1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to commerce; amending the definition of an 
  1.3             owner; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 
  1.4             326.01, subdivision 6e; 326.242, subdivision 12. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 326.01, 
  1.7   subdivision 6e, is amended to read: 
  1.8      Subd. 6e.  [OWNER.] An owner is a natural person who 
  1.9   physically performs electrical work on premises the person owns 
  1.10  and actually occupies as a residence or owns and will occupy as 
  1.11  a residence upon completion of construction, or an owner of a 
  1.12  business who physically performs electrical work on the premises 
  1.13  of a business the person owns and operates as a business or will 
  1.14  own and operate as a business upon completion of construction. 
  1.15     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 326.242, 
  1.16  subdivision 12, is amended to read: 
  1.17     Subd. 12.  [EXEMPTIONS FROM LICENSING.] (a) A maintenance 
  1.18  electrician who is (1) supervised by the responsible master 
  1.19  electrician for an electrical contractor who has contracted with 
  1.20  the maintenance electrician's employer to provide services for 
  1.21  which an electrical contractor's license is required or by a 
  1.22  master electrician or an electrical engineer registered with the 
  1.23  board and who is an employee of an employer and is engaged in 
  1.24  the maintenance, and repair of electrical equipment, apparatus, 
  1.25  and facilities owned or leased by the employer, and performed 
  2.1   within the limits of property which is owned or leased and 
  2.2   operated and maintained by said employer,; or (2) performing 
  2.3   maintenance as directed by an owner; shall not be required to 
  2.4   hold or obtain a license under sections 326.241 to 326.248; or 
  2.5      (b) Employees of a licensed alarm and communication 
  2.6   contractor are not required to hold a license under sections 
  2.7   326.241 to 326.248 while performing work authorized to be 
  2.8   conducted by an alarm and communication contractor; or 
  2.9      (c) Employees of any electric, communications, or railway 
  2.10  utility, or a telephone company as defined under section 237.01 
  2.11  or its employees, or of any independent contractor performing 
  2.12  work on behalf of any such utility or telephone company, shall 
  2.13  not be required to hold a license under sections 326.241 to 
  2.14  326.248: 
  2.15     1.  While performing work on installations, materials, or 
  2.16  equipment which are owned or leased, and operated and maintained 
  2.17  by such utility or telephone company in the exercise of its 
  2.18  utility or telephone function, and which 
  2.19     (i) are used exclusively for the generation, 
  2.20  transformation, distribution, transmission, or metering of 
  2.21  electric current, or the operation of railway signals, or the 
  2.22  transmission of intelligence and do not have as a principal 
  2.23  function the consumption or use of electric current by or for 
  2.24  the benefit of any person other than such utility or telephone 
  2.25  company, and 
  2.26     (ii) are generally accessible only to employees of such 
  2.27  utility or telephone company or persons acting under its control 
  2.28  or direction, and 
  2.29     (iii) are not on the load side of the meter; or 
  2.30     2.  While performing work on installations, materials, or 
  2.31  equipment which are a part of the street lighting operations of 
  2.32  such utility; or 
  2.33     3.  While installing or performing work on outdoor area 
  2.34  lights which are directly connected to a utility's distribution 
  2.35  system and located upon the utility's distribution poles, and 
  2.36  which are generally accessible only to employees of such utility 
  3.1   or persons acting under its control or direction; or 
  3.2      (d) An owner shall not be required to hold or obtain a 
  3.3   license under sections 326.241 to 326.248.