Nationwide licensing may be a good idea
Nationwide licensing may be a good idea
georgestolz said:
Joe, share your vision of what you'd like to see: perhaps that would clear up exactly what we're supposed to be discussing.
Nationwide licensing? Federal Inspections?
What would you like to see?
I'm not antagonizing you, I'm trying to get you to communicate in a way I can understand - take a deep breath, and proceed slowly, please.
George:
Nationwide licensing would be a step in the right direction, however, politics would probably stop that, I feel like we should be concerned about what we as licensed electrician's should be looking at, and what's happening in the field.
I just received the following information, and it shows another problem we have to deal with, and below that message is a repeat of
tallgirl's message which keys in on the subject of qualification's.
Don:
I called attention to the definition of "unqualified person" from 70E only to give us something that is clearly defined, I didn't check OSHA's rules, but would feel sure about their wrath, when they find some on a job who have not been trained in accordance with 1910.331.
Here's the Texas memo:
"Former Hico Official Pleads Guilty For Licensing Scheme
Set Up Program to Allow Unqualified Individuals to Get a State Electrical License"
"April 16, 2007
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Patrick Shaughnessy
512-463-3208
AUSTIN ? A former official for the city of Hico was assessed two years of deferred adjudication probation and fined $1,000 on Thursday, April 12, after pleading guilty to a charge that arose from a scheme to allow
unqualified individuals to receive state electrical licenses.
Raul Chavez, 915 Kirk St. in Hico, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of tampering with a government record. He was sentenced by 220th District Judge James Morgan.
Chavez was arrested on January 18, 2007, by deputies from the Hamilton County Sheriff?s Office based on a complaint filed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). TDLR investigators determined that Chavez was responsible for concocting a scheme to allow
unqualified individuals to receive state electrical licenses by setting up a Hico municipal electrical licensing program, which included a training course and a licensing exam provided by Chavez. The investigation showed that Chavez helped the individuals to use their Hico-issued licenses as the basis for obtaining a state electrical license, including providing them with falsified experience verification forms attested to by Chavez.
?This felony plea shows how serious we considered this case to be,? said William Kuntz, TDLR?s executive director. ?
Unqualified individuals who portray themselves as state-licensed electricians pose a threat to public safety. Improper electrical work can burn down your house and harm your family. It is our responsibility to make sure that if you hold a state electrical license you are qualified to perform the duties.?
TDLR has so far identified 17 individuals who participated in Chavez? scheme and received state licenses. Three of those individuals immediately surrendered their licenses when they were contacted by TDLR investigators. Seven other individuals surrendered their licenses after enforcement cases were opened against them. Six cases are pending. One individual who was involved with Chavez was determined to have received his electrical license through legitimate documentation.
In addition to the criminal count, Chavez also faces an administrative enforcement case opened by TDLR. That case is pending.
While serving in 2003 as Building Code Enforcement Officer for Hico, a town of 1,300 about 70 miles southwest of Fort Worth, without authorization from the city Chavez set up a municipal electrical licensing program.
In 2003, the 78th Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1487, the Electrical Safety and Licensing Act, mandating that all individuals performing electrical work in Texas must have either a state or local electrician?s license.
There was no electrical licensing program in Hico then, so many individuals who were performing electrical work in that area held no license.
The law also provided for a grandfathering period, during which electricians who held a local or regional license could obtain a state license without passing a test by proving they had sufficient experience and by using their local license as the basis for their state license. They were required to have held their local license for a year and were also required to provide experience verification forms, signed by a master electrician, demonstrating that they had worked for the statutorily required amount of time under the supervision of a master electrician.
The law provided an avenue to electrical licensure for qualified and experienced individuals who worked in areas without licensing, but the law made it much quicker to qualify for a state license if the applicant already held a local license.
The local licensing program Chavez set up required electricians to undergo two weeks of training and then pass a test administered by Chavez. Chavez also granted himself a master electrician?s license, although he had no training as an electrician.
Chavez then assisted the members of his class when they filled out their state electrician license application. Since state law required applicants to hold a local electrical license for at least a year to qualify for a state license without testing, each applicant falsely claimed to have held their local licenses for at least a year, even though the Hico program had not at the time existed for a year. In addition, Chavez used the master electrician?s license he had issued to himself to sign experience verification forms for class participants, allowing them to become licensed. Former Hico Official Pleads Guilty For Licensing Scheme Set Up Program to Allow Unqualified Individuals to Get a State Electrical License"
tallgirl's reply above does say something too:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dduffee260
Joe, as you probably know in Texas now you have to have at the minimum an apprentice license to do electrical work for a contractor. In our company everyone has one except for the office staff.
You should have them apply as well :smile:
Quote:
Since Texas went state wide with the licensing it has flooded the market with licensed journeymen. The pay scale dropped like crazy because thousands of the new journeymen got the license, but in realty they are not even good 2nd year apprentices.
They say in about 20 years it will clean things up with this like the plumbing licensing program did.
There's a proposed bill in the Texas legislature that will supposedly put a time limit on how long someone can hold an apprentice license. That might help some with the number of people who hold journeypeep cards going forward.
And I guess I'm unclear on how good the average 2nd year apprentice is supposed to be -- I've seen a lot of variation in how good anyone is, 2nd, 3rd or 4th year apprentice. I can hold my own against most residential apprentices, and some journeypeeps. So maybe a discussion of what skills are expected for each amount of experience would make for an interesting thread.
