April 8, 2026 BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES - STATE BOARD OF HEATING, VENTILATION, AIR-CONDITIONING, AND REFRIGERATION CONTRACTORS

Date:              April 8, 2026

Time:              10:30 a.m.

Place:             100 South Charles Street                   
Baltimore, MD  21201
Via teleconference (US +1 470-285-0286 PIN: ‪653 561 432#)
Members Present:Winfield “Rocky” Jones, Chairman
Michael Weglarz, Master Electrician
David Politzer, Consumer Member
Dwight Needham, Master HVACR Contractor
Robert Parker, Master HVACR Contractor
Kabir Ahmed, Consumer Member

Members Absent:    Michael Giangrandi, Master HVACR Contractor
                                                                       
Staff Present:                        Chuck Marquette, Executive Director, Mechanical Licensing Unit
Sloane Fried Kinstler, Assistant Attorney General
Andrew Friel, Director of Government Affairs, Division of Occupational and
Professional Licensing
LaKissha Thornton, Administrative Officer, Mechanical Licensing Unit
           
Guests Present:        Laura Bjorn, JCM Associates
Gwendolyn Gilliam, Public

CALL TO ORDER:

Director Marquette called roll to establish a quorum. After a quorum was established Chairman Jones called the Business Meeting of the State Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigeration (“HVACR”) Contractors to order at 10:34 a.m.

APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA:

A motion to adopt the April 8, 2028, Business Meeting Agenda was made by Mr. Needham, seconded by Mr. Parker, and unanimously approved by the Board.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES:

Mr. Weglarz moved to approve the Business Meeting Minutes of the March 11, 2026 HVACR Board meeting without amendment or correction. The motion was seconded by Mr. Needham and unanimously approved by the Board.

COMPLAINT COMMITTEE REPORT:

Mr. Politzer reported the findings of the Complaint Committee as follows:

A motion to approve the findings of the Complaint Committee was made by Mr. Politzer, seconded by Mr. Parker, and unanimously approved by the Board.

APPLICATION REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT:

There were no applications to be reviewed; no report of the Committee was necessary.

REVIEW OF EXAMINATION STATISTICS AND LICENSE TOTALS:

Ms. Thornton reported the following PSI exam statistical summary for the month of March 2026:

                              Candidates Tested         Passed                  Failed              Pass Rate %
March 2026

Cumulative- YTD

Testing to date

 
There are currently 24,304 active licensees.

CORRESPONDENCE:

There was no correspondence.

OLD BUSINESS

Discussion on District of Columbia Reciprocity Agreement:

Director Marquette stated to the Board that he had been working with the District of Columbia Board of Trades (“D.C.”) to develop an HVACR reciprocity agreement. He stated that the agreement would allow for a Refrigeration applicant to get a full HVACR license in both Maryland and D.C. The agreement will include Master and Journeyman applicants that have passed the appropriate license exam to obtain their license. Director Marquette added that for a Maryland applicant to be accepted for reciprocal licensure by D.C., that applicant must show that they have a Universal CFC Certification and that they have held their Maryland HVACR license for two (2) years. Director Marquette stated that he sent a copy of the final draft of the agreement to the Board members for review. He then added that the agreement was being reviewed by D.C., and when D.C. approves and signs the agreement, it will be sent to Chairman Jones to be signed and executed.

Mr. Weglarz stated that he sent Director Marquette and Chairman Jones a document that identified significant differences between the requirements for licensure between D.C. and Maryland and asked whether the document had been taken into consideration when drafting the agreement. Counsel asked Mr. Weglarz if the document had been shared with the entire Board, and, if not, that the Board could choose to review the document before taking further action on the reciprocity agreement. She added that the current agreement was modeled on similar agreements that are currently and have been in place for  several other professional and occupational licensing units including the Mechanical Licensing Units.  Director Marquette stated that if the members of the Board would like to review the document, he will share it for review before moving forward. Mr. Needham stated that he would like to review the document. After a discussion the Board agreed to review the document submitted by Mr. Weglarz and place the item for discussion on the May meeting Agenda.

Proposed Regulation to assign a Master license a company:

Director Marquette stated that he did not have any new updates and that the concept was still being reviewed by staff to determine best approach to enforce the proposed regulation. He will work with Mr. Friel on this matter.

NEW BUSINESS:

There was no New Business to be discussed.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT:

Director Marquette introduced Mr. Andrew Friel, Director of Government Affairs for the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, to the Board. Mr. Friel thanked the Board for their time and stated that he will be overseeing Board appointments and assisting with proposed legislation and regulations Mr. Friel stated that he would be working to fill any Board vacancies in the Mechanical Licensing units asked that if anyone had any recommendations for Board members that they be referred to him, specifically for the Board of Plumbing. Mr. Weglarz expressed an interest in joining the Board and Mr. Friel stated he would work with Mr. Weglarz to determine if that was possible. Mr. Friel thanked the Board for their time and Mr. Marquette for introducing him to the Board. 

Director Marquette added that the Division of Labor and Industry (“DLI”) was in the process of adopting the 2024 International Mechanical Code (“IMC”) and the 2024 International Residential Code (“IRC”).  He stated that the regulation to adopt those codes was currently in the approval phase in the Secretary’s Office.  Counsel added that once the 2024 IMC and IRC had been adopted by DLI that the Board would need to approve the codes themselves.

Director Marquette informed the Board that interviews for the HVACR Administrator position had been conducted and that he expected an candidate to have been selected by the next Board meeting.

COUNSEL’S REPORT:

Counsel did not offer a report.

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT:

The Chair did not offer a report.

CLOSED SESSION:

The Board did not convene in a Closed Session

ADJOURNMENT:

Mr. Weglarz moved to adjourn the April 8, 2026 meeting of the State Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors. The motion was seconded by Mr. Needham and unanimously approved by the Board to adjourn the meeting at 10:58 a.m.
                                                           
                        ____________________                                                                               
Charles Marquette                                                   Date
Executive Director