Solar Photovoltaic Installations: The Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors Explains.

It seems there is considerable confusion about whether an electrical contractor's license is required for solar-photovoltaic (SPV) installations.

Substantially, the question is: are SPV installations, including the SPV panels themselves, electrical work within the meaning of the regulations, so as to require an applicant for a construction permit to obtain an electrical contractor's license to perform such work? 

The short answer is yes; except that owners of single-family homes doing work on their own dwellings are exempt.

Recently the Board considered this issue and concluded that SPV systems, including the SPV panels themselves, to the extent that they are used for the generation, transmission, or utilization of electrical energy, constitute electrical work within the meaning of the Act.

Therefore, unless work was exempted by statute (e.g. operates at less than 10 volts, etc.), a contractor is required to obtain a license and business permit issued by the Board to install, erect, and repair, etc., SPV systems including SPV panels themselves.

To read the Excerpt on SPV Systems from the Spring 2010 Construction Code Communicator click Here.

To view the Spring 2010 Issue of The Construction Code Communicator click Here

1099 Rule Buried In Health Care Reform Law Draws Criticism

Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., has introduced a bill that would roll back the provision buried on page 737 of H.R. 3590 The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, that will require businesses to file 1099 forms to any vendor from which they purchase $600 or more of goods and services.

The provision is expected to be especially hard on small-business owners who could be faced with a drastic increase in paperwork.

Given the current Senate and House Majority that passed HR 3590, we do not have high hopes for this bill to ever see the light of day. The best advise we can give to our members is to start preparing to comply now so you do not get caught by surprise when the provision takes effect on January 1st, 2012.
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Governor Christie Creates "Choose New Jersey" Program

Senator Steve Oroho (R-Sussex, Morris, Hunterdon), commended Governor Christie on establishing “Choose New Jersey,” a new privately funded nonprofit corporation that has been created to bring businesses and jobs back to New Jersey.

“Over the past ten years New Jersey has established a reputation for being one of the most anti-business states in the country. Our penchant for raising taxes, increasing debt and enacting unnecessary regulations have forced many businesses to close down or leave the state and cost many people their jobs.

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Governor Christie Leading By Changing The Course in N.J.

Governor Chris Christie continues to receive National attention for his management of New Jersey’s budget crisis. As painful as it is, the bold steps he is taking are necessary if we are to recover from the worst economy in generations.

Frankly, Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid and yes even the President of the United States could learn several lessons if they were to read his opinion piece.

Almost daily, I receive correspondence from across the Country from people that wish they had a Governor like Chris Christie in their State.

“The Reform Agenda: Changing Course in N.J.”

By Governor Chris Christie

As you all know, we have a fiscal crisis in New Jersey: a $10.9 billion deficit on a $29.3 billion budget. At 37 percent, it's the worst budget deficit percentage in America, worse than California, worse than New York, worse than Illinois, and bold steps must be taken to deal with it.

On March 16, we put forward a budget with $10.9 billion in reductions against proposed spending of the Corzine administration.

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Never Forget Those Who Have Made The Ultimate Sacrifice So We Can Remain Free

Christie Criticized For Keeping Promise

A little known benefit to Chris Christie becoming Governor of NJ is the ability to appoint new NJ Supreme Court Justices. During his campaign, Gov. Christie said the state Supreme Court repeatedly overstepped its bounds and should return to what a supreme court is supposed to do which is interpret the state constitution and the law.

The NJ Supreme court has become notorious for legislating from the bench, one of their most egregious rulings was to allow the Democrat Party to substitute Frank Lautenberg for the disgraced Robert Torricelli for US Senate in violation of the NJ Constitution.  

Following through on promises to change that, Governor Christie becomes the first Jersey Governor not to renominate a NJ Supreme court justice. 

Governor Christie deserves credit for keeping his word even though status quo Legislators in Trenton are crying foul. State lawmakers like having an activist court so they can avoid making unpopular decisions and those who play to their audience when attacking Christie.

Read More from Bob Ingle

New Business Mandate Requires Millions of New 1099 Tax Forms

Stealth IRS Campaign Mandates Businesses to File Millions of New 1099 Tax Forms

The massive expansion of 1099 Tax Forms required to be filed by businesses was hidden in the 2409-page Health Care Reform Bill took many by surprise when it came to light after review of the new Health Care Law. But it's just one piece of a years-long legislative stealth campaign to create ways for the federal government to track down unreported income.

The result: A blizzard of new tax forms that the Internal Revenue Service will begin rolling out next year.

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New Jersey Solar Rebate Program Crashes

Last week, New Jersey ran out of four months' worth of Solar Rebates in a day. Less money was available than originally budgeted for in December because Gov. Chris Christie was forced to take $158 million from the Clean Energy Fund to help close an unprecedented $11 billion state budget gap created by this current Legislature and past Adminstrations.

More than 1,000 people, including contractors camped out the night before to claim a portion of the $6 million in residential and $1.5 million in non-residential one-time rebates when the Office of Clean Energy opened on May 3.

The Board of Public Utilities closed the normally four-month distribution period until the next scheduled disbursement Sept. 1

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As The US Continues To Mirror Europes Social Benefits, Will We Also Suffer The Same Fate

Can we in the Unites States be headed for the same fate as Greece and the rest of Europe?

Some will say no, "The government has a duty to provide social services" and "Our Legislators would never let that happen here"....Yet history shows that most Politicians govern for votes and rarely consider how the social benefits handed to their constituents for those votes will be paid for over the long term, nor do they take into consideration the natural ups and downs of the economy when their vote binds future taxpayers to pay for programs that they pass into Law.

We may be watching the answer unfold as we watch Europes Social Model colapse under its own weight. An article from The New York Times, "Europeans Fear Crisis Threatens Liberal Benefits", sheds light on the troubles created by Politicians and out of control labor unions that provide benefit after benefit with no regard to the fiscal sustainability of those programs and benefits over the long term.

The short answer is "Elections Matter", and if America does not want to suffer the same fate that Europe now faces, we must vote for politicians that are committeed to fiscal responsibility and the reduction of government spending in every level of Government.

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie swiftly vetoes so called 'Millionaires Tax' Increase

It took about two minutes from the time Senate President Steve Sweeney certified the passage of the millionaires tax package for Gov. Chris Christie to veto the bills at his desk.

"While I have little doubt that the sponsors and supporters of this bill sincerely believe that the state can tax its way out of this financial crisis, I believe that this bill does nothing more than repeat the failed, irresponsible and unsustainable fiscal policies of the past," wrote Christie in his veto statement.

"Now is not the time for more of the same. Ultimately, another tax increase will punish the state’s struggling small businesses and set our economy further back from recovery."

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