Connecticut General Statutes 20-334d – Continuing professional education requirements for electricians and plumbers. Regulations. Exemptions
(a) As used in this section:
Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 20-334d
- Contractor: means any person regularly offering to the general public services of such person or such person's employees in the field of electrical work, plumbing and piping work, solar work, heating, piping, cooling and sheet metal work, fire protection sprinkler systems work, elevator installation, repair and maintenance work, irrigation work, automotive glass work or flat glass work, as defined in this section. See Connecticut General Statutes 20-330
- Electrical work: means the installation, erection, maintenance, inspection, testing, alteration or repair of any wire, cable, conduit, busway, raceway, support, insulator, conductor, appliance, apparatus, fixture or equipment that generates, transforms, transmits or uses electrical energy for light, heat, power or other purposes, but does not include low voltage wiring, not exceeding twenty-four volts, used within a lawn sprinkler system. See Connecticut General Statutes 20-330
- Person: means an individual, partnership, limited liability company or corporation. See Connecticut General Statutes 20-330
- Plumbing and piping work: means the installation, repair, replacement, alteration, maintenance, inspection or testing of gas, water and associated fixtures, tubing and piping mains and branch lines up to and including the closest valve to a machine or equipment used in the manufacturing process, laboratory equipment, sanitary equipment, other than subsurface sewage disposal systems, fire prevention apparatus, all water systems for human usage, sewage treatment facilities and all associated fittings within a building and includes lateral storm and sanitary lines from buildings to the mains, process piping, swimming pools and pumping equipment, and includes making connections to back flow prevention devices, and includes low voltage wiring, not exceeding twenty-four volts, used within a lawn sprinkler system, but does not include (A) solar thermal work performed pursuant to a certificate held as provided in section 20-334g, except for the repair of those portions of a solar hot water heating system that include the basic domestic hot water tank and the tie-in to the potable water system, (B) the installation, repair, replacement, alteration, maintenance, inspection or testing of fire prevention apparatus within a structure, except for standpipes that are not connected to sprinkler systems, (C) medical gas and vacuum systems work, and (D) millwright work. See Connecticut General Statutes 20-330
(1) “Accredited continuing professional education” means any education of an electrician or plumber that is (A) designed to maintain professional competence in the practice, pursuit and standards of electrical work or plumbing and piping work, (B) approved by the commissioner, and (C) provided (i) by an agency, institution or organization that has been approved by the commissioner, and (ii) in-person or through an online technology platform that includes real-time video with audio, requires participants to periodically confirm their active engagement during the educational training session and enables participants to interact with instructors in real time during the entire educational training session;
(2) “Certificate of continuing education” means a document that (A) an agency, institution or organization that has been approved by the commissioner and offers accredited continuing professional education issues to an electrician or plumber, (B) certifies that an electrician or plumber has satisfactorily completed a specified number of continuing education hours, and (C) bears the (i) name of such agency, institution or organization, (ii) title of the program, (iii) dates during which the program was conducted, (iv) number of continuing education hours satisfactorily completed, and (v) signature of the director of such agency, institution or organization or of such director’s authorized agent; and
(3) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Consumer Protection.
(b) The commissioner, with the advice and assistance of the Electrical Work Board established pursuant to subsection (b) of section 20-331, shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to: (1) Establish additional requirements for accredited continuing professional education for electricians licensed pursuant to sections 20-330 to 20-341, inclusive; (2) establish qualifying criteria for accredited continuing professional education programs and establish qualifying criteria for acceptable certificates of continuing education; and (3) provide for the waiver of required accredited continuing professional education for electricians for good cause. Such regulations shall require not less than four hours per year of accredited continuing professional education for such electricians, except upon request of the Electrical Work Board, the commissioner may increase such hours to a maximum of seven hours.
(c) The commissioner, with the advice and assistance of the Plumbing and Piping Work Board established pursuant to subsection (d) of section 20-331, shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to: (1) Establish additional requirements for accredited continuing professional education for plumbers licensed pursuant to sections 20-330 to 20-341, inclusive, which regulations shall require not more than a total of seven hours of accredited continuing professional education every two years, except in the event of significant changes to the building code, as approved by the International Code Council, that relate to plumbing, the commissioner, at such commissioner’s discretion, may require more than a total of seven hours of accredited continuing professional education every two years; (2) establish qualifying criteria for accredited continuing professional education programs and establish qualifying criteria for acceptable certificates of continuing education; and (3) provide for the waiver of required accredited continuing professional education for plumbers for good cause.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, any person who has been issued a P-6, P-7, W-8 or W-9 license pursuant to section 20-334a and the regulations of Connecticut state agencies shall not be required to meet the continuing education requirements established pursuant to subsection (c) of this section.
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) to (d), inclusive, of this section, all accredited continuing professional education offered under the provisions of this section shall: (1) Limit class size to (A) fifty attendees if such accredited continuing professional education is offered in-person, or (B) twenty-five attendees if such accredited continuing professional education is offered through an online technology platform; (2) not be offered or held at the place of business of a licensed plumbing contractor if such accredited continuing professional education is for plumbers and offered in-person; and (3) not be offered or held at the place of business of a licensed electrical contractor if such accredited continuing professional education is for electricians and offered in-person. A provider of an accredited continuing professional education course shall retain an audio-visual recording of such course for a period of not less than thirty days after completion of such course. Recordings shall be made available to the department upon the department’s request for such recordings.