SB 665

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) issues various licenses, permits,

registrations, and other credentials to individuals engaged in the construction

trades, such as to electricians and plumbers.

This bill requires Commerce to issue licenses for the operation of cranes and

certain pieces of heavy equipment. The bill defines a piece of "heavy equipment" to

be a piece of equipment that weighs at least 26,000 pounds and that is used to do

certain construction activities. The bill requires that Commerce promulgate a rule

that contains an initial listing of specific types of equipment for which a license is

necessary (regulated heavy equipment). The bill establishes a crane and heavy

equipment council which may recommend to Commerce specific types of equipment

that may be added to the list or removed from the list by rule. Certain specific pieces

of heavy equipment are exempt from regulation and may not be added to the list

promulgated by Commerce.

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