GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 1999

SESSION LAW 1999-123
HOUSE BILL 1076

AN ACT TO REQUIRE THAT FIRE SERVICE MAINS COMPLY WITH THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE BUILDING CODE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 87-10(b) reads as rewritten:
"(b)	The Board shall conduct an examination, either oral or written, of all applicants for license to ascertain the ability of the applicant to make a practical application of his knowledge of the profession of contracting, under the classification contained in the application, and to ascertain the qualifications of the applicant in reading plans and specifications, knowledge of estimating costs, construction, ethics and other similar matters pertaining to the contracting business and knowledge of the applicant as to the responsibilities of a contractor to the public and of the requirements of the laws of the State of North Carolina relating to contractors, construction and liens. If the results of the examination of the applicant shall be satisfactory to the Board, then the Board shall issue to the applicant a certificate to engage as a general contractor in the State of North Carolina, as provided in said certificate, which may be limited into five classifications as the common use of the terms are known – that is,
(1)	Building contractor, which shall include private, public, commercial, industrial and residential buildings of all types;
(1a)	Residential contractor, which shall include any general contractor constructing only residences which are required to conform to the residential building code adopted by the Building Code Council pursuant to G.S. 143-138;
(2)	Highway contractor;
(3)	Public utilities contractors, which shall include those whose operations are the performance of construction work on the following subclassifications of facilities:
a.	Water and sewer mains and water service lines and house and building sewer lines as defined in the North Carolina State Building Code, and water storage tanks, lift stations, pumping stations, and appurtenances to water storage tanks, lift stations and pumping stations;
b.	Water and wastewater treatment facilities and appurtenances thereto;
c.	Electrical power transmission facilities, and primary and secondary distribution facilities ahead of the point of delivery of electric service to the customer;
d.	Public communication distribution facilities; and
e.	Natural gas and other petroleum products distribution facilities; provided the General Contractors Licensing Board may issue license to a public utilities contractor limited to any of the above subclassifications for which the general contractor qualifies, and
(4)	Specialty contractor, which shall include those whose operations as such are the performance of construction work requiring special skill and involving the use of specialized building trades or crafts, but which shall not include any operations now or hereafter under the jurisdiction, for the issuance of license, by any board or commission pursuant to the laws of the State of North Carolina.
Public utilities contractors constructing water service lines and house and building sewer lines as provided in (3)a above shall terminate said lines at a valve, box, meter, or manhole or cleanout at which the facilities from the building may be connected.  Public utilities contractors constructing fire service mains for connection to fire sprinkler systems shall terminate those lines at a flange, cap, plug, or valve inside the building one foot above the finished floor.  All fire service mains shall comply with the NFPA standards for fire service mains as incorporated into and made applicable by Volume V of the North Carolina Building Code."
Section 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 1999.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 20th day of May, 1999.

s/	Marc Basnight
President Pro Tempore of the Senate

s/	James B. Black
Speaker of the House of Representatives

s/	James B. Hunt, Jr.
Governor

Approved 3:32 p.m. this 28th day of May, 1999