(Source: MIRS.news, Published 08/14/2024) A state regulatory board charged with overseeing the rules and licenses in the heating and refrigeration industry failed to reach a quorum Wednesday for its ninth straight meeting.  

The Board of Mechanical Rules hasn’t acted on anything for two years because it can’t get enough members to attend a meeting, and those who have matters before the body say they're beyond frustrated.  

“It’s ridiculous. It’s the third time I’ve come, been sent away and told to come back next time,” said Isaac Rapier, who has waited a year and a half for the body to hear his appeal on a refrigeration license. “This is my career. This is my future. This is everything and they are disregarding it.”  

The 15-member Board is made up of the state fire marshal and 14 gubernatorial appointees, most of whom have experience in the industry. The law does not dictate the number of times the board meets, but at least in recent years, it meets quarterly.  

By statute, only eight members of the board need to attend to reach a quorum, but even that has become a challenge. Wednesday, the board had seven members with attendees initially told the eighth was on the way. As it turned out, the member they thought was at the front door had a medical issue.  

Among the 30 to 35 attendees with business before the board was Timothy Tummons, who is trying to get a refrigeration certification on his license so he'd qualify to be an inspector for the city of Battle Creek.  

Mechanical inspectors are retiring, he said, and the state isn’t making it easy for those in the industry to be properly licensed to replace them.  

“It’s very frustrating. I’m almost done with this,” he said. “There are some serious matters that need to be resolved, but nothing can be done if you can’t have a meeting.”  

Last month, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order making the Board of Boiler Rules part of the Board of Mechanical Rules. 

Starting on Sept. 17, the revamped board will consist of 11 members. However, instead of a majority of board positions needed for a quorum, which would be six, the Executive Order defines a quorum as “a majority of members appointed and serving on the board.”  

This addresses the board’s many vacancies. The state’s most updated roster of Board of Mechanical Rules members lists only one vacancy, but only two members have terms that have not expired – the state fire marshal position and Board Chair Jason Finch, who is a business agent for the Plumbers, Pipefitters and Service Trades Local 174.  

During her five-and-a-half years in office, Whitmer appointed eight different people to the Board of Mechanical Rules. Only Finch is serving a term that hasn’t expired, according to press releases announcing appointments.  

Those involved in the process who spoke with MIRS talked about the frustration of appointees not being able to live up to their commitments and the time loss for everyone involved. Board members, state officials and members of the public who can’t get their business addressed.  

One Board member said he couldn’t talk to the press or he’d be kicked off the board for “speaking out of line.” He advised MIRS to talk to Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), but a request for comment wasn’t received by Wednesday evening.   

On Wednesday, people drove from Detroit, Traverse City and across the state to attend the meeting that didn’t happen at the Ottawa Building.  

Among those with business before the board was the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, which has tried for years to get Michigan to adopt codes for a new refrigerant that’s been adopted in 47 other states and the federal government to combat global warming.  

Only three states haven’t signed off on this transition, which has the support of business, labor and the environmental community, said Francis Dietz, the Institute’s vice president of public affairs.  

“If we don’t get this done by next year, Michigan consumers will be adversely impacted because retailers won’t be allowed to legally carry products that are better for the environment,” Dietz said. “Our neighbors will have these products, but Michigan will not.”  

The Institute has tried to get the matter in front of the Board of Mechanical Rules since January 2023, said Tom Deary, the Institute’s director of codes.  

The Board's only other meeting in 2024 is in November. Under the new Executive Order, which takes effect September 17, the Board will look different. Whether it’ll have enough appointed members to conduct any business is the question.