Executive Order

Executive Order  No. 582: Ensuring Access to Skilled Labor By Varying The Terms of Plumbing Licensure in the Commonwealth

Date: 10/04/2018
Issuer: Governor Charlie Baker
Mass Register: No. 1376
Amended by: Executive Order No. 584
Rescinded by: Executive Order No. 603

Table of Contents

WHEREAS, I have issued a proclamation declaring that a state of emergency exists within the Commonwealth, more specifically in the Towns of Andover and North Andover and the City of Lawrence;

WHEREAS, efforts to meet that state of emergency involve the repair and replacement of a significant amount of gas and plumbing infrastructure in homes and businesses in the affected municipalities;

WHEREAS, in consultation with the team leading recovery efforts, I have determined that the need for skilled plumbers far exceeds the labor supply of licensed Massachusetts plumbers;

WHEREAS, in consultation with the Division of Professional Licensure and the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters, I have determined that it is necessary and expedient to meet the state of emergency by allowing license holders from certain neighboring states to perform plumbing work in the affected municipalities without the need for a formal examination of their qualifications as set forth in section 4 of chapter 142 of the General Laws; and

WHEREAS, all work performed by license holders from neighboring states will be supervised by licensed master plumbers and permitted and inspected by the municipalities in which the work is performed;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Charles D. Baker, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution as Supreme Executive Magistrate, Part 2, c. 2, § 1, Art. 1 and Chapter 639 of the Acts of 1950, do hereby order as follows:

Section 1.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Commissioner of the Division of Professional Licensure (“DPL”) and the Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters (“the Board”) may issue temporary journeyman plumbing licenses authorizing the practice of plumbing as defined by G.L. c. 142, § 1, to the following individuals and subject to the following conditions and restrictions.

Section 2. Temporary journeyman plumbing licenses may be issued to a person providing DPL and the Board with: (1) proof of a valid journeyman or master level plumbing license issued by Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island or Vermont; (2) a certificate of good standing from the licensing authority; and (3) a valid driver’s license or other acceptable form of government issued identification such as a passport, military identification, or state issued identification card. 

Temporary journeyman plumbing licenses may also be issued to a person providing DPL and the Board with: (1) proof of a valid journeyman or master level plumbing license issued by a state not listed in the preceding paragraph or political subdivision of such a state; (2) proof of at least 300 hours of formal plumbing education; (3) a certificate of good standing from the licensing authority; and (4) a valid driver’s license or other acceptable form of government issued identification such as a passport, military identification, or state issued identification card. 

Section 3. A temporary journeyman plumbing license issued pursuant to this Executive Order shall be limited to authorizing work under the direction of a Massachusetts Licensed Master Plumber, who shall be responsible for all work performed by the holder of a temporary journeyman plumbing license.  

The Massachusetts Licensed Master Plumber shall be responsible for: (1) securing all permits for work performed under a temporary journeyman plumbing license; (2) ensuring all work adheres to the Massachusetts Plumbing Code; (3) ensuring all work is inspected. 

A gas company organized under chapter 164 of the General Laws employing a Massachusetts Licensed Plumber who is directing work pursuant to this section shall be exempt from the business licensing requirements of section 3B of chapter 142 of the General Laws and any related regulations.

Section 4.  DPL and the Board may establish such additional requirements for temporary journeyman plumbing licenses and conditions and restrictions on work performed pursuant to those licenses as are necessary and appropriate to ensure public safety.

Section 5.  Temporary licenses issued pursuant to this Order shall automatically expire when the state of emergency is terminated, or at such other time as I may direct in a subsequent Executive Order. 

Given in Lawrence at 9:30 AM this 4th day of October in the year of our Lord two thousand eighteen and of the Independence of the United States of America two hundred forty-three.

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