SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 1862
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: MAY 8, 1997
The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 1862.
This bill revises the qualifications that a person needs to meet and satisfy in order to apply for a master plumber's State license. In order to qualify, a person must be a citizen or a legal resident of the United States and have been engaged or employed in the plumbing trade for a period of five years. Four of those five years must be spent in a plumbing apprenticeship program accredited and approved by the United States Department of Labor and one of those years must be spent engaged or employed as a journeyman plumber. Currently, the law requires a person to have been engaged or employed in the plumbing industry for a period of five years and does not require a person to spend four years in a plumbing apprenticeship program accredited and approved by the United States Department of Labor or to be a citizen or legal resident of the United States.
The bill also provides that for four years following the effective date of this bill, under certain circumstances, a person may qualify to apply for a license as a master plumber without having to participate in a plumbing apprenticeship program accredited and approved by the United States Department of Labor. Those circumstances apply if a person presents evidence satisfactory to the State Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers that the person had been employed in the plumbing trade or enrolled in a formal plumbing apprenticeship program on or before the effective date of this bill. Such employment or enrollment shall be credited up to a maximum total credit of four years.
In addition, the bill stipulates that the State Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers shall keep a register of all applications by individuals registering as journeymen plumbers and apprentice plumbers enrolled in a plumbing apprenticeship program accredited and approved by the United States Department of Labor.