Licensing of individuals using cranes and heavy equipment, requiring the exercise of rule-making authority, and providing a penalty

The bill creates four different licenses: a crane operator license, a heavy equipment operator license, an apprentice crane operator license, and an apprentice heavy equipment operator license. For all four of these licenses, an individual must be at least 18 years old at the time the license is issued and may not have had any license or other permission to operate a crane or any piece of heavy equipment suspended or revoked by Commerce or by another comparable licensing agency.

For the crane operator license, an individual must have a specified amount of experience, have obtained certification from an accredited program that certifies crane operators, and have completed an apprenticeship program. In lieu of completing the apprenticeship program, the individual may meet this requirement by having at least 10,000 hours of experience on the day that the bill becomes law.

For a license to operate regulated heavy equipment, the requirements are the same except the individual does not have to complete a program of certification. The crane operator and heavy equipment operator license are valid for five years and are renewable if the individual has operated cranes or regulated heavy equipment for at least 2,000 hours during the period of the license and has not had the license suspended or revoked and has not violated any law relating to the operation of cranes or heavy equipment.

For an apprentice crane operator license or apprentice heavy equipment operator license, the individual must have passed a written examination approved by Commerce and must be enrolled in a training program recognized by the U.S.

Department of Labor. These two apprenticeship licenses are valid for three years.

The license requirement applies only to public works projects where prevailing wage requirements apply. Under the current prevailing wage law, certain laborers, workers, mechanics, and truck drivers employed on a state or local project of public works must be paid at the rate paid for a majority of the hours worked in the person's trade or occupation in the county in which the project is located, as determined by the Department of Workforce Development.