Testimony of Erin Trabucco, General Counsel
Before the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure
May 19, 2009

RE: H.257, An Act Relative to Exempting Home Appliance Service and Repair Technicians from Certain Provisions of the Massachusetts Plumbing Code
         

The Retailers Association of Massachusetts (RAM), established in 1920, is a statewide trade association of over 3,100 retail and restaurant member companies.  Our membership ranges from independent “mom and pop” retailers to larger national retail chains.  The retail industry's contributions to the Commonwealth include over $112 billion in annual sales; over $5.7 billion in annual sales and use taxes; 17% of Massachusetts jobs; and operations in over 38,000 locations across the state.

On behalf of the RAM, I respectfully ask the Committee to support H.257, An Act Relative to Exempting Home Appliance Service and Repair Technicians from Certain Provisions of the Massachusetts Plumbing Code.

Current Board of Registration regulations do not expressly allow the work of appliance repair, disconnection, removal, and reinstallation of new appliances by certified and highly trained technicians.  Some interpretations and some instances of local enforcement would indicate that only licensed plumbers and electricians can do some of the common disconnection and re-connection work as consumers seek to repair or replace their appliances.

Picture the very costly and multi-day process that is required under some interpretations of existing regulations.  You, as a consumer, purchase a new dishwasher to replace an existing appliance.  Instead of a trained technician arriving with the new dishwasher to pull the old machine and install the new one, a licensed plumber and electrician must first disconnect the old
dishwasher, remove it, make the new connections for the new machine, and then have a local inspector issue a permit and inspect the work before the installation is complete.  The hundreds of dollars and days or weeks it takes is extremely costly, frustrating and unnecessary for consumers.  That very scenario plays out today under certain interpretations and enforcement actions.

Under the current law, consumers are not only subjected to needless visits and extended time frames for simple installations but they are also unable to take full advantage of appliance warranties.  In the case of a typical warranty repair, there is no cost to the consumer.  By requiring licensed trades people who are not covered under the warranty to pull out a unit for repair or reinstall a fixed unit, the repair can be costly and untimely. 

There is no question that there are times when a licensed plumber and/or electrician is necessary, such as when new appliances are being installed where no previous appliance existed, for natural gas lines or when existing plumbing or wiring needs to be upgraded.  Yet, the technicians working for your local appliance store fully understand when they need to bring in the affiliated plumber or electrician in a case of an installation or repair. 

An exemption for appliance technicians from the current regulation is important for local appliance stores, is pro-consumer, and legally puts in place common practice in the Commonwealth and across the country.   I respectfully ask the Committee for a favorable recommendation of H.257.