About the CIB
The Construction Industries Board (CIB) stands as a vital pillar in safeguarding life and property within our state. As a non-appropriated state agency, it operates independently of state and federal funds, instead the CIB funds operations through trade license/registration fees established by Oklahoma’s state statutes and the Oklahoma Administrative Procedure Act. Through diligent trade licensing and inspection, the CIB upholds its mission, ensuring the public's health, safety, and welfare.
The CIB consists of seven (7) board members each appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of four (4) years. The Board incorporates Oklahoma business owners who practice in the trades that the CIB licenses such as plumbers, electricians, and mechanical contractors. They bring a business-minded approach to the CIB’s operations. While both board and trade committee members serve without compensation, they may receive mileage reimbursements under the State Travel Reimbursement Act.
The CIB is the statutorily created state agency charged with regulating, through licensing, registration, inspection and enforcement, the Plumbing License Law of 1955, the Oklahoma Inspectors Act, the Electrical License Act, the Mechanical Licensing Act, the Home Inspection Licensing Act, the Roofing Contractor Registration Act, and the Construction Industries Board Act.
Tasked with regulating plumbers, electricians, mechanical tradespeople, home inspectors, building inspectors, and roofing, the CIB ensures that these professionals who perform the complex tasks required for installation, repair, or remodel work meet statewide competency standards mandated by law. This oversight aims to enhance the safety of structures and protect public welfare, including vital resources like the public water supply.
Functioning as an umbrella board over skilled trade examining committees, the CIB distinguishes itself from other state regulatory agencies by limiting a majority of active market participants from making regulatory decisions. This structure inherently shields the board from potential anti-competitive challenges. All administrative proceedings on alleged violations of the statutes/rules are overseen by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). However, no determination is binding until the CIB board issues a final order. This process adheres to rigorous standards outlined in the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act and the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act, ensuring transparency and accountability in all operations.
History
Established in 1955, the Committee of Plumbing Examiners, along with subsequent trade examining committees, operated under the Department of Public Health's Occupational Licensing Division until 2001. At that time, policymakers recognized the need to enhance the efficiency and transparency of the administration of construction licensing committees. This led to the creation of the Construction Industries Board (CIB), marking a pivotal shift towards increased oversight and accountability in the regulation of skilled trades. Effective January 1, 2002, the CIB assumed regulatory authority over plumbing, electrical, mechanical trades, and building and construction inspectors, as mandated by the Construction Industries Board Act and relevant licensing legislation. While the CIB's core mission remains unchanged, additional trade regulatory acts, such as the Home Inspection Licensing Act and the Roofing Contractor Registration Act, have been incorporated to further its commitment to safeguarding public health, safety, and welfare.
The last license fee increase for any license was sought in 2009 because of the funding shortfall mainly due to the 2008-2009 downturn in construction. Not all license fees were increased, and some were decreased at that time.
NOTE: Although the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission (OUBCC) in 2009 was created “within the Construction Industries Board” (59 O.S. §1000.21), as an opinion by the Attorney General, 2010 OK AG 6) stated the CIB has no authority to approve or control, manage, keep, budget or expend funds in the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission Revolving Fund. Therefore, the CIB provides no reporting on the OUBCC revenue, expenditures, budget, or activities.
Administrative Procedures And Practices
The CIB is audited annually as required by 59 O.S. § 1000.4(C). The annual audit is performed, issued, and published by the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector. Prior year audits can be viewed on the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector website at: https://www.sai.ok.gov/audit_reports/financial_audits.php?action=showtype&type=24.
The CIB is mission focused with its dollars going toward accomplishing its mission and statutory assignments. All revenue and expenditures are entered into the PeopleSoft system. All funds are reconciled monthly by the Office of the State Treasurer (OST) (banking information), Shared Services OMES/ABS (PeopleSoft information), and the CIB (licensing software information) as demonstrated on Form 11 every month which then triggers the transfer of CIB funds by the OST from the clearing account to the appropriate revolving fund and the transfer of ten percent (10%) of the fees received to the state General Revenue Fund.
There are six (6) statutory licensing/registration acts, each having its own restricted revolving fund and authority for use of the restricted revolving fund. The Skilled Trade Education and Workforce Development Fund enacted by HB1280 (2018) requiring administrative fines collected to go through an Inter-Agency contract to the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education for workforce development is also a restricted revolving fund. These seven (7) revolving fund accounts are all physically controlled by the OST making checks/payments by warrants issued through the audited purchasing process. There is no “general” CIB fund. The CIB cannot write checks on any bank account. The required monthly reconciliations prepared by OMES/ABS (Agency Business Services) are a part of the documentation that is reviewed during the annual audit by the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector.
The CIB contracts with and pays for, in addition to the 10% paid to the General Revenue Fund, Shared Services OMES/ABS for Financial Shared Services. OMES/ABS is the CIB’s CPO and acts as CIB’s CFO approving purchases for conformance with state purchasing laws, Executive Orders, budget/fund availability, and proper coding. OMES/ABS also prepares the monthly reconciliation between the CIB’s licensing software, PeopleSoft, and the Office of the State Treasurer, and presents other financial reports monthly to the CIB Board for their review. Expenditures over $25,000 must be approved in advance by the CIB’s Cabinet Secretary, per Executive Order 2023-12.
The CIB contracts with Shared Services OMES/DCAR for HCM Shared Services to process employee payroll and payments from the employee time/leave information input into Workday by the CIB staff. Payroll expenses are included in the monthly reports prepared by OMES/ABS and presented to the CIB Board. When fully staffed, the CIB operates with 15 office staff, using temporary staff when necessary, and 21 field staff licensed in the different trades covering construction sites across Oklahoma.
The CIB also contracts with OMES Mailing Services through the Interagency Mail Department.
The CIB IT for IT purposes has been consolidated into OMES/ISD who must approve all IT expenditures. The CIB contracts with Shared Services OMES/ISD for IT services, including compliance with OMES ISD cybersecurity measures.
Legal counsel is supplied to the CIB board and all six (6) trade committees through a contract with the Office of the Attorney General. As approved by the Office of the Attorney General, the Cabinet Secretary, the Board, and OMES/ABS, Special counsel is engaged to prosecute administrative citations to avoid any conflict or appearance of a conflict of interest in advising the trade Hearing boards or the CIB in taking final action in cases involving citations issued for violations of the trade laws.
All of the licensing requirements administered by the CIB are established by the Legislature and the Governor who set the requirements and authority through legislation passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor, or through the provisions of the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act (APA), at 75 O.S. § 250, et. seq., for all permanent administrative rules of the CIB requiring public hearings on proposed rules and that the rules be filed with and approved by the Governor and the Legislature pursuant to the APA.
Relevance Today
The CIB is a valuable resource for the public and the industry, maintaining a licensee database including experience, examination, continuing education, insurance, license status, citations for violations, and information on pathways to licensing and the requirements. The CIB allows for a more efficient and cost-effective process for consumer and public complaints by investigating and assisting in resolving many disputes that might otherwise go on to the lengthy and costly court system which helps to protect Oklahoma’s most vulnerable citizens such as elderly homeowners and the economically disadvantaged with less cost also for the contractor’s business.
The administrative fines for violations of the trade acts that are collected by the CIB are used for education, career awareness, and workforce development in these skilled trades to help increase the number of educated, skilled trade workers and help relieve the effects of the serious nationwide workforce shortage, skills gap, and underemployment by partnering with Career Technology Centers throughout the state.
To promote economic growth and recovery, a skilled workforce is essential. Recruiting and education in and about these skilled trade careers are the best ways to increase the pipeline of workers and increase the educated workforce in Oklahoma. Well-trained workers increase the state’s skilled workforce and save contractor business costs by reducing injuries, workers’ compensation costs, lost time, the number of failed inspections, time and materials to rework jobs to pass inspections, and total time and materials to complete jobs. These costs associated with unlicensed/unregistered workers would most likely be passed on to the Oklahoma citizenry. Without a minimum standard of skills and knowledge of adopted building code requirements through licensing, the cost of construction for contractors, property owners, and cities would likely increase if performed by unlicensed workers rather than qualified contractors who have met the minimum standard for licensing resulting in better knowledge of safety and building code requirements reducing inspection failures and saving costs.
The reasonable minimum regulation of the trades under the CIB provides inherent fairness through a regulatory process for the benefit of consumers, applicants, licensees, and complainants through the statutory and administrative procedures and due process principles. Also, without a minimum standard of skills and knowledge, the workforce would not strengthen the Oklahoma economy as it would encourage less knowledgeable, less skilled, and less educated workers and would put Oklahoma workers’ and citizens’ health, safety, and welfare at risk by allowing workers with arguably no knowledge, education or experience to construct homes, schools, and other buildings, some with the capacity to hold a large number of people. In a state such as Oklahoma with tornadoes, high winds, floods, and other natural disasters, sufficient building codes are essential to the health, safety, and welfare of the public.
The purpose of regulation of the various skilled-craft trades under the CIB is to ensure there is compliance with the minimum standard requirements to perform skilled trade, or craft-trade work to protect the life and property of the public by licensing and inspection of the related trades for the health, safety, and welfare of the public. This regulation provides a mechanism for the deterrence of bad actors and protection of the public as a whole these are benefits not realized by a “buyer beware” approach to consumer protection that does not adequately deter misconduct on behalf of sub-par contractors and places enforcement burdens on the consumer. Also, this regulation guards licensees from private for-profit businesses providing certifications for sale without accountability, transparency, due process for failure to certify, or any recourse for unchecked abuses and unlimited cost of fees.
The Oklahoma minimal, reasonable regulation contributes to the education and development of Oklahoma’s skilled workforce and benefits the state by having a better educated and skilled workforce, better end products, and quality of homes and buildings constructed under a statewide building code than states without a minimum standard of competence. It also helps to provide a fair and healthy market environment for the contractor business providing jobs, paying wages, and paying taxes to the state and for the consumer that fuels the economy by keeping it out of the underground, unscrupulous, and transient market.
Our purpose as public servants is to continue improving the agency’s services and the future for all 4 million Oklahomans. Our vision is to make Oklahoma top ten. We will continue to strive to assist Oklahoma to be top ten in educated workforce, job growth, career development, government accountability, fiscal responsibility, and more. We will continue to grow our economy and be united around a vision to move the whole state forward.