Sec. J-1. 32 MRSA §2311, sub-§§1 and 2, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 569, §4, are amended to read:
1. Accessory equipment. "Accessory equipment" shall mean means equipment, materials and controls which that are not integral parts of the oil or solid fuel burning unit but which that are connected thereto to the oil or solid fuel burning unit and have the potential to affect the safety of the oil or solid fuel burning equipment.
2. Apprentice oil burner technician. "Apprentice oil burner technician" shall mean means a person who is licensed under this chapter to and under the supervision of a master oil burner technician licensed under this chapter. A licensed apprentice oil burner technician may assist in making oil burner installations, repairs and servicing of oil burning equipment under the direct supervision of a master or journeyman oil burner technician. An apprentice oil burner technician may clean oil burners and oil burning equipment without direct supervision.
Sec. J-2. 32 MRSA §2311, sub-§7, as amended by PL 1991, c. 716, §6, is further amended to read:
7. Journeyman oil burner technician. "Journeyman oil burner technician" means any person licensed under this chapter to install, clean, service, alter or repair oil burning equipment. A journeyman oil burner technician shall may install oil burning equipment only under the supervision of a master oil burner technician licensed under this chapter and must at all times be under the supervision of, or in the employ of, a master oil burner technician licensed under this chapter. Applicants for a license of this classification shall present evidence satisfactory to the board of at least one year's licensed practical experience, or 6 months of licensed practical experience and completion of an oil burner technician course at a Maine technical college, regional applied technology center, applied technology region, or comparable institute from Maine or another state consisting, at a minimum, of 160 hours of study of which at least 75 hours are made up of laboratory work on oil burner equipment and related systems.
Sec. J-3. 32 MRSA §2311, sub-§8, as amended by PL 1997, c. 82, §1, is further amended to read:
8. Master oil burner technician. "Master oil burner technician" means a person who is licensed under this chapter to engage in the business of installing or servicing oil burning equipment. Applicants for a license of this classification shall present to the board satisfactory evidence that they have 4 years licensed practical experience and evidence that the licensed practical experience for at least 2 of those 4 years was as a licensed journeyman oil burner technician, or other such requirement as the Oil and Solid Fuel Board may establish.
Sec. J-4. 32 MRSA §2311, sub-§9, as amended by PL 1997, c. 82, §2, is further amended to read:
9. Master solid fuel burner technician. "Master solid fuel burner technician" means a person who is licensed under this chapter to engage in the business of installing and servicing solid fuel burning equipment. An applicant for examination for this classification must be a person who presents to the board satisfactory evidence of at least 2 years of licensed practical experience and related knowledge; or a person having a master oil burner technician's license issued under this chapter; or a person having a bachelor degree in engineering from an accredited university who presents to the board satisfactory evidence of knowledge of solid fuel burning equipment.
Sec. J-5. 32 MRSA §2311, sub-§9-A, as amended by PL 1991, c. 714, §10, is repealed.
Sec. J-6. 32 MRSA §2312, as repealed and replaced by PL 1991, c. 198, §9, is repealed.
Sec. J-7. 32 MRSA §2312-A, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 198, §10, is repealed.
Sec. J-8. 32 MRSA §2315, as amended by PL 1991, c. 198, §13, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§2315. State oil and solid fuel compliance officers
1. Inspection. State oil and solid fuel compliance officers, upon written complaint of any owner, lessee or tenant of a building, state fire inspector, fire chief, fire department inspector, personnel of an electric utility or local electrical inspector, or whenever they consider it necessary, for purposes of examination of the burner, chimney or fireplace installation, may at all reasonable hours enter into and upon all buildings or premises within their jurisdiction and inspect the buildings or premises. The inspectors may enter any building only with the permission of the person having control of the building or, after hearing, upon order of the court. Whenever any such compliance officer finds any burner, chimney or fireplace installation in any building or structure that does not comply with the requirements of this chapter, that officer shall order the burner, chimney or fireplace to be removed or remedied, and the order must forthwith be complied with by the owner or occupant of that building or structure or the installer of the equipment. If the compliance officer finds an installation, which falls under the compliance officer's jurisdiction in any building or structure that creates a danger to other property or to the public, the compliance officer may forbid the use of the building or structure by serving a written order upon the owner and the occupant, if any, to vacate within a reasonable period of time to be stated in the order.
2. Order to correct deficiency; appeal. Any person ordered by a state oil and solid fuel compliance officer to correct a deficiency or to vacate a building or structure may appeal the order by filing with the board within 7 days of receipt of the order a written notice of appeal. The board shall review that appeal and issue its written decision within a reasonable time after receipt of the notice of appeal. If the board upholds the compliance officer's order, it shall prescribe a time period for the requisite correction specified in its written decision or the time within which that person must vacate the building or structure. The decision must be complied with, unless appealed as provided. Any person ordered by the board to correct a deficiency or to vacate a building or structure may appeal the order to the Superior Court in accordance with Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A by filing a petition for review within 48 hours of receipt of the order. The court shall issue its written decision within 20 days after receipt of the petition for review.
3. Final orders. The decision of the Superior Court on an appeal is final. An order by a state oil and solid fuel compliance officer and any order by the board are final and subject to no further appeal upon failure to file a timely, written appeal as provided in subsection 2.
4. Injunction to enforce order. Upon the failure of any person to carry out a final order as provided in subsection 3, the board may petition the Superior Court for the county in which the building or premises are located for an injunction to enforce that order. If the court determines, upon hearing such a petition, that a lawful final order was issued, it shall order compliance.
5. Powers of oil and solid fuel compliance officers. Oil and solid fuel compliance officers have powers throughout the several counties of the State, similar to those of sheriffs in their respective counties, relating to enforcement of this chapter and rules adopted under this chapter. These powers are limited to the issuing of citations, the serving of summonses, the conducting of investigations, the ordering of corrections of violations and the issuance of orders to vacate a building or structure in accordance with this chapter. State oil and solid fuel compliance officers may review the burner, chimney or fireplace installation records of any person licensed under this chapter or any person performing installations as authorized under this chapter.
Sec. J-9. 32 MRSA §2317, first ¶, as amended by PL 1997, c. 82, §3, is further amended to read:
Any person, firm or corporation who makes an oil or solid fuel burner installation without being licensed as provided by this chapter; any person, firm or corporation in the oil or solid fuel burner installation business who employs an unlicensed person, unless the work is exempted under this chapter; or any person who procures any license as provided in this chapter wrongfully or by fraud; or any person, firm or corporation who violates the provisions of this chapter or rules adopted under this chapter, or standards adopted by the board, is guilty of a Class E crime.
Sec. J-10. 32 MRSA §2351, 2nd ¶, as amended by PL 1993, c. 659, Pt. A, §6, is further amended to read:
Three of the appointive members must be oil burner technicians who are active in the trade. One of the members must have at least 5 years' experience and the other 2 members must have at least 10 years' experience as oil burner technicians. Nominees for appointment of the oil burner technician members may be recommended to the Governor by the Maine Oil Dealers Association. One of the appointive members must be a representative of the solid fuel burning industry, one must be a representative of the public and one must be a manufacturer, importer or wholesaler or a designee of a manufacturer, importer or wholesaler of the type of equipment requiring product registration pursuant to section 2312 equipment for burning oil and solid fuel, prefabricated fireplaces and chimneys or accessory equipment.
Sec. J-11. 32 MRSA §2352, 2nd ¶, as amended by PL 1991, c. 198, §15, is repealed.
Sec. J-12. 32 MRSA §2353, as amended by PL 1991, c. 198, §16, is further amended to read:
The board shall meet at least once a year to conduct its business and elect its officers. Additional meetings may be held as necessary to conduct the business of the board, and may be convened at the call of the chair or a majority of the board members. Four members of the board constitute a quorum for all purposes. The board may adopt standards and rules as necessary, pursuant to the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, Title 5, chapter 375, for the holding of examinations and for carrying out this chapter, and provide for reciprocity of licensing with similar boards of other states that maintain standards equivalent to those provided under this chapter. The board may establish fees and charges necessary for covering the costs incurred for registering manufacturers and importers. The manufacturer or importer shall pay all fees and charges established by the board or incurred by the board in the process of investigating or verifying the safety of equipment sold in the State.
Sec. J-13. 32 MRSA §2401-A, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 569, §13, is amended to read:
6. Personal abode. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent prevents a person from making an oil or solid fuel burner installation in a single family residence occupied or to be occupied by him that person as his that person's bona fide personal abode, providing provided that the installation conforms with the National Fire Protection Association Standard No. 31 board laws and rules.
Sec. J-14. 32 MRSA §2401-B is enacted to read:
1. Application; qualifications. The board shall issue a license to any person who files a sworn application, who passes an examination approved by the board and who meets the following applicable qualifications.
A. For a journeyman oil burner technician license, a person must present satisfactory evidence to the board of at least one year's licensed practical experience as an apprentice oil burner technician, or 6 months of licensed practical experience and completion of an oil burner technician course at a Maine technical college, regional applied technology center, applied technology region or comparable institute from Maine or another state consisting, at a minimum, of 160 hours of study of which at least 75 hours are made up of laboratory work on oil burner equipment and related systems. An out-of-state applicant must present satisfactory evidence to the board of experience in installing, cleaning, servicing, altering and repairing oil burning equipment.
B. For a master oil burner technician license, a person must present to the board satisfactory evidence of a total of 4 years' licensed practical experience as an apprentice oil burner technician and a journeyman oil burner technician and evidence that the licensed practical experience for at least 2 of those 4 years was as a licensed journeyman oil burner technician, or other such requirements as the board may establish. Courses approved to become licensed as a journeyman can not be applied toward the licensing requirements for a master. An out-of-state applicant must present satisfactory evidence to the board of experience in installing, cleaning, servicing, altering and repairing oil burning equipment.
C. For a master solid fuel burner technician license, a person must present to the board satisfactory evidence of at least 2 years' licensed practical experience as a journeyman oil burner technician and related knowledge; a master oil burner technician's license issued under this chapter; or a bachelor's degree in engineering from an accredited university and satisfactory evidence of knowledge of solid fuel burning equipment. An out-of-state applicant must present satisfactory evidence to the board of experience in installing, cleaning, servicing, altering and repairing solid fuel burning equipment.
2. Apprentice. The board may issue an apprentice license without examination to any person who applies and submits an annual fee as adopted by the board by rule. Any such person employed by, or under the direct supervision of, a master licensee must apply for an apprentice license immediately upon employment or immediately after beginning school in a heating program. An apprentice oil burner technician may clean oil burners and oil burning equipment as specified by rule.
3. License certificate. All persons licensed by the board must receive a license certificate that must be publicly displayed at the principal place of business of the licensee, if any, and a pocket card license that must be carried on the person and displayed at any time upon request.
Sec. J-15. 32 MRSA §2402, as amended by PL 1997, c. 82, §4, is repealed.
Sec. J-16. 32 MRSA §§2402-A and 2402-B are enacted to read:
The board may adopt reasonable rules for the issuance of various types and classes of licenses to cover oil and solid fuel burner installations and to set forth standards and rules for product approval. A license may cover one or more types of installations. The board may further adopt reasonable rules concerning the term and type of experience required by candidates for examination.
An application fee, an examination fee and original and renewal license fees may be established by the board by rule in amounts that are reasonable and necessary for their respective purposes.
1. Application. The fee for application may not exceed $25.
2. Examination. The fee for examination may not exceed $100.
3. Licensure. The fees for licensure may not exceed the following amounts:
A. Master................................$200;
B. Journeyman............................$100;
C. Apprentice............................$40; and
D. Company...............................$200.
Sec. J-17. 32 MRSA §2403, 2nd ¶, as amended by PL 1979, c. 606, §13, is further amended to read:
Examinations may include questions on the standards rules of the Oil and Solid Fuel Board, applicable National Fire Protection Association Standards and provisions of the National Electrical Code as may be applicable to the installations and the equipment. Any person failing to pass his the first examination in any one category may be reexamined at a time agreeable to the board upon payment of the examination fee.
Sec. J-18. 32 MRSA §2406, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 320, §6, is amended to read:
§2406. Corporations, firms and partnerships
The board may issue a master oil burner or solid fuel burner technician company license to a corporation, firm or, partnership which submits an application for a license on a form prescribed by the board or limited liability company. Such a license shall may not be issued unless the applicant provides satisfactory evidence that it has a licensed master oil burner or solid fuel burner technician directly in charge of its heating business activities who is an officer in the case of a corporation, or full-time employee, in the case of a firm or partnership, and the license shall must be issued in the name of that master oil burner or solid fuel burner technician. Upon the death or severance from the company of the licensed master oil burner or solid fuel burner technician in whose name the company license is held, the company license shall automatically terminate terminates 30 days from the date of that death or severance, unless the company applies for reissuance of its license in the name of another licensed master oil burner or solid fuel burner technician who is qualified under this section.
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