The bill updates and expands current procedures for registering and managing apprentices in electrical and plumbing programs. It introduces additional registration requirements, new renewal mandates, data-sharing provisions, alternative licensing options, and revised reporting and enforcement mechanisms.
Key Provisions
Registration and Termination Requirements
Initial Registration: Employers must register an apprentice with the respective governing board within 30 days of starting employment.
Termination of Registration: If an apprentice is no longer employed, the employer must remove the apprentice from the program and notify the board within 30 days of termination.
Renewal Requirements Starting January 1, 2027
Employers are required to renew an apprentice’s registration with the board at least once every 12 months.
The renewal process includes providing specific information to the board, and the board may charge a fee to cover the costs of maintaining the apprenticeship registration database.
Eligibility for Registration
An apprentice can only be registered if enrolled in an apprenticeship program that trains for an occupation officially recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor as an electrical or plumbing occupation.
Each calendar quarter, the state apprenticeship agency must publish a list of eligible apprenticeship programs for electrical and plumbing occupations.
Data-Sharing and Verification (by July 1, 2026)
The state apprenticeship agency and the department of regulatory agencies must establish data-sharing agreements and policies.
This collaboration is designed to verify that apprentices registered with a board are indeed enrolled in eligible programs.
If the board cannot verify eligibility within 30 days after notice of noncompliance, the apprentice’s registration will be removed, and the apprentice will be barred from working as an electrical or plumbing apprentice.
Alternative Licensing Options
Electrical Apprentices: An employer may authorize an electrical apprentice to take the residential wireman’s license examination instead of the journeyman electrician examination if:
The apprentice’s practical experience is better suited for a residential wireman’s license, or
The apprentice is more likely to achieve an electrical license by pursuing the residential wireman’s route.
Plumbing Apprentices: Similarly, an employer may allow a plumbing apprentice to take the residential plumber’s license examination instead of the journeyworker plumber’s exam under analogous conditions.
Exemptions for Repeated Exam Failures:
An electrical apprentice who fails to pass a license exam in two consecutive three-year periods may request an exemption from future examination requirements if justified.
A plumbing apprentice who fails to pass a license exam in two consecutive two-year periods may request a similar exemption.
Reporting and Registration Status Adjustments
Under current law, failure to properly report training and classroom hours or to take required examinations results in suspension of an apprentice’s license.
The bill allows the board to declare an apprentice’s registration status as inactive instead, with procedures in place for restoring active status.
Enforcement and Sanctions
The board is empowered to sanction employers who repeatedly fail to comply with registration and reporting requirements or whose apprentices consistently demonstrate noncompliance.
Conclusion
This bill strengthens oversight and accountability in apprenticeship programs by ensuring that apprentices are properly registered, regularly updated, and verified for eligibility. It also introduces flexible licensing options to better match an apprentice's experience and provides mechanisms for addressing noncompliance, thereby aiming to improve the overall quality and reliability of training in the electrical and plumbing sectors.
Summary
Current law requires an electrical employer, plumbing employer,
or apprenticeship program registered with the United States department of labor or a state apprenticeship agency recognized by the United States department of labor that employs an apprentice in this state (employer) to register an apprentice with the employer's respective governing board (board) within 30 days after beginning employment. When an apprentice is no longer employed as an apprentice, the bill requires the employer to remove the apprentice from the apprenticeship program and notify the applicable board of the termination of the employment no later than 30 days after the termination of the employment.
On and after January 1, 2027, an employer is also required to
renew an apprentice's registration with the employer's board at least once every 12 months. The employer must provide specified information to the board when renewing the apprentice's registration. The board may charge a registration fee to pay for the costs of maintaining an apprenticeship registration database.
An employer is prohibited from registering an apprentice's
registration with a board unless the apprentice is enrolled in an apprenticeship program training the apprentice for an occupation officially recognized by the United States department of labor as an electrical occupation for an electrical apprenticeship or a plumbing occupation for a plumbing apprenticeship. Each calendar quarter, the state apprenticeship agency shall publish a list of the apprenticeship programs that train apprentices for an occupation officially recognized by the United States department of labor as an electrical occupation or a plumbing occupation.
On or before July 1, 2026, the bill requires the state apprenticeship
agency and the department of regulatory agencies to establish data-sharing agreements and policies to enable the entities to determine if there are apprentices registered with a board who are enrolled to be trained for occupations other than electrical or plumbing occupations and who are therefore ineligible for registration with the board. If the board cannot verify that an apprentice is eligible to be registered as an apprentice within 30 days after notice of noncompliance, the board shall remove the apprentice's registration with the board, and the noncompliant apprentice shall not perform work as a plumbing or electrical apprentice in the state.
An employer of an electrical apprentice may authorize the
electrical apprentice to take the residential wireman's license examination instead of the journeyman electrician license examination if:
•
The employer determines that the relevant practical experience of the apprentice is best suited to pursue the residential wireman's license instead of a journeyman electrician license; or
•
The employer determines that the apprentice would be more likely to achieve an electrical license by pursuing a residential wireman's license.
If an electrical apprentice has failed to pass a license examination
in 2 consecutive 3-year periods, the apprentice may request an exemption from the board from future examination requirements. The board shall grant the exemption if:
•
The board determines that the apprentice has legitimate educational or professional circumstances that justify the exemption; or
•
The apprentice has passed the residential wireman's license examination and is only performing residential electrical work.
An employer of a plumbing apprentice may authorize the plumbing
apprentice to take the residential plumber's license examination instead of the journeyworker plumber's license examination if:
•
The employer determines that the relevant practical experience of the apprentice is best suited to pursue the residential plumber's license instead of a journeyworker plumber's license; or
•
The employer determines that the apprentice would be more likely to achieve a plumber's license by pursuing a residential plumber's license.
If a plumbing apprentice has failed to pass a license examination
in 2 consecutive 2-year periods, the plumbing apprentice may request an exemption from the board from future examination requirements. The board shall grant the exemption if:
•
The board determines that the apprentice has legitimate educational or professional circumstances that justify the exemption; or
•
The apprentice has passed the residential plumber's license examination and is only performing residential plumbing work.
Current law requires that, if the cumulative training and classroom
hours of an apprentice are not properly reported to the board or if an apprentice fails to take a license examination within a specified time frame, the board shall suspend the apprentice's license. The bill allows the board to instead declare the apprentice's registration status inactive and creates procedures for the board to restore the apprentice's registration status to active.
A board may sanction an employer that consistently and willfully
demonstrates a lack of compliance or whose apprentices show a significant pattern of noncompliance with the bill.
