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An Act To Expand Exemptions from Licensing Laws for Professional Engineers
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 32 MRSA §1255, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2005, c. 315, §9, is further amended to read:
6. Subsurface sewage disposal. Persons who have been licensed by the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to Title 22, section 42, subsection 3-A, solely for the purpose of work relating to subsurface sewage disposal systems. This exemption does not apply to the board's power to license or to revoke, suspend or refuse to renew the license of any licensee; and
Sec. 2. 32 MRSA §1255, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 34, §1, is amended to read:
7. Person who performs work on certain vessels. A person who performs work only on vessels under 200 feet long.; and
Sec. 3.  32 MRSA §1255, sub-§8  is enacted to read:
8.  Persons engaged in design of minor construction.   Persons engaged in the design of the following minor construction do not need to provide stamped and sealed plans and specifications unless specifically required by the code enforcement officer.
A.  Detached one-family or 2-family residences;
B.  Farm buildings with an overall floor plan not exceeding 3,000 square feet;
C.  Single bathroom additions or renovations in an existing building if there is no impact on the building’s compliance with the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code adopted by the Department of Public Safety, Office of the State Fire Marshal;
D.  Revisions or additions to plumbing systems costing up to $10,000 if the work has no impact on the building’s compliance with the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code adopted by the Department of Public Safety, Office of the State Fire Marshal and does not involve roof drains;
E.  Revisions to existing heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and design of new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems if the work has no impact on the building’s compliance with the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code adopted by the Department of Public Safety, Office of the State Fire Marshal requirements and the project does not include more than one heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit with a maximum cooling capacity of 5 tons or heating capacity of 200,000 BTUs;
F.  Revisions or additions to structural systems costing up to $10,000 if the design is in accordance with the tables provided in the International Building Code; and
G.  Revisions or additions to electrical systems costing up to $10,000 if the work has no impact on the building’s compliance with the National Fire Protection Association Life Safety Code adopted by the Department of Public Safety, Office of the State Fire Marshal.
All the work that is done under these exemptions must be in accordance with the licensing requirements of the trade involved, including, but not limited to, all construction industry design standards such as the National Fire Protection Association standards, state and municipal building and energy codes, the State Fire Marshal’s requirements and ASHRAE Standard 62 and ASHRAE Standard 90.
Subsection 8 lead-in language should end in a ":"
Effective September 20, 2007