45th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2002

RELATING TO CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES LICENSING; CHANGING THE REQUIREMENTS FOR INDIVIDUALS DESIRING ELECTRICAL CERTIFICATES OF COMPETENCE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. Section 60-13-38 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 199, Section 41, as amended) is amended to read:

"60-13-38. CERTIFICATES OF COMPETENCE--EXAMINATION--JOURNEYMEN.--

A. No individual shall engage in the occupation or trade of journeyman unless he holds a certificate of competence issued by the division for the occupation or trade in which he desires to engage.

B. The division shall issue certificates of competence for journeyman electricians, journeyman plumbers, journeyman gas fitters, journeyman pipe fitters, journeyman sheet metal workers, journeyman boiler operators and journeyman welders working on pipelines, collection lines or compressor stations.

C. An applicant for a certificate of competence shall pass an examination approved and adopted by the division as to his knowledge of the orders, rules and regulations governing the occupation or trade for which a certificate is sought, and he shall also be examined as to his technical knowledge and ability pertaining to his particular trade. The examination may be oral, written or demonstrative or any combination thereof, as required by regulations of the commission; provided that the division shall issue a certificate of competence to any journeyman welder working on pipelines, collection lines or compressor stations who shows evidence of having satisfactorily completed an examination administered by an independent testing organization or public utility employing engineers registered with the state, such examination meeting the minimum pipeline safety standards set by the [state corporation] public regulation commission.

D. Applications for certificates of competence shall be in the form and shall contain such information and attachments as the division prescribes.

E. The division shall establish a reasonable fee for any examination or issuance of certificate of competence.

F. With the exception of electrical certificates of competence set forth in Subsections H and I of this section, no individual is eligible to take an examination for a certificate of competence unless he has had two years' experience in the occupation or trade for which a certificate of competence is sought, or the equivalent thereof as determined by the commission, or has successfully completed a course in the trade approved by the vocational education division of the state department of public education. G. Employment of an apprentice working under the direct supervision of a certified journeyman is not prohibited by the Construction Industries Licensing Act.

H. An individual is eligible to take an examination for a journeyman electrical certificate of competence after at least:

(1) four years of accredited training in the electrical trade;

(2) four years apprenticeship in the electrical trade; or

(3) four years practical experience in the electrical trade of which two years shall be experience in the commercial trade, industrial trade or the equivalent thereof as determined by the commission.

I. An individual is eligible to take an examination for a residential wireman's certificate of competence after:

(1) a minimum of two years accredited training or apprenticeship in the electrical trade; or

(2) two years of practical experience in wiring residential dwellings."