Requires persons engaged in the installation, improvement, repair and maintenance of medical gas piping or the instruction thereof to be licensed

Summary of provisions

1) Defines department, medical gas piping, and secretary. 2) License required. No person shall engage in installation, improvement, repair or maintenance unless issues a license. No person shall provide instruction regarding installation, improvement, repair or maintenance unless issued a license. 3) Powers of the secretary of state. 4) License; medical gas piping installation and maintenance. 5) License; medical gas piping instruction. 6) Violations. 7) Transition provisions.

Justification

New York State has a very vast array of villages, towns, counties and cities that have differing requirements for the installation of medical gas systems. Some require a licensed master plumber, some require a permit, some require a certification report after completion and some require nothing at all. Where a master plumber's license is required, installers work under the license of the owner and are not required to be trained nor certified to install these systems.

The master plumber's license covers the owner and company for the installation of water, waste and vent piping and fixtures. Suffolk County has medical gas listed under this license but practically speaking there is no formal education or instruction for medical gas systems installed anywhere in the training syllabus. Every licensed plumber that we have met has confirmed that they never learned anything about medical gas system installation or the equipment that is ,installed or tested.

The current situation is that by law, a licensed plumber is allowed to do the work regardless of experience or training, but anyone trained, experienced and credentialed cannot do the work without a license. This additional license will help resolve this issue as well as help ensure that the work being done on these safety systems is done safely and correctly.

NFPA 99 Standard for Health Care Facilities is the code that is followed for the installation of medical gas systems in health care

facilities. The 2002 and 2005 editions have mandated that installers comply with the requirements of ANSI ASSE Standard 6000, specifically ASSE 6010 Professional Qualification Standards for a Medical Gas System Installer. Prior editions had mandated that "The installation of medical gas systems be made by qualified, competent technicians who are experienced in making such installations." National Inspection & Testing Corporation (NITC) is a nationally recognized third patty testing company that provides a multitude of certifications from master plumber, electrician, steamfitter, HVAC, etc. The medical gas installer course has a prerequisite of four years of piping experience. It is a 32 hour course on medical gas system codes and requirements including hands on brazing of medical gas piping. This legislation would allow oversight of the "loophole" and be a fair way to reduce the risk of a tragedy while not causing anyone to be unable to perform this work. Any licensed plumber would simply be required to, take the 32 hour course and attain the medical gas certification. The cost is relatively minimal and the cost for licensing is Rico expected to be negligible too. The expectation is that there would be approximately several hundred individuals that would need to obtain the training and licensing statewide which would also add some additional revenue to the state as well.

Additionally, the new code allows for installation of these systems by welding or by using a "swaging" process that any properly trained mechanical person can perform. Since there are significant areas throughout the state that use open shop labor, this will allow for a method to control the installation of these life safety systems to the qualified, competent trained individuals that are actually installing these systems, not just cover the business owner who typically runs the business and does not perform the physical work. On the union side, they provide this credential through their class, but again not every installer has this when working a medical gas job since there is no oversight due to the only requirement being the licensed master plumber business owner.

The union credential could be approved by the state as sufficient to satisfy the requirement, or use the nationally recognized third party testing company and be 100% certain of compliance and reap the additional revenues for the state.

Legislative history

2009-10: S.3675 Consumer Protection; A.5417 Economic Development 2008: S.7955 Consumer Protection/A.9888 Economic Development

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect the first of January following enactment.