GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1995 SESSION

CHAPTER 376
HOUSE BILL 63

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR A SPECIALTY LICENSE FOR TRANSPORT REFRIGERATION CONTRACTORS, TO CHANGE THE COMPOSITION OF THE LICENSING BOARD, AND TO AMEND OTHER PROVISIONS OF THE LAW GOVERNING REFRIGERATION CONTRACTORS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 87-52 reads as rewritten:
"§ 87-52.  State Board of Refrigeration Examiners; appointment; term of office.
For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Article, the State Board of Refrigeration Examiners is created, consisting of seven members appointed by the Governor to serve seven-year staggered terms.  The Board shall consist of one member who is a wholesaler or a manufacturer of refrigeration equipment; one member from an engineering school of The University of North Carolina, one member from the Division of Public Health of The University of North Carolina, two licensed refrigeration contractors, one member who has no ties with the construction industry to represent the interest of the public at large, and one member with an engineering background in refrigeration.  The term of office of one member shall expire each year.  Vacancies occurring during a term shall be filled by appointment of the Governor for the unexpired term.  Whenever the term 'Board' is used in this Article, it means the State Board of Refrigeration Examiners.  No Board member shall serve more than one complete consecutive term."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 87-58 reads as rewritten:
"§ 87-58.  Definitions; contractors licensed by Board; examinations.
(a)	As applied in this Article, 'refrigeration trade or business' is defined to include all persons, firms or corporations engaged in the installation, maintenance, servicing and repairing of refrigerating machinery, equipment, devices and components relating thereto and within limits as set forth in the codes, laws and regulations governing refrigeration installation, maintenance, service and repairs within the State of North Carolina or any of its political subdivisions, provided however, that this Article shall not apply to the replacement of lamps and fuses and to the installation and servicing of domestic household refrigerators and freezers or domestic ice-making appliances connected by means of attachment plug-in devices to suitable receptacles which have been permanently installed, and provided, further, that the provisions of this Article shall not repeal any wording, phrase, or paragraph as set forth in North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 87, Article 2; and provided, further, that this Article shall not apply to employees of persons, firms, or corporations or persons, firms or corporations, not engaged in refrigeration contracting as herein defined, that install, maintain and service their own refrigerating machinery, equipment and devices.  The provisions of this Article shall not apply to any person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of selling, repairing and installing any air-conditioning units, devices or systems for the purpose of cooling offices, buildings, houses, works, manufacturing plants, or any machinery, manufactured article or processing of material.
(b)	The term 'refrigeration contractor' means a person, firm or corporation engaged in the business of refrigeration contracting.
(b1)	The term 'transport refrigeration contractor' means a person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of installation, maintenance, servicing, and repairing of transport refrigeration.
(c)	Any person, firm or corporation who for valuable consideration engages in the refrigeration business or trade as herein defined shall be deemed and held to be in the business of refrigeration contracting.
(d)	In order to protect the public health, comfort and safety, the Board shall prescribe the standard of experience to be required of an applicant for license and shall give an examination designed to ascertain the technical and practical knowledge of the applicant concerning the analysis of plans and specifications, estimating cost, fundamentals of installation and design as they pertain to refrigeration; and as a result of the examination, the Board shall issue a certificate of license in refrigeration to applicants who pass the required examination and a license shall be obtained in accordance with the provisions of this Article, before any person, firm or corporation shall engage in, or offer to engage in the business of refrigeration contracting.  The Board shall prescribe standards for and issue licenses for refrigeration contracting and for transport refrigeration contracting.  A transport refrigeration contractor license is a specialty license that authorizes the licensee to engage only in transport refrigeration contracting.  A refrigeration contractor licensee is authorized to engage in transport refrigeration and all other aspects of refrigeration contracting.
Each application for examination shall be accompanied by a check, post-office money order or cash in the amount of the annual license fee required by this Article.  Regular examinations shall be given in the months of April and October of each year and additional examinations may be given at times the Board deems wise and necessary.  Any person may demand in writing a special examination and upon payment by the applicant of the cost of holding the examination and the deposit of the amount of the annual license fee, the Board in its discretion will fix a time and place for the examination.  A person who fails to pass any examination shall not be reexamined until the next regular examination.
(e)	Repealed by Session Laws 1979, c. 843, s. 1.
(f)	Licenses Granted without an Examination. – Persons who had an established place of business prior to July 1, 1979, and who produce satisfactory evidence that they are engaged in the refrigeration business as herein defined in any city, town or other area in which Article 5 of Chapter 87 of the General Statutes did not previously apply shall be granted a certificate of license, without examination, upon application to the Board and payment of the license fee, provided completed applications shall be made prior to June 30, 1981.
(g)	The current license issued in accordance with the provisions of this Article shall be posted in the business location of the licensee, and its number shall appear on all proposals or contracts and requests for permits issued by municipalities.
(h)	A transport refrigeration contractor having an established place of business doing transport refrigeration contracting prior to October 1, 1995, shall be granted a transport refrigeration contracting specialty license, without examination, if the person produces satisfactory evidence the person is engaged in transport refrigeration contracting, pays the required license fee, and applies to the Board prior to January 1, 1997.  The current specialty license shall be posted in accordance with subsection (g) of this section.
(i)	Nothing in this Article shall relieve the holder of a license issued under this section from complying with the building or electrical codes, statutes, or ordinances of the State or of any county or municipality or from responsibility or liability for negligent acts in connection with refrigeration contracting work.  The Board shall not be liable in damages, or otherwise, for the negligent acts of licensees."
Sec. 3.  G.S. 87-59 reads as rewritten:
"§ 87-59.  Revocation or suspension of license for cause.
(a)	The Board shall have power to revoke or suspend the license of any refrigeration contractor who is guilty of any fraud or deceit in obtaining a license, or who fails to comply with any provision or requirement of this Article, or for gross negligence, incompetency, or misconduct, in the practice of or in carrying on the business of a refrigeration contractor as defined in this Article.  Any person may prefer charges of fraud, deceit, gross negligence, incompetency, misconduct, or failure to comply with any provision or requirement of this Article, against any refrigeration contractor who is licensed under the provisions of this Article.  All charges shall be in writing and verified by the complainant, and shall be heard and determined by the Board in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes.
(b)	The Board shall adopt and publish guidelines, consistent with the provisions of this Article, governing the suspension and revocation of licenses.
(c)	The Board shall establish and maintain a system whereby detailed records are kept regarding complaints against each licensee.  This record shall include, for each licensee, the date and nature of each complaint, investigatory action taken by the Board, any findings of the Board, and the disposition of the matter.
(d)	In a case in which the Board is entitled to convene a hearing to consider a charge under this section, the Board may accept an offer to compromise the charge, whereby the accused shall pay to the Board a penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000).  The funds derived from the penalty shall be deposited into the General Fund.
(e)	All records, papers, and other documents containing information collected and compiled by the Board, or its members or employees, as a result of investigations, inquiries, or interviews conducted in connection with a licensing or disciplinary matter, shall not be considered public records within the meaning of Chapter 132 of the General Statutes."
Sec. 4.  G.S. 87-61 reads as rewritten:
"§ 87-61.  Violations made misdemeanor; employees of licensees excepted.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall engage in or offer to engage in, or carry on the business of refrigeration contracting as defined in this Article, without first having been licensed to engage in the business, or businesses, as required by the provisions of this Article; or any person, firm or corporation holding a refrigeration license under the provisions of this Article who shall practice or offer to practice or carry on any type of refrigeration contracting not authorized by the license; or any person, firm or corporation who shall give false or forged evidence of any kind to the Board, or any member thereof, in obtaining a license, or who shall falsely impersonate any other practitioner of like or different name, or who shall use an expired or revoked license, or who shall violate any of the provisions of this Article, shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.  The Board may, in its discretion, use its funds to defray the costs and expenses, legal or otherwise, in the prosecution of any violation of this Article.  Employees, while working under the supervision and jurisdiction of a person, firm or corporation licensed in accordance with the provisions of this Article, shall not be construed to have engaged in the business of refrigeration contracting."
Sec. 5.  This act becomes effective October 1, 1995.  G.S. 87-59(d), as enacted by this act, applies to hearings convened on or after the effective date.  The term of the public member of the Board that is currently scheduled to expire first shall expire on October 1, 1995, and the initial member with the engineering background in refrigeration appointed pursuant to this act shall serve from the date of appointment to January 1, 2001.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 5th day of July, 1995.

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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

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Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives