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Bill to narrow who may enter job sites to check electricians’ licenses divides industry and labor
Summary
House Bill 206 would limit which parties may enter a work site to inspect or request electricians’ licenses; proponents said the change prevents harassment and liability on private job sites, while unions and building trades said it could hinder enforcement of unlicensed practice and public safety.
Representative Mike Vinton said House Bill 206 would narrow the category of people who may enter a job site to request an electrician’s license, limiting that authority to building-code compliance officers rather than allowing unions, employment agencies or licensed electricians generally to enter without invitation.
Proponents — representatives of the Montana Independent Electrical Contractors, the Montana Building Industry Association and multiple independent master electricians — said the statute as written can be used to repeatedly enter active job sites, disrupt work, create safety and liability exposures and, in some cases, be used for “fishing” for employees. “When an unauthorized person wants to enter the job site, it is not only disruptive but it inevitably adds safety concerns and liability issues,” said Margaret Morgan of the Independent Electrical Contractors.
Several master electricians and business owners described examples they said were harassment or frivolous complaints that forced employers to respond to state investigations; electrical contractors and jobsite proponents argued the change would preserve private-property and job-site safety while still allowing formal complaints to the department.
Opponents — including the Montana State Building and Construction Trades Council and the Montana State Conference of Electric Workers (IBEW) — said the current statute is an important enforcement tool that allows tradespeople and unions to verify licenses, report unlicensed practice, and protect public safety. Jackie McBroom of the IBEW testified it was “not about harassment. It's about public safety,” and warned a limit on who may check credentials might reduce enforcement at a time when the department’s compliance staffing is thin in a geographically large state.
Department officials said many local building-code inspectors and certified city inspectors are licensed or certified in the discipline they inspect and that DLI maintains compliance and investigative units. Chief building-code official Eric Copeland and Commissioner Sarah Swanson told the committee that the state works with jurisdictional inspectors who have credential checks as part of their duties. Quinlan O’Connor, chief legal counsel for DLI, said the department tracks unlicensed complaints and agreed to provide complaint counts to the committee; during the hearing the committee was given three years of unlicensed-electrical complaint volumes (11 in 2022, 13 in 2023, 16 in 2024).
The committee asked for more information about complaint volume, inspection staffing and enforcement outcomes; no formal vote on HB 206 was taken during the hearing.
