00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 255(L&C) 01 "An Act relating to individuals and employees who must have certificates of fitness to 02 perform certain plumbing and electrical work; and relating to civil penalties and 03 violations for not having required certificates of fitness." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05  * Section 1. AS 18.62.010 is repealed and reenacted to read: 06 Sec. 18.62.010. Certificate of fitness required. (a) Except as provided by (c) 07 of this section, an individual may not perform work that is subject to the standards 08 established in AS 18.60.580 or 18.60.705 without having a certificate of fitness to 09 perform the work. 10 (b) Except as provided by (c) of this section, an employer may not use an 11 employee to perform work that is subject to the standards established in AS 18.60.580 12 or 18.60.705 unless the employee has a certificate of fitness to perform the work. 13 (c) An employee of an electric utility that does not have within its service area 14 a portion of a municipality that has a population of more than 2,500 is not required to 01 have a certificate of fitness to perform work for the electric utility that is subject to the 02 standards established in AS 18.60.580 or 18.60.705. 03  * Sec. 2. AS 18.62.070 is amended to read: 04 Sec. 18.62.070. Individuals [PERSONS] required to obtain certificate.  05 Before engaging [A PERSON ENGAGED] in one of the following activities, an  06 individual [TRADES] shall [FIRST] obtain from the department the appropriate 07 certificate of fitness in that activity [TRADE]:  08 (1) electrical wiring subject to the standards established in 09 AS 18.60.580; and 10 (2) plumbing subject to the uniform plumbing code; in this paragraph, 11 "uniform plumbing code" means the minimum plumbing code adopted for the state 12 under AS 18.60.705. 13  * Sec. 3. AS 18.62.080 is amended to read: 14 Sec. 18.62.080. Penalty. A person, other than [EITHER] an [EMPLOYER 15 OR] employee, who violates a provision of this chapter or of a regulation adopted 16 under this chapter is guilty of a violation [MISDEMEANOR] and shall be punished  17 as provided by AS 12.55 [, UPON CONVICTION, IS PUNISHABLE] by a fine of 18 not more than $500. 19  * Sec. 4. AS 18.62 is amended by adding new sections to read: 20 Sec. 18.62.090. Issuance of citations. If the department has probable cause to 21 believe that a person has violated a provision of this chapter or a regulation adopted 22 under AS 18.62.060, the department may issue the person a citation. Each day a 23 violation continues after the department issues a citation constitutes a separate 24 violation. 25 Sec. 18.62.100. Citation procedure. (a) A citation issued under AS 18.62.090 26 must comply with AS 12.25.175 - 12.25.230. A person who receives a citation under 27 AS 18.62.090 is not required to sign a notice to appear in court. 28 (b) The time specified in the notice to appear in court on a citation issued 29 under AS 18.62.090 must be at least five working days after the department issues the 30 citation. 31 (c) The department is responsible for the issuance of books containing 01 appropriate citations and shall maintain a record of each book issued and each citation 02 contained in the book. The department shall require and retain a receipt for every book 03 issued to an employee of the department. 04 (d) The department shall deposit the original or a copy of the citation with a 05 court having jurisdiction over the alleged offense. When deposited with the court, the 06 citation may be disposed of only by trial in the court or other official action taken by 07 the magistrate, judge, or prosecutor. The department may not dispose of the citation or 08 copies of it or of the record of its issuance except as required under this subsection and 09 (e) of this section. 10 (e) The department shall require the return of a copy of every citation issued 11 by the department under AS 18.62.090 and of all copies of every citation that have 12 been spoiled or on which an entry has been made and not issued to an alleged violator. 13 The department shall maintain, in connection with every citation issued by the 14 department, a record of the disposition of the charge by the court where the citation 15 was deposited. 16 (f) A citation issued under this chapter is considered to be a lawful complaint 17 for the purpose of prosecution. 18 Sec. 18.62.110. Civil penalty. (a) In addition to receiving a citation under 19 AS 18.62.090, if 20 (1) an individual violates AS 18.62.010(a), the individual is subject to 21 a civil penalty of not more than $125 for the first violation and not more than $250 for 22 a second or subsequent violation; 23 (2) an employer violates AS 18.62.010(b), the employer is subject to a 24 civil penalty of not more than $250 for the first violation and not more than $500 for a 25 second or subsequent violation. 26 (b) The department shall issue a written notice of a civil penalty imposed 27 under (a) of this section. The notice must be accompanied by a statement of the 28 reasons for the civil penalty and information regarding the opportunity to contest the 29 civil penalty, including the opportunity to request a hearing, the contact information 30 for making the request, and the date by which the request is to be made. 31 (c) If a person who is issued a notice of a civil penalty under (b) of this section 01 fails to request a hearing within 30 days after the date on which the person receives the 02 notice, the person waives the right to a hearing, and the person may not obtain judicial 03 review of the civil penalty. A request for a hearing must be in writing and clearly state 04 the issues to be raised at the hearing. The department shall schedule a hearing before a 05 hearing officer not earlier than 10 days after receiving the request for a hearing. 06 (d) A decision of a hearing officer under (c) of this section is a final 07 administrative decision subject to review by a superior court under AS 44.62.305 08 (Administrative Procedure Act). 09 Sec. 18.62.190. Definitions. In this chapter, 10 (1) "certificate" or "certificate of fitness" means a certificate of fitness 11 required by AS 18.62.070; 12 (2) "department" means the Department of Labor and Workforce 13 Development.