Loading...
Ordinance No. 2,1277146 ORDINANCE NO. 2127 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS, AMENDING CHAPTER 16J, "MECHANICAL CODE," BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SUBSECTION 3(c) GRANTING THE MECHAN- ICAL BOARD LICENSING POWERS; BY THE ADOPTION OF REGU- LATORY MEASURES AND GUIDELINES PERTAINING TO LICENSING; PRESCRIBING A MAXIMUM PENALTY OF TWO HUNDRED ($200.00) DOLLARS; CONTAINING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR THE PUBLICATION AND EFFECTIVE DATE FOR THE ENTIRE CHAPTER. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BAYTOWN, TEXAS: Section 1: The Code of Ordinances of the City of Baytown is hereby amended by the amendment of Chapter 16A, "Mechanical Code," Section 16J -3, Powers and Duties, by the addition of a new subsection (c) that shall read as follows: (c) The Board shall have the power to examine and license air conditioning contractors, journeymen and apprentices and shall determine the fitness and qual- ifications of all persons applying for such licenses pursuant to this chapter. Section 2: The Code of Ordinances of the City of Baytown is hereby amended by the amendment of Chapter 16._4, "Mechanical Code," by the addition of regulatory measures and guidelines pertaining to licensing, that shall read as follows, to -wit: ARTICLE II. LICENSES Sec. 16J -10. Unlawful without license. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, partnership or corporation to engage in the business of air conditioning contracting in the City of Baytown, unless such work is done under the supervision and control of a duly licensed air conditioning contractor, or to engage in any other activity defined herein without the proper license. 7147 Sec. 161 -11. License categories. Licenses to engage in the business of air conditioning contracting in the City of Baytown shall be of three (3) classifications: (a) Air conditioning contractor - An "air conditioning contractor" within the meaning of this code is a person having a regular place of business, who, by himself, or through person or persons in his employ, performs instal- lation of mechanical systems, within the scope of Section 101.3 of this chapter. (b) Journeyman - A "journeyman" within the meaning of this code is any person other than an air conditioning contractor who engages in or works at the actual instal- lation, alteration or repair of heating, air conditioning, cooling systems or refrigeration. (c) Apprentice - An "apprentice" within the meaning of this code is any person other than an air conditioning contractor or journeyman, who as his principle occupation is engaged in learning and assisting a licensed air con- ditioning contractor or journeyman in the installation of heating, cooling, air conditioning or refrigeration. Sec. 16A -12. Application. (a) Written application. Application for a license shall be made in writing to the Board, on a form furnished for that purpose, which shall require the name and address of the applicant, a statement of the experience of the applicant, and such other relevant information as may be required by the Board. All applications shall be sworn to before an officer of the State authorized to administer oaths, and officially certified by such officer under his seal of office. (b) Prerequisites. (1) Air conditioning contractor. An applicant for an air conditioning contractor's license shall have either three (3) years experience as an air conditioning contractor, four (4) years experience as a licensed journeyman, or a degree or diploma as an air condition- ing engineer or mechanical engineer from an accredited college or university and one (1) year experience in the field of air conditioning contracting. Said applicants shall pass an examination for this classi- fication. (2) Journeyman. An applicant for a journeyman's license shall have at least two (2) years experience in installation of mechanical systems, including alterations, repairs and replacement of equipment, appliances, fixtures and fittings and shall pass an examination for this classification. -2- 7148 (3) Apprentice license. No examination or experience is required. Sec. 16� -13. Examination. (a) Examination dates. The Board shall give written examinations for air conditioning contractor and journeyman not less frequently than one (1) within the first six (6) calendar months of the year and one (1) within the last six (6) calendar months of the year. (b) Notifications. A qualified applicant for a license shall appear before the City of Baytown Mechanical Board at the date, time and place of examination to be announced to applicant pursuant to the by -laws of said Board; said announcement shall be made and posted at City Hall not less than ten (10) days prior to the date fixed for said examination. (c) Grade requirement. Said applicant shall satisfactorily pass a reasonable written examination upon matters relating to his or her knowledge, ability, and qualifications to engage in, or work at, the business of air conditioning contracting. The Board shall grant a license to each applicant who satisfactorily passes a written examination with a grade of not less than seventy per cent (700), after payment to the City of the specified fee, and filing evidence of insur- ance coverage. (d) Examination records. A complete record of the exami- nation given, consisting of the questions, answers, grades and final results shall be held in official Board records for a period of not less than one (1) year after the date all grades of any given examination have been computed. The applicant shall have the right, at any time during regular office hours, to inspect such records as to his examination in the presence of the Secretary of the Board, or any available member of the Board. (e) Re- examination. Should the applicant fail to pass his first written examination for a license, he shall not be eligible for re- examination until ninety (90) days have elapsed since the first examination. Thereafter, upon failure to pass an examination, said applicant shall not be eligible for another examination for a period of six (6) months following each previous examination. The required examination fee shall be paid for each examination taken, and the required license fee shall be paid for the highest class of license that the applicant receives as a result of each examination taken and passed. (f) Emergency license. A temporary journeyman card may be issued for a period of sixty (60) days or until termina- tion of the job. Sec. 16A -14. Fees. (a) Application fees. The payment of an application fee of Ten ($10.00) Dollars is required for air conditioning contractors, and Five ($5.00) Dollars for journeyman at the time the application is filed with the Board, and a Ten ($10.00) Dollar application fee is required for each re- examination. -3- 7149 (b) License fees. The initial fee for an air conditioning contractor's license shall be Fifty ($50.00) Dollars for the first year and the renewal fee shall be Twenty -Five ($25.00) Dollars. The initial fee for a journeyman's license shall be Twenty -Five ($25.00) Dollars for the first year, and the renewal fee shall be Twelve and 50/100 ($12.50) Dollars for each year thereafter. The initial fee for an apprentice license shall be Fifty ($0.50) Cents for the first year and each year thereafter. Sec. 162- -15. Renewal. When an applicant for a license has complied with the provisions of this code, the City of Baytown Mechanical Board shall issue a license to such applicant forthwith and said license shall expire on December 31 following the date of issuance or renewal; however, no license which shall have elapsed for as much as six (6) months shall be renewed except upon re- examination, the payment of the initial fee, and upon the same terms and conditions as provided in the case of original examination. Sec. 162 -16. License not transferable. Licenses issued under the provisions hereof shall not be transferable, but the license of any active member, officer or supervisory employee of a partnership, firm or corpora- tion shall be sufficient to qualify the partnership, firm or corporation to engage in the business of air conditioning contracting of the type for which the license qualified the holder provided that the license holder is employed only by that firm and does in fact supervise and control those installations and alterations of heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems which are required by this code to be installed or altered by a person licensed under the provisions hereof. Sec. 162- -17. Permit requisite. No person, partnership, firm or corporation shall be allowed to take out a permit for the installation, altera- tion, or repair of heating, air conditioning or mechanical * refrigeration without having an air conditioning contractor's license issued by the City of Baytown. Sec. 162- -18. Obtaining permit for others. (1) It shall be unlawful for a licensed air conditioning contractor to permit his license to be used in any manner contrary to any of the provisions of the code or to obtain a permit, required under the provisions hereof, in his name, or to allow the use of his name directly or indirectly by another person for the purpose of obtaining a permit, when such licensed air conditioning contractor does not intend to, or does not in fact, do or supervise the work authorized by such permit, or to take out permits for air conditioning work to be done by another person, firm, partnership or corporation other than the person, firm, partnership or corporation by whom he is employed. IM 7150 (2) Licensed air conditioning contractors shall not be simultaneously employed by, or work for, more than one business entity for the purpose of obtaining permits under this code, or for the purpose of doing or supervising work that can only be done by authority of a permit obtained under the provisions of this code. (Cross reference section 162 -16). Sec. 162 -19. Suspension or revocation. After hearing by the Board any license may be repealed, revoked, or suspended by the Board for any of the following reasons, provided that notice of the hearing, stating grounds of the complaint, shall have been given the licensee, in writing, and by registered or certified mail, at least ten (10) days before the hearing: A. Fraud or misrepresentation in obtaining license or permit. B. Violation, either grossly, maliciously, willfully or by reason of incompetence, of any provision of this article, or of any provision of the building codes of the City of Baytown, or of any amendment thereto. C. Conviction of defrauding any person for whom he has rendered or contracted to render service. D. Securing permit for installation or alteration not actually performed by or personally supervised by the permittee. E. Failure to obtain a permit or transferral of a permit to an unauthorized person. Sec. 162 -20. Insurance requirements. (1) No license shall be issued for an air conditioning contractor under the provisions hereof until the person who is otherwise entitled to have such license issued to him furnishes to the Mechanical Board either certified copies of policies of insurance or properly executed certificate of insurance confirming and verifying that such person has insurance in force of the following types and with the minimum limits of coverage as hereinafter specified, and naming such person as an insured under the provisions of such policy. (a) Workmen's Compensation Insurance on each and every one of his employees, and this insurance shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Act of the State of Texas, unless such contractor employs less than three (3) persons. (b) Public Liability Insurance to the extent of not less than $50,000.00 for any one accident, and $25,000.00 for any one person. (c) Property Damage Insurance to the extent of $10,000.00 for any one piece of property or accident. Such insurance shall be written by an accredited -5- 7151 company under the supervision of the Board of Insur- ance Commissioners of the State of Texas. Evidence of compliance with the above insurance requirements shall be considered as having been met when the policy, a copy thereof, or a certificate of insurance has been filed with and approved by the Board. Such policy shall include an endorsement thereon that the Board will be notified at least thirty (30) days in advance in the event the policy or policies are cancelled or expire before the expiration date of the license. (2) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, partnership or corporation to engage in the business of air conditioning contracting without the insurance coverage required for licensing by this section. Sec. 16J -21. License without examination. Any person that has, for a period of at least one hundred eighty (180) days during the past five (5) years prior to the effective date of this ordinance, continuously engaged in the business of repairing or servicing air conditioning, heating, ventilating and refrigeration systems and equipment may, upon presenting satisfactory evidence to the Mechanical Board within ninety (90) days after the effective date of this ordinance, and not thereafter, of the eligibility of such person to receive an air conditioning contractor's license or journeymen's license without examination. Such license shall not be issued until such person has paid the fees and provided the evidence of insurance coverage required herein. The Board may require a sworn application from the applicant listing places of employment and location of the work done that applicant relies upon as evidence of his eligibility to receive the license for which he makes application. Sec. 161 -22. Mechanical work by homeowners. Nothing herein contained shall prohibit any bona fide home- owner from personally installing mechanical systems as defined in Section 101.3 within his own home; provided that the owner shall obtain the proper permit as required by Article I of this chapter. Section 3: Savings Clause: If any provision, section, exception, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or the application of same to any person or set of circumstances, shall for any reason be held uncon- stitutional, void or invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this ordinance or their application to other persons or sets of circumstances and to this end all provisions of this ordi- nance are declared to be severable. 7152 Section 4: Effective Date: That this ordinance, and that Ordinance No. 2025, establishing Chapter 16?, "Mechan- ical Code," of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Baytown, shall take effect from and after ten (10) days from the passage hereof by the City Council. The City Clerk is hereby directed to give notice hereof by causing the caption of both this ordinance and Ordinance No. 2025 to be pub- lished in the official newspaper of the City of Baytown at least twice within ten (10) days after the passage of this ordinance. INTRODUCED, READ and PASSED by the affirmative vote of the City Council of the City of Baytown on this 23rd day of November , 1976. TOM GENTRY , Mayor ATTEST: G EILEEN P. HALL, , City Clerk APPROVED: NEEL RIVHARDSON, City Attorney -7-