Sprinkler fitters: licensing.

Existing law establishes the Office of the State Fire Marshal for specified purposes and requires the Governor to appoint the State Fire Marshal. Existing law requires the State Fire Marshal to adopt and administer regulations and building standards he or she deems necessary in order to, among other things, establish and control a program for servicing, testing, and maintaining all automatic fire extinguishing systems, including fire sprinkler systems. The Contractors' State License Law provides for the licensing and regulation of contractors by the Contractors' State License Board. Under that law, the registrar may refuse to issue, reinstate, reactivate, or renew a license or may suspend a license for the failure of a licensee to resolve all outstanding final liabilities, which include taxes, additions to tax, penalties, interest, and any fees that may be assessed by the board or other specified state agencies. This bill would include the assessments of the State Fire Marshal among the liabilities for which a license may be affected for nonpayment. This bill would enact a comprehensive program for the certification and regulation of sprinkler fitters, as defined, by the State Fire Marshal. The bill would prohibit a person from performing work on any fire suppression system, as defined, unless he or she possesses a valid sprinkler fitter or limited scope sprinkler fitter certificate issued by the State Fire Marshal, and would prohibit a person or entity from employing a person to perform work on a fire suppression system without such a certificate. The bill would provide for the issuance of, and would set forth eligibility standards for, various certificates and permits, and would require the State Fire Marshal to adopt a schedule of fees in amounts necessary to cover the cost of administering and enforcing these provisions. This bill would provide for the enforcement of these provisions by the State Fire Marshal, and would require the State Fire Marshal to revoke or suspend a certificate or permit, or reprimand a certificate holder or permitholder, for specified reasons. The bill would also provide that a person licensed under the Contractors' State License Law who violates these provisions would be subject to disciplinary action by the Contractors' State License Board. A knowing and willful violation of these licensing and regulatory provisions would be a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.