To amend sections 4740.01, 4740.02, 4740.04, and 4740.07 and to enact section 4740.16 of the Revised Code to make changes to the construction industry licensing laws to discipline unlicensed contractors and eliminate unlicensed contractor activity.

Section 1. That sections 4740.01, 4740.02, 4740.04, and 4740.07 be amended and section 4740.16 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 4740.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A) "License" means a license the Ohio construction industry licensing board issues to an individual as a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning contractor, refrigeration contractor, electrical contractor, plumbing contractor, or hydronics contractor.

(B) "Contractor" means any individual or business entity that satisfies both of the following:

(1) For compensation, directs Directs, supervises, or has responsibility for the means, method, and manner of construction, improvement, renovation, repair, or maintenance on a construction project with respect to one or more trades and who offers, identifies, advertises, or otherwise holds out or represents that the individual or business entity is permitted or qualified to perform, direct, supervise, or have responsibility for the means, method, and manner of construction, improvement, renovation, repair, or maintenance with respect to one or more trades on a construction project;

(2) Performs or employs has employees who are tradespersons who perform construction, improvement, renovation, repair, or maintenance on a construction project with respect to the contractor's trades.

(C) "Licensed trade" means a trade performed by a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning contractor, a refrigeration contractor, an electrical contractor, a plumbing contractor, or a hydronics contractor.

(D) "Tradesperson" means an individual employed by a contractor who engages in construction, improvement, renovation, repair, or maintenance of buildings or structures without assuming responsibility for the means, method, or manner of that construction, improvement, renovation, repair, or maintenance.

(E) "Construction project" means a construction project involving a building or structure subject to Chapter 3781. of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under that chapter, but not an industrialized unit or a residential building as defined in section 3781.06 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4740.02.  (A) There is hereby created within the department of commerce, the Ohio construction industry licensing board, consisting of seventeen residents of this state. The board shall have an administrative section, a plumbing and hydronics section, an electrical section, and a heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration section. The director of commerce shall appoint all members of the board. The director or the director's designee shall serve as a member of the administrative section and the director shall appoint to the section to represent the public, one member who is not a member of any group certified by any section of the board. Each section, other than the administrative section, shall annually elect a member of its section to serve a one-year term on the administrative section.

(B) The plumbing and hydronics section consists of five members, one of whom is a plumbing inspector employed by the department of commerce, a municipal corporation, or a health district, two of whom are plumbing contractors who have no affiliation with any union representing plumbers, and two of whom are plumbing contractors who are signatories to agreements with unions representing plumbers.

The plumbing and hydronics section has primary responsibility for the licensure of plumbing contractors and hydronics contractors.

(C) The electrical section consists of five members, one of whom is an electrical inspector employed by the department of commerce, a municipal corporation, or a county, two of whom are electrical contractors who have no affiliation with any union representing electricians, and two of whom are electrical contractors who are signatories to agreements with unions representing electricians.

The electrical section has primary responsibility for the licensure of electrical contractors.

(D) The heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration section consists of five members, one of whom is a heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration inspector employed by either the department of commerce or a municipal corporation; two of whom are heating, ventilating, and air conditioning contractors or refrigeration contractors who have no affiliation with any union representing heating, ventilating, and air conditioning tradespersons or refrigeration tradespersons; and two of whom are heating, ventilating, and air conditioning contractors or refrigeration contractors who are signatories to agreements with unions representing heating, ventilating, and air conditioning tradespersons or refrigeration tradespersons.

The heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration section has primary responsibility for the licensure of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning contractors and refrigeration contractors.

(E) Within ninety days after July 31, 1992, initial appointments shall be made to the board. Of the initial appointments to the board, two appointments in each section, other than the administrative section, are for terms ending one year after July 31, 1992, and two are for terms ending two years after July 31, 1992. All other appointments to the board are for terms ending three years after July 31, 1992. Thereafter, terms of office are for three years, each term ending on the same day of the same month of the year as did the term that it succeeds. Each member shall hold office from the date of appointment until the end of the term for which the member was appointed. Members may be reappointed. Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for original appointments. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the member's predecessor was appointed shall hold office as a member for the remainder of that term. A member shall continue in office subsequent to the expiration of a term until a successor takes office or until a period of sixty days has elapsed, whichever occurs first.

(F) Before entering upon the discharge of official duties, each member shall take, and file with the secretary of state, the oath of office required by Section 7 of Article XV, Ohio Constitution.

(G) Each member, except for the director or the director's designee, shall receive a per diem amount fixed pursuant to section 124.15 of the Revised Code when actually attending to matters of the board and for the time spent in necessary travel, and all actual and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of official duties.

(H) The director of commerce may remove any member of the board the director appoints for malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance.

(I) Membership on the board and holding any office of the board does not constitute holding a public office or employment within the meaning of any section of the Revised Code, or an interest, either direct or indirect, in a contract or expenditure of money by the state or any municipal corporation, township, special district, school district, county, or other political subdivision. No member or officer of the board is disqualified from holding any public office or employment nor shall the officer or member forfeit any public office or employment by reason of holding a position as an officer or member of the board.

(J) The board, and each section of the board, shall meet only after adequate advance notice of the meeting has been given to each member of the board or section, as appropriate.

Sec. 4740.04.  The administrative section of the Ohio construction industry licensing board is responsible for the administration of this chapter and shall do all of the following:

(A) Schedule the contractor examinations each of the other sections of the board directs. Each type of examination shall be held at least four times per year.

(B) Select and contract with one or more persons to do all of the following relative to the examinations:

(1) Prepare, administer, score, and maintain the confidentiality of the examinations;

(2) Be responsible for all the expenses required to fulfill division (B)(1) of this section;

(3) Charge an applicant a fee in an amount the administrative section of the board authorizes for administering the examination;

(4) Design the examination for each type of contractor to determine an applicant's competence to perform that type of contracting.

(C) Issue and renew licenses as follows:

(1) Issue a license to any individual who the appropriate section of the board determines is qualified pursuant to section 4740.06 of the Revised Code to hold a license and has attained, within the twelve months preceding the individual's application for licensure, a score on the examination that the appropriate section authorizes for the licensed trade.

(a) Each license shall include a license number and an expiration date.

(b) Each license issued to an individual who holds more than one valid license shall contain the same license number and expiration date as the original license issued to that individual.

(2) Renew licenses for individuals who meet the renewal requirements of section 4740.06 of the Revised Code.

(D) Make an annual written report to the director of commerce on proceedings had by or before the board for the previous year and make an annual statement of all money received and expended by the board during the year;

(E) Keep a record containing the name, address, the date on which the board issues or renews a license to, and the license number of, every heating, ventilating, and air conditioning contractor, refrigeration contractor, electrical contractor, plumbing contractor, and hydronics contractor issued a license pursuant to this chapter;

(F) Regulate a contractor's use and display of a license issued pursuant to this chapter and of any information contained in that license;

(G) Adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code as necessary to properly discharge the administrative section's duties under this chapter. The rules shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) Application procedures for examinations;

(2) Specifications for continuing education requirements for license renewal that address all of the following:

(a) A requirement that an individual who holds any number of valid and unexpired licenses accrue a total of ten hours of continuing education courses per year;

(b) Fees the board charges to persons who provide continuing education courses, in an amount of twenty-five dollars annually for each person approved to provide courses, not more than ten dollars plus one dollar per credit hour for each course offered, and one dollar per credit hour of instruction per attendee;

(c) A provision limiting approval of continuing education courses to one year.

(3) Requirements for criminal records checks of applicants under section 4776.03 of the Revised Code.

(H) Adopt any continuing education curriculum as the other sections of the board establish or approve pursuant to division (C) of section 4740.05 of the Revised Code;

(I) Keep a record of its proceedings and do all things necessary to carry out this chapter.

Sec. 4740.07.  (A) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the administrative section of the Ohio construction industry licensing board shall issue and renew all licenses under this chapter in the name of the individual who meets the requirements of section 4740.06 of the Revised Code.

(B) Any An individual may shall request, at the time of applying for a license or at any time thereafter, that the individual's license be assigned to a one business entity with whom the individual is associated as a full-time officer, proprietor, partner, or employee. If the individual is issued or holds a license and meets the requirements of this section for the assignment of the license to a business entity, the administrative section shall assign the license to and issue a license in the name of the business entity. The license assigned and issued to a business entity under this division shall state the name and position of the individual who assigned the license to the business entity.

(C) During the period a business entity holds a license issued under division (B) of this section, the administrative section shall not issue another license to the individual who assigned the license to the business entity for the same type of contracting for which the business entity utilizes the assigned license.

(D)(1) If an individual who assigned a license to a business entity ceases to be associated, for any reason, with the business entity for any reason, including the death of the individual to whom the individual's license had been assigned, the individual or business entity immediately shall notify the appropriate section of the board of the date on which the individual ceased to be associated with the business entity. A license assigned to a business entity is invalid ninety calendar days after the date on which the individual who assigned the license ceases to be associated with the business entity or at an earlier time to which the business entity and the individual agree.

(2) If a license assigned to a business entity becomes invalid pursuant to division (D)(1) of this section, an individual shall do one of the following:

(a) At least ninety days before the date the license assigned to the business entity becomes invalid, or, if the business entity and the individual agree to an invalidation date that is prior to the expiration of that ninety-day period as permitted under division (D)(1) of this section, on that invalidation date, request the appropriate section of the board to reassign the individual's license to a business entity with whom the individual is associated as described in division (B) of this section;

(b) If the individual is not associated with a business entity as described in division (B) of this section on the date the license assigned to the business entity becomes invalid, request that the appropriate section of the board place the individual's license in escrow until the date the individual requests the appropriate section of the board to assign the license to another business entity with whom the individual is associated as described in division (B) of this section.

(3) If a license assigned to a business entity becomes invalid pursuant to division (D)(1) of this section and another individual has assigned a license to the business entity for the same type of contracting for which the invalidated license had been assigned, the business entity may continue to operate under the other assigned license.

(E) Any work a business entity conducts under a license assigned under this section is deemed to be conducted under the personal supervision of the individual named in the license and any violation of any term of the license is deemed to have been committed by the individual named in the license.

For the period of time during which more than one license for the same type of contracting is assigned to a business entity, any work the business entity conducts under any of those licenses is deemed to be conducted under the personal supervision of the individuals named in those licenses and any violation of any term of any license is deemed to have been committed by the individuals named in all of the licenses.

(F) No individual who assigns a license to a business entity shall assign a license for the same type of contracting to another business entity until the original license assigned is invalid pursuant to division (D)(1) of this section.

(G) Any individual who assigns a license to a business entity under this section shall be actively engaged in business as the type of contractor for which the license is issued and be readily available for consultation with the business entity to which the license is assigned.

(H) No license assigned under this section shall be assigned to more than one business entity at a time.

Sec. 4740.16. (A) The appropriate section of the Ohio construction industry licensing board may investigate any person who allegedly has violated section 4740.13 of the Revised Code. If, after an investigation pursuant to section 4740.05 of the Revised Code, the appropriate section determines that reasonable evidence exists that a person has violated section 4740.13 of the Revised Code, within seven days after that determination, the appropriate section shall send a written notice to that person in the same manner as prescribed in section 119.07 of the Revised Code for licensees, except that the notice shall specify that a hearing will be held and specify the date, time, and place of the hearing.

(B) The appropriate section shall hold a hearing regarding the alleged violation in the same manner prescribed for an adjudication hearing under section 119.09 of the Revised Code. If the appropriate section, after the hearing, determines a violation has occurred, the appropriate section may impose a fine on the person, not exceeding one thousand dollars per violation per day. The appropriate section's determination is an order that the person may appeal in accordance with section 119.12 of the Revised Code.

(C) If the person who allegedly committed a violation of section 4740.13 of the Revised Code fails to appear for a hearing, the appropriate section may request the court of common pleas of the county where the alleged violation occurred to compel the person to appear before the appropriate section for a hearing.

(D) If the appropriate section assesses a person a civil penalty for a violation of section 4740.13 of the Revised Code and the person fails to pay that civil penalty within the time period prescribed by the appropriate section, the appropriate section shall forward to the attorney general the name of the person and the amount of the civil penalty for the purpose of collecting that civil penalty. In addition to the civil penalty assessed pursuant to this section, the person also shall pay any fee assessed by the attorney general for collection of the civil penalty.

Section 2. That existing sections 4740.01, 4740.02, 4740.04, and 4740.07 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.