Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 8, 1995 TAG: 9505080134
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAN CASEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
That's left Roanoke-area tradespeople and building officials wondering if some unqualified people are slipping into building trades as master electricians, plumbers and ventilation mechanics - and worrying about mistakes those unqualified workers might make.
The new regulations were handed down to local building commissioners in September and clarified in December. Under the rules, local building departments can issue "exempt" certifications to anyone who swears he practiced a trade before July 1, 1978, and provides three letters of reference.
Roanoke alone has issued 200 to 250 exempt certifications, said Ron Miller, chief of the city's building inspections department. Salem and Roanoke County have issued fewer of the certifications and turned many other applicants away, officials in those jurisdictions said.
"I've seen some people come in here who I doubted could do electrical work. And they've been issued a master's card," said Chuck Grant, a Roanoke electrical inspector.
"It's like if I was practicing herbal medicine before July 1, 1978, I could get a doctor's license," he said.
"I don't think they should ever give a master's license out without [making someone] pass a test ... I don't care how long they've been in the business," said Woody Flowers of Varney Electric Co., a large local contractor. "If they burn down a few houses or a few people get electrocuted here, they'll think about what they're doing."
"The general public is really being set up," Roanoke County master electrician Lyndon Carr said. "They don't know the difference between us and somebody who's got one of these exempt cards. I know some guys who've got them who've never pulled a piece of wire through a stud wall."
The rush for certification comes in part because Virginia is requiring self-employed but uncertified plumbers, electricians and heating mechanics to become certified by July 1.
For the past 20 years, the commonwealth has allowed cities and counties to offer certification of building trades, but there was no requirement that they do so.
Thus, in some localities tradespeople are certified, designations they earn through mandatory training, apprenticeships and by passing tough examinations in their crafts.
In other areas - particularly rural ones - there are no certification programs. Only 70 cities and counties certify building trades, said Roxanna Rickman, program manager for training and certification in the building and regulation division at the Department of Housing and Community Development.
Under a law passed by the General Assembly in 1994, all of the building trades workers must be certified or working under a certified tradesperson by July 1. At the same time, the Department of Housing and Community Development is transferring its certifying authority to the state Board of Contractors.
"There are a lot of people out there who've been out there in the very rural localities, they never knew they had to be licensed or they were not in localities that did it," she said. "It has never been the intent of the General Assembly to put anybody out of business."
The regulations allow uncertified tradespeople to gain certification before the July 1 deadline without taking the tests - in essence, the state would "grandfather" them.
Local building officials say there is no question that there are qualified electricians, plumbers and other tradespeople who should be grandfathered.
But it's the exemption process that has them concerned. Under the least stringent rules, a plumber or electrician may simply sign an affidavit and submit three supporting letters from former clients, building officials or employers as proof.
"It all goes back to one thing: you know, are all people honest?" said Doug Proffit, president of the Electrical League of Southwest Virginia.
Rickman said the affidavit is supposed to include a detailed summary of the scope of work a tradesperson has performed.
The public will be protected. After July 1, tradespeople will have to get permits for any work.
"So they're going to have to be inspected every time they do work," she said. And building inspectors have the power to revoke certifications for people who clearly don't know what they're doing, she added.
Carr said that's a safeguard in theory, but "there's no way an electrical inspector can see everything that's going on. They have to rely in part on the integrity of the contractor."
Jim Nininger, chief of building inspections for Salem, and Elaine Gall, building commissioner in Roanoke County, said they've closely scrutinized each application for an exemption. They've granted exemptions to about half the number of applicants, they said.
"It sort of sends a chill up my back," Nininger said. "We've been trying to be very discriminating."
Miller said the regulations give local officials little leeway.
"We can ask him all the questions we want to. But we can't refuse them a card if they bring us what they're supposed to ... It's a law, a policy - whatever you want to call it. That's what we have to do.
"They wanted to give [uncertified tradespeople] a fair shake," Miller said. "It sounds like more than a fair shake to me."
by CNB