State of Iowa Electrical Examining Board Meeting Minutes January 20, Approved

Transcription

1 State of --Approved Board Members Present: Barb Mentzer, Chair Valynda Akin Chad Campion Chad Layland Lori Mease Kay Pence Skip Perley Duane Quirk Ray Reynolds Rod Van Wart Absent: Randy Van Voorst Rhonda Clark, Secretary Staff Attending: Mike Coveyou, Planning & Research Administrator Scott Galenbeck, Assistant Attorney General W. Stuart Crine, Building Code Commissioner Pat Merrick, Chief Electrical Inspector Brian Young, Interim Executive Secretary Dana McClintock, Clerk Specialist Chairperson Barb Mentzer called the meeting to order at 10:04 a.m. Chair Mentzer opened the floor to Interim Executive Secretary Brian Young, who introduced Malcolm Huston of the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) Information Technical Services (ITE). Mr. Huston presented information regarding the AMANDA system. As background information, Mr. Huston stated that one of his functions is to manage Iowa Access, which is a revolving fund that receives money from online sales of motor vehicles license and driver information, which is then sold to insurance companies. That money then acts as venture capital for IT projects that will generate more money, such as the licensing system. In turn, a portion of the money from the licensing system goes back into the revolving fund, to feed other applications. He also supports the Iowa Interactive contract. Iowa Interactive is a private vendor, part of a nation-wide company that develops projects for government portals and licensing systems, such as the software system that the Electrical Examining Board uses right now. Because there is dissatisfaction with the system that Iowa Interactive has developed, Mr. Huston suggested looking for another developer. Coincidently, three departments, Medicine, Dentistry, and Nursing (aka the Tri-boards) are working with the AMANDA developers for their licensing system. Mr. Huston had suggested having AMANDA as a replacement for the current licensing system and as a case-management system for the State Fire Marshal s Office. He gave advantages of using the AMANDA system:

2 Page 2 of 9 It is a flexible, configurable, customizable product, developed to fit a variety of licensing needs by adding or subtracting the various configurations for functionality. The AMANDA system has already been working in other states, and the company that started it does only licensing, permitting, fire inspections, complaints, and citizens e-services. There are a variety of task-specific functions, for example, the ability to take a wireless device and work off-line, and then go back online to download the information and proceed, and the ability to assign tasks and track progress for the convenience of scheduling and distributing the workload. The AMANDA developers have taken time to understand their client s wants and needs before the program goes live, using advisors who have experience in the client-specific fields, thereby avoiding the repetitious and time-consuming security scans of the current system. Executive Order EO-26 10/14/10 states, DAS/ITE shall continue to develop the deployment of one-stop shop licensing portal for government services. That means there will be one place on the Iowa website to apply for professional licensing. The portal has not yet been developed, but the AMANDA system is standard already for a variety of licenses. Any other state agency that wants to, may be added to the Tri-boards contract, meaning that the RFP process is not necessary. There is a purchase order issued, which takes about two weeks, and the new system can begin development in about four to five weeks. The original three boards are very close to being finished with development. The next three boards-- elevator inspections, professional licensing, and professional licensure-- are very close to beginning it. IT is becoming actively involved. Members of the team will be trained and certified as dedicated AMANDA experts for implementation, configuration, and troubleshooting. The cost would be about half of what the vendor would charge for those services. Included in the Board packet of information was the AMANDA Implementation Proposal, and there was considerable discussion regarding the Cost Particulars. Iowa Access would provide $402,000 for the software and $200,000+ for implementation charges with funds obtained from a grant for agencies that have a need for citizen-based functionality. Malcolm would help write the grant and would submit it to the DAS director. He has, in the past, been highly successful in obtaining the grant. There will be an annual cost of $37,000, which is the average cost to put the system on a server, pay for login service, address validation, and annual maintenance for the AMANDA project. There was discussion comparing the fees described in the proposal with the amount currently spent to maintain the existing system with trouble-shooting and development costs. There was discussion regarding the following points:

3 Page 3 of 9 If the dynamics of the program change, the contract could be cancelled or changed. Because a purchase order would be used, there is not a certain amount to buy. The more groups that join the contract, the lower the maintenance cost. If there is satisfaction in a prototype, it can be expanded. No state agency is up and running on Amanda right now, but it will be in mid-tolate February. It would be possible to get a report from the Nursing, Medical and Dental boards before a decision, is made. There was additional discussion regarding the current contract with Iowa Interactive, which ends in March of At that time, support for any existing applications turns over to ITE, as part of the contract. In the meantime, the existing system would continue to be used, and would gradually be replaced over time. If the transition were to be made to AMANDA, it would be desirable to not have the responsibility for maintaining the current system, and there can be a period when both systems are operable. Mr. Huston sought approval from the Board to seek funding for this and to implement it. This would be for electrical permitting, electrician licensing and the Fire Marshal casemanagement. Development would take approximately one year, beginning about five weeks after the final approval of the purchase order; or, realistically, 8 weeks. Rod Van Wart made a motion that the Electrical Examining Board voices its intent to switch to the AMANDA software program, subject to DPS obtaining the two grants, the input of $100,000 from the State Fire Marshal s Division, and a positive response from the existing AMANDA users in Iowa. Valynda Akin seconded the motion. After a short discussion, the motion passed unanimously. Chair Mentzer then opened the floor to Interim Executive Secretary, Brian Young for the update on licensing: Brian referred to the handout, License Types Renewed as of 1/18/11, which showed that there have been 8,828 licenses renewed. With approximately 740 additional license renewals done on the 19 th, the approximate total is 9,568 renewed licenses. There were approximately applications received on January 3 rd, and about the same number received on January 4 th. After that date the number of renewal applications dropped dramatically. Anything postmarked by January 4, 2011 was still considered on time, but late fees began January 5 th. Of renewal applications received by January 3, 2011, if everything was complete and correct, the licenses has been issued. There were approximately 1,000 applications that had issues: information was incorrect or incomplete, or there was a problem viewing the data on Iowa Interactive. Those applications were set aside to be reviewed at a later date. Once we process the applications received by January 4 th, we will go back to further investigate and process the applications that were received on time, but which were set aside. Those applications that were submitted late will wait until the others have been processed and the licenses issued. The last two weeks, online renewal applications have spiked, with approximately 75 to 100 per week. Iowa Interactive s records show that, from the October 4, 2010 golive date to December 31, 2011, there were approximately 725 online renewals. The bulk of renewal applications, of course, has been through the mail, which has been very time consuming for the staff. Two part-time temporary staff have been hired, and have

4 Page 4 of 9 mostly been opening the mail. As of the last pay period, the temporaries have worked 80 hours. One has returned to college after his break and the other works approximately 3-4 hours per day. The staff worked one week of overtime, but not all worked 10-hour days. Inspectors who could come in helped as well. We thank Pat Merrick, Chief Electrical Inspector, for allowing them to make that change to their schedules. Without their help we d be further behind than what we are. We have called those who submitted applications late but who sent the regular fee to let them know that there is an additional late fee, which is 10% per month until the end of March. We have also contacted most of those electrical contractors whose certificates of insurance or contractor registration numbers had expired, or if they had incomplete CEUs. There are possibly 100 masters and journeymen who, at this time, show incomplete CEUs. We will make sure that our CEU report is completed with all of the information that the instructors have submitted, and then we will call those applicants to find out if they have completed more hours than we have on record. We will then give them the opportunity to submit a class certificate for credit. And, in the next few weeks, the list of licensed electricians will be updated on the web. Discussion ensued. Interim Executive Secretary Brian Young then presented the Financial Report: The permitting Revenue for the Month of December - $152,457 The licensing Revenue for the Month of December - $923,313 The Total Revenue Collected for December - $1,075,849 Total Dispositions for the Month of December - $262,754 Ending Cash Balance as of December 31, $2,031,871 Noted was the Intra-State Transfer in the amount of $93,195, which is 2% of indirect costs, deducted twice yearly. Also noted was an increase in the disposition for In-State Travel. This is due to the factors of increased maintenance of some vehicles (including new tires), as well as the increase in the price of gas. Brian Young commented that he has received phone calls requesting to know when the 2011 NEC will be used for the Iowa Prometric exams. Prometric has advised that it will take three to four months to make the changes to the testing content. Mike Coveyou, Planning and Research Administrator advised that, since the formal rule-making process for amendments to the NEC would start in August or September, Prometric could be notified to begin developing the changes to the tests at that time. It was the input of the Board that any changes to the exams would be implemented after the Board has adopted the 2011 Code, tentatively scheduled for 01/01/2012. Brian Young requested to know the desire of the Board concerning the vacancy of the position of Executive Secretary of the Electrical Examining Board. He then deferred to State Fire Marshal Ray Reynolds, who reminded the Board that Joe Brooks had accepted a full-time position with the military, and had tendered his resignation on or about December 7, He conveyed Joe Brooks best wishes to the Board. He then informed the Board that a memorandum had been issued to all Division Heads of the Department of Public Safety that there are to be neither new hires nor promotions until further notice. It was Ray Reynolds recommendation that Brian Young should remain as Interim Executive Secretary for the immediate future, and the Board concurred.

5 Page 5 of 9 Chair Mentzer opened the floor to Chief Electrical Inspector, Patrick Merrick and Building Codes Commissioner, Stuart Crine for a report on Permits and Inspections. Pat referred to the handout, EEB Monthly Update and Permits and Inspections History : Total number of permits purchased to date 33,408 Permits purchased in the month of December, ,183 Closed permits in the month of December, Total inspections requested to date 41,944 Completed total of inspections since inception 41,763 Total completed inspections during the month of December, ,066 Chief Electrical Inspector Merrick noted that the number of new permits as well as the new inspections and total inspections has dropped for the month of December. This is to be expected based on the weather. Chief Electrical Inspector Merrick referred to the graph showing the numbers of permits and inspections from July, 2009, through December, 2010, and noted that there is a pattern of increase in the numbers as enforcement increases. He also presented the handout, Inspection Completion Time Report, which is submitted to the State Fire Marshal to be used as part of the division s quarterly report of the performance measures for inspections. The report showed that 96.02% of all scheduled inspections were completed within three days. State Fire Marshal Ray Reynolds commented that, usually, when a complaint comes into his office regarding the electrical program, it is from a legislator who has received the complaint. After it is investigated, the State Fire Marshal s office responds back to the legislator via its liaison, Ross Loder. Of a total of five complaints received in his office regarding the conduct of the inspectors, all five were unfounded, having nothing to do with the program nor the State of Iowa inspectors; and, in fact, were regarding electricians working in the public. He wished to make the Board aware of a particular complaint he had received: that a farm family was without electricity over Thanksgiving because the inspector refused to do the inspection during the holiday. When the complaint was investigated, it was found that the person who had performed the electrical work was not a licensed electrician, but was using a licensed electrician as a contract. He had never applied for a permit, so Inspections had no information about the project. He had told the family that the reason they didn t have power was that the state had to inspect it, and chose not to do so over the holiday. A state inspector responded to the farm home within 24 hours of being notified of the complaint and found the shingles on the house smoldering because the unlicensed electrician had wired the system incorrectly by splitting the service. The inspector gave the licensed electrician instruction on how to properly wire the house, as well as how to hire proper help. Had the state inspector not made the inspection when he did, the farm house probably would have had a fire. The inspector, and indeed all of the inspection staff, is to be commended for responding quickly and pro-actively, and for making a positive impact on public safety. Chair Mentzer opened the floor for public comment. Rich Kurtenbach of IBEW#288 in Waterloo commented that Fire Marshal Reynolds report reiterates why the program is so necessary to the state. As one who worked hard to get the bill passed in the first place, he

6 Page 6 of 9 had seen and heard firsthand, problems from different areas of the state: where farmers were injured in silos where there were no disconnects; and of 4-year-old girls being electrocuted where there was no proper grounding. People need to contact their legislators so that they understand the great gains this Board has accomplished, and of the improvements that have happened in the field. In meeting with the Minnesota board for information when he was trying to get the legislation together, they commented about the decades that it took to get their program to the level it is today. This Board has done a tremendous job in just three to four years. He has seen the pain and the problems that this Board has struggled with, and he commends the Board for the fantastic job it has done. It is way too early for a bill to be presented trying to eliminate the program. He implores anyone reading these minutes to contact their legislators, and let them know that this program is a great thing for Iowa--not just for electricians, but for the general public in the safety aspect. And, he will be happy to help the process in any way he can. John Claeys, Senior Electrical Inspector for the City of Davenport spoke of the effect that the electrical program has had in his jurisdiction. He has heard that things are better because of it. He was a new inspector in Davenport in 1999; and, there was a board in place there at that time because of contractor licensing (which was like the State of Iowa master electrician license). In 1998, the Davenport City Council had written an ordinance that required journeyman licensing, and allowed until 2001 to have that done. The biggest concerns then were the perceptions: of not being able to pass the test, or that it would cause a hardship in getting qualified people. In the beginning when the out-of-towners came in for permits, it was a struggle for the electricians and the general contractors to keep to their timelines. To get a permit, they needed to be licensed. To be licensed they needed to fill out the application and to get on the Code-board meeting agenda. Because the Code-board met only once a month, the wait could also be almost a month. Different areas had different editions of the Code, so there were different perceptions of installation requirements. Once everything was worked through, though, and everyone became educated, it became a good thing. What he sees now with the state electrical program, is consistency and conformity, and fewer issues with how something is done. He gets technical questions and Code-interpretation questions of how it is done in Davenport, since the City ordinance amends and restricts the current Iowa Code, but at least now there is a level of conformity for installations. With everything uniform across the state, it s been easier. If the licensing were to go back to the individual jurisdictions, there would be huge issues. The uniformity and consistency would be gone. Those with Iowa Master Class A licenses may not qualify to be a contractor in the City of Davenport, since the ordinance there requires five years of Journeyman level experience beyond an apprenticeship or equivalent level of training. If there are questions now, he s the staff and usually gets an answer back faster than he can go to his files. He interacts with the state inspectors, and things run smoothly. It s working. It is not perfect, but that s why there is a meeting every month. The program is progressing, and he d like to see it continue. He, too, encourages people to contact their legislators to give their input. Matt Hermanson of Fort Dodge stated that he is in agreement with the previous comments, and that they were preaching to the choir. Without state licensing, it was costing $900 per year to be an electrical contractor in the Quad Cities: $200 for the

7 Page 7 of 9 license in Davenport, plus $100 for code bond, $200 for the license in Bettendorf, plus $100 for the code bond, and $200 for the license in Eldridge, plus $100 for the code bond. In Des Moines, it was about $1,000 per year for licensing before it went state-wide; and his own licensing budget was $2000 per year. If someone were to do business only in a smaller town, then it was cheaper under the old system. But for the rest, it is much less now. And for the experience requirement for the master licenses, there are some states with even longer terms than Iowa: Idaho is 7 years and Hawaii is 9 years. Some people do little more than the minimum of what is absolutely required of them; and that even extends to CEUs. If someone has 17 CEUS, they d like a 1-hour class to have the 18, rather than having to sit 8 hours in a class. And we have people complaining about taking 6 hours of CEUs per year. That s 30 minutes per month of class-time to maintain the license. He spent a week in Chicago at his own expense studying the 2011 NEC. Realtors have to have 36 CEUs. (Take 36 hours of CEUs over 3 years to sell a house that will probably burn down next week because the electrician wasn t licensed!) The reality is that some have more of a passion for the craft. They are craftsmen, not just tradesmen. Let s not mock those who take more than the 18. Chair Mentzer adjourned the meeting for lunch at 11:57 am. Chair Mentzer reconvened the meeting at 12:49 p.m. Chair Mentzer opened the floor for comments and approval of the Board Meeting Minutes from November 18, After discussion, Skip Perley made a motion to accept the minutes as typed. Chad Campion seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Chair Mentzer stated that a letter was received from Colorado requesting reciprocity. Chad Campion made a motion to table pursuing reciprocity with any additional states, including Colorado and North Dakota, until reciprocity agreements with the states of Minnesota and Nebraska have been completed. After brief discussion, Ray Reynolds seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Before opening the floor for nominations for Chairperson and Vice-chairperson of the Electrical Examining Board, Chair Mentzer reminded the Board that at the November meeting the vote was tied, with one Board-member absent. The Board-member was again absent from the meeting, but had corresponded his vote to Brian Young, Interim Executive Secretary. It was not clear whether an absentee vote would be acceptable, so Chair Mentzer deferred to Scott Galenbeck, Assistant Attorney General. He explained that in matters of public policy, an absentee vote is not permissible. However, because the selection of the Chair and Vice-chair for the Board is organizational in nature rather than a matter of policy, the Board has the discretion to choose whether or not to accept an absentee vote, should the need arise. Mike Coveyou, Planning and Research Administrator, offered to draft procedural rules to share with the Rules Committee. Ray Reynolds made a motion to nominate Barbara Mentzer for Chairperson of the Electrical Examining Board. Lori Mease seconded the motion. Barbara Mentzer accepted the nomination. Duane Quirk made a motion to cease the nominations. Ray Reynolds

8 Page 8 of 9 seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Chad Campion then made a motion to cast a unanimous ballot for Barbara Mentzer for Chairperson, and Lori Mease seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Barb Mentzer then made a motion to nominate Chad Layland for Vice-chairperson of the Electrical Examining Board. Duane Quirk seconded the motion. Chad Layland accepted the nomination. Ray Reynolds made a motion to cease the nominations. Skip Perley seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Chad Campion then made a motion to cast a unanimous ballot for Chad Layland for Vice-chairperson, and Skip Perley seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Barbara Mentzer was elected as the Chairperson of the Electrical Examining Board for the next term, and Chad Layland was elected as the Vice-chairperson. Chair Mentzer reminded the Board that since the formal rule-making process for amendments to the NEC could start in August or September, proposed amendments or changes to the 2011 National Electrical Code (NEC) should be completed in August. Mike Coveyou, Planning and Research Administrator, advised the Board that a Notice of Intended Action could be filed by the end of September, or even earlier, so corrections can be made well before the 01/01/2012 proposed adoption date of the 2011 NEC. He noted that there had been one substantive amendment to the 2008 Code, and that the Rules Committee may first want to add an amendment parallel to that. Chair Mentzer commented that the Code Committee--she, Rod Van Wart, and Randy Van Voorst-- had not yet met to review the highlights of the updates. Brian Young, Interim Executive Secretary, had sent to the Board a spreadsheet outlining the 767 changes. Rod Van Wart will to the Board a pdf document of a presentation that he had composed, describing in detail the 25 most significant changes to the Code. It was also determined that including representatives of the building trades in discussions of Code changes would provide a beneficial exchange of ideas. Chair Mentzer advised the Board that, earlier in the day, the Fire Alarm Inspections subcommittee met, consisting of herself, Chad Campion, Rod Van Wart, Pat Merrick, Ray Reynolds, Patrick Daughenbaugh of the Building Codes Bureau, and two from the Fire Alarm Advisory Board. They would like some clarification of Iowa Code from Scott, regarding when inspections are required. The sub-committee will meet again to compose proposals for the Rules Committee to begin drafting rules regarding Fire Alarm Inspections. Chair Mentzer then opened the floor to Skip Perley. The Rules Committee had met without all of the members present, so there was no official recommendation to be presented. Instead, Skip presented a document for the Board to review, which was a spreadsheet describing the different paths and requirements that would lead to sponsorship for the Iowa Prometric Journeyman exam. Discussion ensued. Any suggestions for changes will be ed to members of the Rules Committee, who will again meet to discuss the details of the different options leading toward sponsorship.

9 Page 9 of 9 There being no further business, Ray Reynolds made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Chad Campion seconded the motion. With no discussion, the motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 1:39 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dana McClintock Clerk Specialist