A3061 1R

An Act concerning heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration contractors ¹,¹ and ¹amending and¹ supplementing P.L.2007, c.211 ¹[(C.45:16A-1 et seq.)]¹.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. ¹(New section)¹The provisions of P.L.2007, c.211 (C.45:16A-1 et seq.) shall not apply to a person who performs HVACR work if ¹[:

a. the person is an HVACR maintenance engineer and a regular employee of the owner, lessee, or management company of the property where the work is being performed;

b. the person performs the HVACR work in connection with the business in which the person is employed; and

c. the person and the person’s employer do not engage in HVACR contracting for the public.

For purposes of this section, “HVACR maintenance engineer” means a person who performs the repair or maintenance work necessary for the continued normal performance of heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems] that person is working for an employer as an employee and that work is being performed in any of the following locations that are owned or operated by the employer:

a. a general hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.);

b. a building that contains a steam boiler, pressure vessel or refrigeration plant, which is subject to test and inspection pursuant to R.S.34:7-1 et seq.; and

c. a casino-hotel facility operated under the provisions of the “Casino Control Act,” P.L.1977, c.110 (C.5:12-1 et seq.), which shall include any building containing heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems operated by one or more casino-hotel facilities as part of an agreement or arrangement to share systems¹.

¹2. Section 2 of P.L.2007, c.211 (C.45:16A-2) is amended to read as follows:

2. As used in this act:

"Board" means the State Board of Examiners of Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors created by section 3 of this act.

"Bona fide representative" means: in the case of a sole proprietorship, the owner; in the case of a partnership, a partner; in the case of a limited liability company, a manager; or in the case of a corporation, an executive officer.

"Director" means the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety.

"Heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration" or "HVACR" means the process of treating and protecting the environment by the responsible handling, dispensing, collecting and cleaning of chlorofluorocarbons and other refrigerants in stationary sources, and controlling the temperature, humidity and cleanliness of air by using the "wet," "dry," "radiant," "conduction," "convection," "direct," or "indirect" method or combination of methods, including those which utilize solar energy, to meet the environmental requirements of a designated area. "HVACR" also means the installation, servicing, connecting, maintenance or repair of the following:

power boiler systems, hydronic heating systems, fire tube and water tube boilers, pressure steam and hot water boilers, furnaces and space heaters, and appurtenances utilizing electric, fossil fuel, wood pellets or solar energy, other than those appurtenances utilized solely for the purpose of heating potable water;

warm air heating or refrigeration and evaporative cooling systems, ventilation and exhaust systems, dust collectors, air handling equipment, heating or cooling coils, air or refrigerant compressors, chillers, cooling towers, evaporators, condensers, plenums, fans, blowers, air cleaners, mechanical ventilation for radon mitigation, humidifiers, filters, louvers, mixing boxes and appurtenances; hydronic heating and chilled water pipe, condensate piping not [regulated under P.L.1968, c.362 (C.45:14C-1 et seq.)] discharged into a sanitary sewer, valves, fittings, burners and piping, hydronic heating, expansion tanks, pumps, gauges, humidity and thermostatic controls;

natural or manufactured gas piping on the load side of a meter; supply water piping to equipment being served from an existing dedicated source connected downstream from an approved backflow preventer, except in replacement cases, the installation of the required approved backflow device downstream from a pre-existing valve; and pneumatic controls and control piping, for the control of air, liquid, or gas temperatures, radiators, convectors, unit cabinet heaters, or fan coil units; and pneumatic controls and control piping, of automatic oil, gas or coal burning equipment, mechanical refrigeration equipment, gasoline or diesel oil dispensing equipment and in replacement cases only, the connection thereof of the wiring from an electrical service disconnect box of adequate size to accommodate the equipment and controls and previously dedicated to that equipment, and the testing and balancing of air and hydronic systems, but does not include the design or preparation of specifications for equipment or systems to be installed that are within the practice of professional engineering as defined in subsection (b) of section 2 of P.L.1938, c.342 (C.45:8-28).

"Heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration contracting" means undertaking or advertising to undertake, for a fixed price, fee, commission, or gain of whatever nature, the planning, laying out, installation, construction, maintenance, service, repair, alteration or modification to any portion of any system, product or equipment or appurtenances used for the environmental needs or control of any heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration system.

"Master heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration contractor" means any person, firm, partnership, corporation or other legal entity licensed according to the provisions of this act which obtains a pressure seal pursuant to sections 24 and 25 of this act and which advertises, undertakes or offers to undertake for another the planning, laying out, supervising, installing, servicing or repairing of HVACR systems, apparatus or equipment. In order to act as a "Master HVACR contractor," an individual shall be a bona fide representative of the legal entity licensed pursuant to the provisions of this act.

"HVACR journeyperson" means any person who installs, alters, repairs services or renovates HVACR systems in accordance with standards, rules and regulations established by the board and who works under the supervision of a Master HVACR contractor.

"Retrofit" means a change in design, construction or equipment already in operation in order to incorporate later improvements.

"Replacement" means a change of equipment with the same type or similar equipment.

"Undertake or offer to undertake for another" means a contractor who is listed in a public bid as the proposed subcontractor by the contractor placing the bid for an HVACR contract.¹

(cf: P.L.2007, c.211, s.2)

¹[2.] 3.¹ This act shall take effect immediately.