Your question was submitted in response to 1999 Op. That opinion states that a general health district does not have the authority to require a person to have a qualification certificate issued under R.C. Chapter 4740 in order to register with the district as a plumbing contractor. 99-009 concludes that a general health district has authority to require the registration of plumbers but does not have authority to impose licensing requirements. That conclusion is based on statutes and case law that are discussed in detail in that opinion. We summarize them briefly in the following paragraphs.
Boards of health have general authority to adopt rules that protect the public health.
This rulemaking authority, however, must be construed in light of other statutes that govern particular types of regulation. Recent statutes authorize the Ohio Construction Industry Examining Board to issue qualification certificates to various types of contractors, including plumbing contractors, but do not require that a plumber acquire such a certificate in order to engage in plumbing. Apart from such certificates, the statutes permit contractors to be licensed only by a municipal corporation pursuant to R.C. 715.27 or by a board of county commissioners pursuant to R.C. 3781.102. See 1999 Op. Boards of health are not permitted to regulate the licensing of plumbing contractors, but they are permitted to require registration and assessment of a registration or license fee.