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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20210&cosponId=35252
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House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: March 31, 2021 10:04 AM
From: Representative John T. Galloway and Rep. Gerald J. Mullery
To: All House members
Subject: State licensing for electricians
 
Whether you are building a new home, have problems with a finicky electrical outlet, or bought a fixer-upper that needs rewired, how do you know that your electrician is properly trained and will ensure that your home’s wiring, electrical panels and lighting can be relied upon to keep your family safe, and that their work will meet all state and local codes?

In many states, the answer is as easy as asking to see their license to work as an electrician. That license shows that not only have they finished appropriate training programs and taken appropriate tests, but also have put in the years of work necessary to have earned it.

However, this isn’t the case in Pennsylvania, where there is no state license requirement, but in many of the 2,565 municipalities, there are local licensing or certification requirements. Pennsylvania is one of only 10 states in the nation that doesn’t require some form of state-level licensing.

What does that mean for consumers? Unless their municipality has licensing requirements for electricians, the person rewiring their forever home, may have only minimum formal training and experience as an electrician, having spent much of their time hanging drywall.

For electricians, this patchwork of local licensing requirements and standards, makes it more challenging to find work in various municipalities, and can prove costly in terms of time and money to ensure you are paying for and complying with local licensing, registration or certification requirements. And, if you live in a municipality that borders another state and want to work in that state, you cannot point to your state license for reciprocity when it is available.

Isn’t it time to streamline the licensing of these professionals, so that we can remove the guesswork for consumers who want to hire an electrician and have the peace of mind in knowing the work is being done right, while at the same time making this field more enticing to young people who may be interested in pursuing a career as an electrician? The answer is simple, let’s join the majority of other states in the nation and require state licensing for electricians.

I hope that you will join me in co-sponsoring this proposal, which will ensure consumer safety and support the men and women who choose to work in this profession.