February 24, 2026 BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES - Electricians

DATE: February 24, 2026
TIME: 10:00 a.m.
PLACE: 100 South Charles Street, Tower 2
2nd floor, Cherry Hill Conference Room
Baltimore, MD 21201
Via Google Meet Video and Teleconference + 321-465-5183; PIN: 457 489 090#

MEMBERS PRESENT: Chet Brown, Chair, Industry Member
Donald Steinman, Industry Member
William "Eric" Smith, Industry Member
Amadou Magazi, Industry Member

MEMBERS ABSENT: Leaurdra Raye, Industry Member
Walter "Dave" Irvin, Vice Chair, Industry Member
Matthew Poch, Consumer Member

STAFF PRESENT: John Dove, Commissioner, Occupational and Professional Licensing
Sarah McDermott, Assistant Commissioner, Occupational and
Professional Licensing
Charles Marquette, Executive Director
Sloane Fried Kinstler, Assistant Attorney General
Aajah Harris, Policy Director, Occupational & Professional Licensing
LaKissha Thornton, Administrative Officer I
Leslie Lantz, Administrative Officer I

OTHERS PRESENT: Alex Artis, Member of the Public

CALL TO ORDER:

After a roll call to establish a quorum, Chairman Brown called the Business Meeting of the Maryland State Board of Electricians to Order at 10:06 a.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

A motion to approve January 26, 2026, meeting minutes was made by Mr. Steinman, seconded by Mr. Smith, and unanimously approved by the Board.

COMPLAINT COMMITTEE REPORT

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

Upon a motion by Mr. Steinman, and a second by Mr. Magazi, the Board voted unanimously to approve the Complaint Committee report for February 2026.

APPLICATION REVIEW COMMITTEE REPORT

Chairman Brown reported that, for the month of February, there were no applications for review.
CONTINUING EDUCATION PROVIDER COMMITTEE REPORT

Mr. Steinman reported that there was one approval for a continuing education instructor.
Upon a motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Magazi, the Board voted unanimously to approve the Continuing Education Provider Committee Report.

NEC 2026 COMMITTEE
Mr. Steinman reported that he requested exam question materials from PSI through Mr. Marquette for review by the Code Review Committee regarding potential updates to the 2026 NEC testing requirements. Mr. Marquette confirmed that he had expects to receive potential exam questions from the Maryland Uniform Electrical Licensing Examination Committee, Inc. (“MUELEC”) shortly and provided the relevant law and supporting materials to the NEC 2026 Committee. Once the questions are received from MUELEC, the Committee will review them and determine whether any edits or updates to the exam content are necessary.
Chairman Brown suggested distributing the January 2023 meeting minutes to the Committee. He noted that those minutes include a detailed discussion outlining how the Board previously transitioned between code cycles and testing requirements. The Chair explained that sharing those minutes could provide important background and help establish a consistent framework or regulatory approach moving forward, so the Board does not need to repeat the same discussions each time the NEC code cycle changes. Mr. Steinman agreed that this would be helpful, noting that Board membership changes over time and that having documented guidance would assist current and future members.
Chairman Brown indicated that the minutes also include details regarding the timeline previously used for transitioning testing requirements and implementing enforcement of the updated code. The Committee agreed that reviewing this information would be beneficial and that the minutes should be circulated for reference. The matter will be revisited at the March meeting.
Upon a motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Magazi, the Board voted unanimously to approve the NEC 2026 Committee Report.
REVIEW OF EXAMINATION STATISTICS AND LICENSE TOTALS
For the month of January 2026, PSI exams submitted the following statistical summary:

Ms. Thorton reported that since the inception of the exam, 9,221 candidates were tested, 2,612, passed, 6,609 failed, for a pass rate of 28%.

EXAM CHALLENGES REPORT

Mr. Steinman reported there were no exam challenges submitted .

VOICE/DATA/VIDEO COMMITTEE REPORT
Director Marquette reported there were no new updates to the Voice/Data/Video Committee.
CORRESPONDENCE

There was no new Correspondence received.

OLD BUSINESS

Review Journey License Requirement for Master Eligibility
Director Marquette informed the Board that its proposed regulation related to the Journeyperson license requirements will be submitted for concept approval.

NEW BUSINESS

There was no New Business for discussion.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

Director Marquette introduced new Electrical Board Administrator, Leslie Lantz, to the Board.

COUNSEL’S REPORT
Counsel stated that while she did not have a formal report, the Board would need to convene in closed session to consider a litigation matter.
CHAIR’S REPORT

Chairman Brown did not offer a report.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Mr. Alexander Artis asked whether examination pass rate data could be broken down by race. Board representatives explained that the Department does not collect demographic information such as race or gender as part of the licensing application process and therefore does not have that data available in its records. While the testing vendor, PSI, Inc. (“PSI”), may request demographic information from examinees, that information is not reported to the Board as part of the exam results typically provided. Mr. Artis was advised that he may submit a formal written request to the Executive Director, Mr. Marquette, who could then determine whether such information may be requested from PSI if available. Mr. Artis stated that he would submit his request by email.

CLOSED SESSION

Upon a motion by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Steinman, and unanimously carried, the State Board of Electricians voted to convene in closed session at 10:32 a.m. to consider the Recommended Decision in Case No. ELEC 24-0017. The Board is permitted to meet in closed session pursuant to Md. Ann. Code, Gen. Prov. Art. §3-305(b)(2) and (7) of the Gen. Prov. Art., Md. Ann. Code, to protect the privacy and reputation of a licensee or an applicant and to obtain advice provided by Counsel regarding a litigation matter.

Case No.: ELEC 24-0017

The Board considered the Proposed Decisions of the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) of the Office of Administrative Hearings.in a consolidated case against two individuals, one a master electrician, the other unlicensed. The licensed electrician allowed the unlicensed individual to use his license to obtain permits for electrical jobs in which the master was not involved. The unlicensed individual would pay the licensed electrician a portion of the contract price. The ALJ found that the licensed master electrician had violated Md. Ann. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. Art., §6-316(a)(2) for fraudulently or deceptively obtaining a license for the applicant or another person by obtaining an electrical permit under false pretenses and allowing an unlicensed person to provide electrical services under such permit; §6-316(a)(3) for by improperly transferring the authority of a state license by allowing an unlicensed individual to provide services for which he was not licensed under a permit issued to the licensee; §6-316(a)(5) for willfully or deliberately violating a building code by allowing the provision of electrical services under the electrician’s name that failed mechanical inspections multiple times; and §6-316(a)(7) for aiding or abetting the unlicensed individual to evade a provision of the applicable title by providing electrical services for which he was neither qualified or licensed. The ALJ recommended license revocation and a civil monetary penalty of $20,000 for the respondent’s multiple violations. The Board affirmed and adopted the ALJ’s recommendations and imposed penalty, for which it issued a Proposed Order.
The ALJ further found that the unlicensed individual violated Md. Ann. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. Art., §6-607(1) by offering, providing, or attempting to provide electrical services without the required State license issued by the Board. The ALJ recommended a civil monetary penalty of $5,000 for the respondent’s violation. The Board affirmed and adopted the ALJ’s recommendations and imposed penalty, for which it issued a Proposed Order.
A Motion to accept the findings of the February 24, 2026 Closed Session was made by Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Steinman, and unanimously approved by the Board.
Upon reconvening the business meeting at 10:45 a.m., Chairman Brown invited Ms. Lantz to introduce herself. Ms. Lantz indicated she was happy to be aboard and invited all suggestions and critiques to help her learn.
ADJOURNMENT
Mr. Smith moved to adjourn the meeting; Mr. Steinman seconded the motion, which was unanimously approved by the Board at 10:47 am.

_________________________________ ______________
Charles Marquette, Executive Director Date
Mechanical Boards

As voted and approved by the Board on: _________