Louisiana Bill For Reduced Licensing Standards Defeated
The
bill, supported by general contractors and homebuilders, would have shifted oversight
duties from the Louisiana Plumbing Board to the state Licensing Board for
Contractors. It also would have adopted the International Plumbing Code as
the State Sanitary and State Plumbing Code. It failed on a 14-4
vote.
“This bill would have lessened the skill level
of the master plumber and journeyman, and would have been a giant step back to
the way Louisiana was in the early ‘20s, when there were bad sanitary
conditions and diseases,” said PHCC-National Association President-elect Jim
Finley, who is chairman of the Louisiana Plumbing Board. “The general contractors
said the bill would ‘provide more boots on the ground with plumbers in them,’
but professional plumbers don’t want just anyone filling those boots.”