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Board removes 51% master‑plumber ownership rule, grants executive appointment authority for plumbing board chair
Summary
After a public hearing with business and labor testimony, the Board adopted a local law removing a 51% master‑plumber ownership requirement and granting the county executive authority to appoint the plumbing board chair; legislators cited business impacts and broad support before a 14-0 vote.
The Board voted to amend county law to eliminate a requirement that a licensed master plumber hold at least 51% ownership of a company to perform plumbing work in the county and to allow the county executive to appoint the plumbing board chair. The change was the subject of a public hearing where representatives from Teamsters Local 456 and Burke Energy said the 51% rule prevented many local employers from hiring licensed in‑house plumbers and created unnecessary costs and delays.
Louis A. Pecani (Teamsters Local 456) said the ownership provision "hinders and basically prohibits companies that we represent from doing business in this county," and Eric Pope (Burke Energy) described repeated instances where inspectors prevented work because companies were not owned 51% by a master plumber. Legislators noted the public testimony in support and moved the item; the committee-discharge and final adoption were recorded as passing 14-0. The record attributes work on the draft to the consumer protection director and the law department. Implementation steps and enforcement specifics were not detailed in the meeting record.
