An Act to Exempt a Person Making Electrical Installations in the
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0545
Committee: Housing and Economic Development
Sponsors: ROBERTS
Amends: 32 MRSA §1102-C, 32 MRSA §1201-A

Legislative Document
No. 545
H.P. 364
House of Representatives, February 11, 2025
An Act to Exempt a Person Making Electrical Installations in the 
Person's Existing Bona Fide Personal Abode from Licensing and 
Permitting Requirements
Submitted by the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation pursuant to Joint 
Rule 204.
Reference to the Committee on Housing and Economic Development suggested and 
ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative ROBERTS of South Berwick.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  32 MRSA §1102-C, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 198, §6, is amended 
to read:
5.  Exceptions to the permitting requirement.  In addition to the exception for a 
newly constructed single-family dwelling set forth in section 1102‑D, a permit from the 
board is not required for:
A.  An electrical installation in a single-family dwelling performed by a licensed 
electrician qualified under this chapter;
A-1.  An electrical installation performed by a person making electrical installations in 
an existing single-family dwelling occupied by that person or to be occupied by that 
person as the person's bona fide personal abode;
B.  The electrical work and equipment employed in connection with the construction, 
installation, operation, repair or maintenance of any utility by a public utility, or by a 
contractor working on behalf of a public utility as set forth in section 1102, subsection 
1‑C, in rendering its authorized service or in any way incidental thereto;
C.  The electrical work and equipment employed in connection with an aboveground 
electric transmission line described in section 1102, subsection 1‑B;
D.  Minor repair work, including the replacement of lamps, fuses, lighting fixtures, 
switches and sockets, the installation and repair of outlets, radio and other low-voltage 
equipment and the repair of service entrance equipment;
E.  Electrical installations for which a permit and inspection are required by municipal 
resolution or ordinance under Title 30‑A, section 4173;
F.  Any electrical equipment and work, including construction, installation, operation, 
maintenance and repair in or about industrial or manufacturing facilities;
G.  Any electrical equipment and work, including construction, installation, operation, 
maintenance and repair in, on or about other properties, equipment or buildings, 
residential or of any other kind, owned or operated by a person engaged in industrial 
or manufacturing operations provided that the work is done under the supervision of 
an electrical engineer or master electrician in the employ of that person;
H.  Work performed by any person licensed under chapter 139 as an oil burner 
technician, subject to the restrictions of the license as issued;
I.  Work performed by a person licensed under chapter 139 as a propane and natural 
gas installer, when installing propane and natural gas utilization equipment, subject to 
the restrictions of that person's license;
J.  Work performed by a person licensed under chapter 49 as a plumber, except that 
this exception applies only to disconnection and connection of electrical conductors 
required in the replacement of water pumps and water heaters of the same or smaller 
size in residential properties; or
K.  Work performed by a person licensed under chapter 69‑C as a pump installer, 
except that this exception applies only to disconnection and connection of electrical 
conductors required in the replacement of water pumps of the same or smaller size in 
residential properties and the installation of new water pumps and associated 
equipment of 3 horsepower or smaller.
Sec. 2.  32 MRSA §1201-A, sub-§11, as amended by PL 2011, c. 691, Pt. A, §34, 
is further amended to read:
11.  Wastewater treatment plants.  Wastewater treatment plants, as defined in section 
4171, and regular employees of wastewater treatment plants making electrical installations 
in or about wastewater treatment plants; or
Sec. 3.  32 MRSA §1201-A, sub-§12, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 691, Pt. A, §35, is 
amended to read:
12.  Incidental work.  Regular employees of an owner or a lessee of real property 
doing incidental electrical work on that property or incidental electrical work by a person 
whose occupation involves miscellaneous jobs of manual labor.  For purposes of this 
subsection, "incidental electrical work'' means minor electrical work, limited to light 
fixtures and switches, that occurs by chance and that does not require electrical installation 
calculations.; or
Sec. 4.  32 MRSA §1201-A, sub-§13 is enacted to read:
13.  Personal abode.  Notwithstanding the requirements set forth in section 1102-D 
for electrical installations in newly constructed single-family dwellings, a person making 
electrical installations in an existing single-family dwelling occupied by that person or to 
be occupied by that person as the person's bona fide personal abode, as long as the 
installation conforms with the standards of the National Electrical Code or other standards 
approved by the board.
SUMMARY
This bill reinstates the exception, inadvertently omitted from Public Law 2017, chapter 
198, allowing a person, without first obtaining a license or a permit from the Electricians' 
Examining Board, to make electrical installations in an existing single-family residence 
occupied by that person or to be occupied by that person as that person's personal abode 
that previously existed in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 32, section 1105, former 
subsection 5. The installation must conform with the National Electrical Code and other 
standards adopted by the board.