A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT amending certain laws relating to licensure requirements for plumbing and heating contractors.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 87‑21(a)(4) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Definitions. – For the purpose of this Article:
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(4)	The phrase "heating, group number three" shall be deemed and held to be an individual direct heating or cooling system  that raises or lowers the temperature of the space within a building or portion of a building for the purpose of comfort in which electric heating elements or products of combustion exchange heat either directly with the building supply air or indirectly through a heat exchanger using an air distribution system of ducts and having a mechanical refrigeration capacity of 15 tons or less. A mechanical refrigeration capacity of 15 tons or less shall apply to system capacity, not total building load. A heating system requiring air distribution ducts and supplied by ground water or utilizing a coil supplied by water from a domestic hot water heater not exceeding 150 degrees Fahrenheit requires either plumbing or heating group number one license to extend piping from valved connections in the domestic hot water system to the heating coil and requires either heating group number one or heating group number three license for installation of coil, duct work, controls, drains and related appurtenances.
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SECTION 2.  G.S. 87‑21(b)(6) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	Classes of Licenses; Eligibility and Examination of Applicant; Necessity for License. –
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(6)	Examinations shall be given at least twice each year, and additional examinations may be given as the Board deems wise and necessary. The examination shall be conducted in two parts to include a business and law portion and a technical portion. Requests for examination applications and information shall be supplied at no cost to the potential examinee. The Board may offer written examinations within 30 days or administer examinations by computer within 10 days after approving an application. Applicants shall obtain the results of computerized examinations immediately upon completion of the examination. Upon passing the examination and paying the annual license fee, the applicant shall be issued a license. A person who fails to pass any examination shall not be reexamined until after 30 days from the date the person was last examined. An applicant who fails to pass any examination may have up to six months to retake the examination and shall retake only the portion that he or she failed. The Board may require applicants who fail any examination three times to wait one year before retaking any portion of the examination.
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SECTION 3.  G.S. 87‑22 reads as rewritten:
"§ 87‑22.  License fee; expiration and renewal; reinstatement.
All persons, firms, or corporations engaged in the business of either plumbing or heating contracting, or both, shall pay an annual license fee not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00). The annual fee for a piping or restricted classification license shall not exceed that for a plumbing or heating license. All persons, firms, or corporations engaged in the business of fire sprinkler contracting shall pay an initial application fee not to exceed seventy‑five dollars ($75.00) and an annual license fee not to exceed three hundred dollars ($300.00). In the event the Board refuses to license an applicant, the license fee deposited shall be returned by the Board to the applicant. All licenses shall expire on the last day of December in each year following their issuance or renewal. The license fee shall be prorated monthly from the first day of January until the last day of November in the initial license year. It shall be the duty of the secretary and treasurer to send by United States mail or e‑mail to every licensee registered with the Board, notice to the licensee's last known address reflected on the records of the Board of the amount of fee required for renewal of license, the notice to be mailed at least one month in advance of the expiration of the license. The Board may require payment of all unpaid annual fees before reissuing a license. In the event of failure on the part of any person, firm or corporation to renew the license certificate annually and pay the required fee during the month of January in each year, the Board shall increase the license fee by twenty‑five dollars ($25.00) to cover any additional expense associated with late renewal. The Board shall require reexamination upon failure of a licensee to renew license within three years after expiration. The Board may adopt regulations requiring attendance at programs of continuing education as a condition of license renewal. A licensee employed full time as a local government plumbing, heating, or mechanical inspector and holding qualifications from the Code Officials Qualifications Board may renew the license at a fee not to exceed twenty‑five dollars ($25.00)."
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.