[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of
the City of Albany 7-18-1983 by L.L. No. 2-1983 as Ch. XVIII of the
1983 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A person having a regular place of business and who, by himself
or journeymen plumbers of his employ, performs plumbing work.
The Examining Board of Plumbers hereinafter provided to be
appointed by the Mayor of the City of Albany.
Includes one (1) or more persons of either sex, corporations,
partnerships, associations, joint-stock companies, societies and all
other entities of any kind capable of being sued.
[Amended 1-5-1984]
A.
There is hereby created a Board to be known as the
"Examining Board of Plumbers," which shall consist of five members,
all residents of the City of Albany, to be appointed by the Mayor
of the City of Albany, of whom two and only two shall be an employing
or master plumber of not less than 10 years' experience each, and
one and only one of whom shall be a journeyman plumber. The remaining
members shall be the Chief Inspector of Plumbing for the City of Albany
and the engineer having charge of sewers in and for the City of Albany.
The term of office for each member of such Board shall be three years
from the first day of January following his appointment. Vacancies
occurring by expiration of term shall be filled by the Mayor for a
full term. Vacancies by death, removal, inability to act, resignation
or removal from the City of any member shall be filled by him for
the unexpired term. The Chief Inspector of Plumbing and Drainage and
the engineer in charge of sewers shall be ex officio members of such
Board, and when they shall cease to hold their offices by reason or
on account of which they were so designated for appointment, their
successors shall act on the Examining Board in their stead. Any member
or members may be removed by the Mayor for malfeasance in office,
incapacity or neglect in duty. Such Board shall elect its own Chairman
and Secretary. A majority shall constitute a quorum to transact the
business thereof. The Board shall meet at stated intervals and shall
have authority to hold special meetings if, in the opinion of the
Chairman or a majority, such are desirable for the proper and efficient
discharge of the business of such Board. It shall adopt such rules
and regulations for the examination of all persons who desire to obtain
a license as hereinafter required. The nature of the examinations
to be conducted under this chapter shall be determined by the Examining
Board, which shall examine the applicants as to their qualifications
and fitness to receive a license to engage in the business of plumbing.
The master and journeymen plumbers serving as members of such Board
shall receive such compensation as shall be determined by the Board
of Estimate and Apportionment.
[Amended 10-17-2016 by Ord. No. 49.82.16]
B.
The Examining Board of Plumbers shall have power
and it shall be its duty to:
[Amended 10-20-1997 by Ord. No. 17.41.97]
(1)
Have jurisdiction over and examine all persons desiring
or intending to engage in the trade, business or calling of plumbing
as employing or master plumbers in the City of Albany, with the power
to examine persons applying for licenses as such employing or master
plumbers or as inspectors of plumbing to determine their fitness and
qualifications for conducting the business of master plumbers or to
act as inspector of plumbing and issue licenses to all such persons
who shall have passed said examination before such Board and shall
be, by it, determined to be qualified for conducting business as employing
or master plumbers or competent to act as inspectors of plumbing.
(2)
Formulate, in conjunction with the local Board of Health, a code of rules regulating the work of plumbing and drainage in the City of Albany, including the materials, workmanship and manner of execution of such work, and from time to time add to, amend or alter the same. Said code of rules shall be in addition to the minimum requirements set forth by the most current New York State Plumbing, Fuel Gas and Mechanical Codes, or their equivalent as authorized by Article 18 of the Executive Law of the State of New York, and Chapter 375, Article XVIII of the Code of the City of Albany, captioned "Flood Damage Prevention."
[Amended 10-17-2016 by Ord. No. 49.82.16]
(3)
Charge and collect from each person applying for examination
a sum of $15 for each examination made by such Board, and all moneys
so collected shall be paid over by the Board monthly to the Treasurer
of the City of Albany.
[Amended 5-19-2008 by Ord. No. 25.42.08; 10-17-2016 by Ord. No. 49.82.16]
(4)
[1]Adopt rules and regulations to govern its actions in exercising
its powers and duties. A majority vote of the whole Board is required
for the adoption or amendment of any rule or regulation. Twenty days'
written notice of any proposed amendments to the rules and regulations
must be given to all Board members.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former Subsection B(4), concerning issuance
of apprentice training and journeyman identification cards, was repealed
10-17-2016 by Ord. No. 49.82.16, which ordinance provided for the
redesignation of Subsection B(5) as Subsection B(4).
No person shall, within the limits of the City
of Albany, engage in, carry on or work at the business of plumbing
as herein defined without first having passed an examination and obtained
and paid for and having in full force and effect a license as herein
provided.
[Amended 10-17-2016 by Ord. No. 49.82.16]
A.
Every person desiring to procure a certificate of competency as herein
provided shall make application to the Commissioner of Buildings for
the City of Albany for examination in such form and detail as the
Examining Board of Plumbers may prescribe.
B.
A domestic corporation desiring or intending to conduct the trade,
business or calling of a plumber or of plumbing in a city of this
state, as employing or master plumber, may do so, provided that one
or more officers of such corporation separately or aggregately actually
hold and own at least 51% of the issued and outstanding capital stock
of said corporation, and provided that each of such officers holding
such percentage of the stock is the holder of a certificate of competency
of such board of the city in which it conducts or proposes to conduct
such business as provided in § 45 of the General City Law
of the State of New York. In case one or more officers of a corporation
engaged in such business shall die, being the holder of a certificate
of competency, the corporation may continue the business during the
time necessarily required for the administration of the estate of
such deceased officer, not exceeding two years from the granting of
letters, provided that one or more officers of the corporation is
the holder of a certificate of competency and, together with the legal
representatives of such deceased officer or officers, actually owns
and holds at least 51% of the issue and outstanding capital stock
of the said corporation. Each and every member of said corporation
holding a certificate of competency shall comply with all the rules
and regulations applicable to master or employing plumbers in the
locality in which the corporation is engaged in business. Such corporation
shall register as provided in § 46 of the General City Law
of the State of New York.
[Amended 10-17-2016 by Ord. No. 49.82.16]
Upon notification by the Secretary of the Examining Board of Plumbers to the Commissioner of Buildings that the applicant has passed the examination and has met all the requirements of the Board to engage in the business of plumbing, the Commissioner of Buildings, provided that the license fee herein is paid, shall, except as herein provided and subject to any additional requirements of the General City Law of the State of New York, issue to the applicant a license to engage in or work at the business as provided in § 261-3. All licenses shall be numbered in the order in which they are issued and shall state clearly the name and address of the licensee and the fee paid. Such license shall be valid for one year, but the same can and may be renewed without further examination if application is made to the Commissioner of Buildings for renewing the same not less than 30 days before the expiration of such certificate and no charges of delinquency are proven against such applicant.
The Commissioner of the Department of Buildings
shall appoint inspectors of plumbing in the City of Albany, one (1)
of whom shall be designated as chief inspector. They shall be practical
plumbers and shall not be engaged directly or indirectly in the business
of plumbing during the period of their appointment. They shall be
citizens and actual residents of the City of Albany and before entering
upon the discharge of their duties as such inspectors they shall be
required to obtain a certificate of competency from said Examining
Board. They shall be entitled to receive compensation to be fixed
by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. The inspectors of plumbing
appointed under the provisions of this section, in addition to the
duties prescribed by law or ordinance and those which may be enjoined
or required by the Commissioner of the Department of Buildings of
the City of Albany, shall inspect the construction and alteration
of all plumbing work performed in the City of Albany and report in
writing the results of such inspection to the Commissioner of the
Department of Buildings. They shall also report in such manner any
person engaged in or carrying on the business of employing plumber
without having obtained a license as herein provided.
There shall be two (2) classes of licenses to
be known respectively as Class A and Class B as follows: Any person
may upon the recommendation of the Examining Board receive a Class
B license covering a single job or installation, which license shall
not be good for more than one (1) location or property nor for more
than one (1) continuous job therein. All other persons engaged in
the trade, business or calling of plumbing in the City of Albany shall
be required to obtain a Class A license.
[Amended 10-17-2016 by Ord. No. 49.82.16]
A nonrefundable deposit equal to the fee for
the current calendar year must accompany each application for examination.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 261-9, License
fees and renewal fees, was repealed 3-20-1995 by Ord. No. 9.23-95.
This legislation was adopted in the 1983 Code numbering and was redesignated
by the Editor to fit the 1995 Code format.
All applications for a license accompanied
with the proper fees shall be presented to the Commissioner of Buildings,
who shall, when the license is finally granted by the Examining Board,
pay into the treasury of the City of Albany the amount of such fees
so received by him.
[Amended 10-17-2016 by Ord. No. 49.82.16]
The Examining Board of Plumbers shall meet during
the three months after the enactment of this chapter and as often
as necessary to consider all applications received by it. Thereafter
the Examining Board of Plumbers shall meet within 30 days of the receipt
of any application from the Commissioner of Buildings. Final action
upon any application shall be made by the Examining Board of Plumbers
within three weeks after the receipt of the same, and during said
30 days weeks the Commissioner of Buildings, upon the recommendation
of the Examining Board of Plumbers, shall grant working permits pending
examination.
No license granted under this chapter shall
be transferable.
All persons presently licensed in the business
of plumbing in the City of Albany upon the payment of the fees provided
for in this chapter shall be entitled to a license as provided for
herein without examination.
The Commissioner of Buildings must, within 10
days after the receipt by him of any application for a license accompanied
by the proper fees, deliver such applications to the Secretary of
the Examining Board of Plumbers for the disposition of the same.
It shall be unlawful for any person to employ
an unlicensed plumber to do any plumbing work in the City of Albany.
[Amended 10-17-2016 by Ord. No. 49.82.16]
A.
Whenever any inspector or other person reports a violation of any
such rules and regulations for plumbing and drainage or deviation
from any approved plan or specification for plumbing or drainage filed
with any board or department, the Commissioner of the Department of
Buildings shall first serve a notice of the violation thereof upon
the master plumber doing the work.
B.
Such notice may be served personally or by mail, and if by mail,
it may be addressed to such master plumber at the address registered
by said master plumber, but the failure of a master plumber to register
will relieve the official or board who or which appoints the Plumbing
Inspector from the requirement of giving notice of violation. Unless
the violation is removed within three days after the day of serving
or mailing such notice, exclusive of the day of service or mailing
such notice, the Commissioner of the Department of Buildings may proceed
according to law.
[Amended 5-19-2008 by Ord. No. 25.42.08; 10-17-2016 by Ord. No. 49.82.16]
Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter,
or any rules or regulations of the Board of Health or of the Examining
Board of Plumbers in any city regulating the plumbing and drainage
of buildings in such city, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on
conviction, if a master plumber, shall in addition forfeit any certificate
of competency or registration which he may hold under the provisions
thereof.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Former § 261-18, Eligibility for
examination, was repealed 10-17-2017 by Ord. No. 49.82.16.
Article I of the Plumbing Code of the City of
Albany passed by the Examining Board of Plumbers in conjunction with
the Commissioner of Public Safety and the Bureau of Health of the
City of Albany in May of 1926, insofar as it is inconsistent herewith,
is hereby superseded and repealed. All other provisions thereof shall
remain in full force and effect until changed in the manner herein
provided.
The existing Examining Board of Plumbers is
hereby discontinued.
