufficient time to obtain certification, enroll in an
apprenticeship or training program, or register pursuant to Section
3099.4.
(3) (A) For purposes of any
continuing education or recertification requirement, an individual
who becomes certified prior to the deadline for certification shall
be treated as having become certified on the first anniversary of his
or her certification date that falls after the certification
deadline.
(B) Continuing education instruction by an entity that is not
approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 3075 shall be provided under
the jurisdiction of the State Department of Education or the Board of
Governors of the California Community Colleges.
(b) (1) Certification is required only for those persons who
perform work as electricians for contractors licensed as
class C-10 electrical contractors under the Contractors'
State License Board Rules and Regulations.
(2) Certification is not required for persons performing work for
contractors licensed as class C-7 low voltage systems or class C-45
electric sign contractors as long as the work performed is within the
scope of the class C-7 or class C-45 license, including incidental
and supplemental work as defined in Section 7059 of the Business and
Professions Code, and regardless of whether the same contractor is
also licensed as a class C-10 contractor.
(3) Certification is not required for work performed by a worker
on a high-voltage electrical transmission or distribution system
owned by a local publicly owned electric utility, as defined in
Section 224.3 of the Public Utilities Code; an electrical
corporation, as defined in Section 218 of the Public Utilities Code;
a person, as defined in Section 205 of the Public Utilities Code; or
a corporation, as defined in Section 204 of the Public Utilities
Code; when the worker is employed by the utility or a licensed
contractor principally engaged in installing or maintaining
transmission or distribution systems.
(c) The division shall establish separate certifications for
general electrician, fire/life safety technician, residential
electrician, voice data video technician, and nonresidential lighting
technician.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), certification is not required
for registered apprentices performing electrical work as part of an
apprenticeship program approved under this chapter, a federal Office
of Apprenticeship program, or a state apprenticeship program
authorized by the federal Office of Apprenticeship. An apprentice who
is within one year of completion of his or her term of
apprenticeship shall be permitted to take the certification
examination and, upon passing the examination, shall be certified
immediately upon completion of the term of apprenticeship.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), certification is not required
for any person employed pursuant to Section 3099.4.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), certification is not required
for a nonresidential lighting trainee (1) who is enrolled in an
on-the-job instructional training program approved by the Chief of
the Division of Apprenticeship Standards pursuant to Section 3090,
and (2) who is under the onsite supervision of a nonresidential
lighting technician certified pursuant to Section 3099.
(g) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the qualifying person for a
class C-10 electrical contractor license issued by the Contractors'
State License Board need not also be certified pursuant to Section
3099 to perform electrical work for that licensed contractor or to
supervise an uncertified person employed by that licensed contractor
pursuant to Section 3099.4.
(h) Commencing July 1, 2009, the following shall constitute
additional grounds for disciplinary proceedings, including suspension
or revocation of the license of a class C-10 electrical
contractor pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section
7090) of Chapter 9 of Division 3 of the Business and Professions
Code:
(1) The contractor willfully employs one or more uncertified
persons to perform work as electricians in violation of this section.
(2) The contractor willfully fails to provide the adequate
supervision of uncertified workers required by paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a) of Section 3099.4.
(3) The contractor willfully fails to provide adequate supervision
of apprentices performing work pursuant to subdivision (d).
(i) The Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards shall
develop a process for referring cases to the Contractors' State
License Board when it has been determined that a violation of this
section has likely occurred. On or before July 1, 2009, the chief
shall prepare and execute a memorandum of understanding with the
Registrar of Contractors in furtherance of this section.
(j) Upon receipt of a referral by the Chief of the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards alleging a violation under this section, the
Registrar of Contractors shall open an investigation. Any
disciplinary action against the licensee shall be initiated within 60
days of the receipt of the referral. The Registrar of Contractors
may initiate disciplinary action against any licensee upon his or her
own investigation, the filing of any complaint, or any finding that
results from a referral from the Chief of the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards alleging a violation under this section.
Failure of the employer or employee to provide evidence of
certification or trainee status shall create a rebuttable presumption
of violation of this provision.
(k) For the purposes of this section, "electricians" has the same
meaning as the definition set forth in Section 3099.
SEC. 2. SEC. 3. Section 3099.4 of
the Labor Code is amended to read:
3099.4. (a) After the deadline for certification, an uncertified
person may perform electrical work for which certification is
required under Section 3099 in order to acquire the necessary
on-the-job experience for certification, if all of the following
requirements are met:
(1) The person is registered with the Division of Apprenticeship
Standards. A list of current registrants shall be maintained by the
division and made available to the public upon request.
(2) The person either has completed or is enrolled in an approved
curriculum of classroom instruction provided by one of the following:
(A) A community college.
(B) A state or federal apprenticeship program approved to provide
electrical training.
(B) An apprenticeship program approved pursuant to subdivision (a)
of Section 3075 to provide electrical training.
(i) An apprenticeship program approved under this subparagraph may
provide classroom instruction only to the employees of the
contractors signatory to the entity operating the approved
apprenticeship program or to members of the entity operating the
approved apprenticeship program.
(ii) An apprenticeship program approved under this subparagraph
shall satisfy, at a minimum, the following requirements:
(I) The content of each educational program can achieve its stated
objective.
(II) The facilities, instructional equipment, and materials are
sufficient to enable students to achieve the educational program's
goals.
(III) The apprenticeship program maintains a withdrawal policy and
provides refunds.
(IV) The directors, administrators, and faculty are properly
qualified.
(V) Adequate records and standards are kept.
(VI) A student grievance resolution process is available.
(iii) As used in this subparagraph, "contractor signatory" means a
contractor who has entered into a collective bargaining agreement
with a labor union that provides apprenticeship training in
compliance with the standards established by the Division of
Apprenticeship Standards.
(C) A public school district or public educational institution.
(D) A state-licensed private postsecondary institution that is
either under contract with a public educational institution or
approved and registered with the Bureau for Private Postsecondary
Education.
(E) Approved trainee education courses offered pursuant to
subparagraph (B) shall be for those members with minimum educational
needs and shall supplement and not supplant electrician educational
training leading to a degree.
(3) The employer attests that the person shall be under the direct
supervision of an electrician certified pursuant to Section 3099 who
is responsible for supervising no more than one uncertified person.
An employer who is found by the division to have failed to provide
adequate supervision may be barred by the division from employing
uncertified individuals pursuant to this section in the future.
(b) For purposes of this section, an "approved curriculum of
classroom instruction" means a curriculum of classroom instruction
approved by the electrician certification curriculum committee
established pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section
3099.
(c) The curriculum committee may grant approval to an educational
provider that presently offers only a partial curriculum if the
educational provider intends in the future to offer, or to cooperate
with other educational providers to offer, a complete curriculum for
the type of certification involved. The curriculum committee may
require an educational provider receiving approval for a partial
curriculum to periodically renew its approval with the curriculum
committee until a complete curriculum is offered and approved. A
partial curriculum means a combination of classes that do not include
all classroom educational components of the complete curriculum for
one of the categories of certification established in accordance with
subdivision (c) of Section 3099.2.
(d) An educational provider that receives approval for a partial
curriculum must disclose in all communications to students and to the
public that the educational provider has only received approval for
a partial curriculum and shall not make any representations that the
provider offers a complete approved curriculum of classroom
instruction as established by subparagraph (A) of paragraph (6) of
subdivision (a) of Section 3099.
(e) For purposes of this section, a person is "enrolled" in an
approved curriculum of classroom instruction if the person is
attending classes on a full-time full-
or part-time basis toward the completion of an approved curriculum.
(f) Registration under this section shall be renewed annually and
the registrant shall provide to the division certification of the
classwork completed and on-the-job experience acquired since the
prior registration.
(g) For purposes of verifying the information provided by a person
registered with the division, an educational provider of an approved
curriculum of classroom instruction shall, upon the division's
request, provide the division with information regarding the
enrollment status and instruction completed by a person registered.
By registering with the division in accordance with this section, a
person consents to the release of this information.
(h) The division shall establish registration fees necessary to
implement this section, not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25) for
the initial registration. There shall be no fee for annual renewal of
registration. Fees collected are continuously appropriated in an
amount sufficient to administer this section and that amount may be
expended by the division for this purpose.
(i) The division shall issue regulations to implement this
section.
(j) For purposes of Section 1773, persons employed pursuant to
this section do not constitute a separate craft, classification, or
type of worker.
(k) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an uncertified
person who has completed an approved curriculum of classroom
instruction and is currently registered with the division may take
the certification examination. The person shall be certified upon
passing the examination and satisfactorily completing the requisite
number of on-the-job hours required for certification. A person who
passes the examination prior to completing the requisite hours of
on-the-job experience shall continue to comply with subdivision (f).