Second Draft of Conn.'s License Types Not Endorsed by Board, Still Recommended to Commissioner

On Friday, April 23, 2004, the Connecticut Auto Glass Board unanimously voted to recommend a draft of license types for automotive glasswork to the Commissioner of the Department of Consumer Protection. It was acknowledged that a second proposed draft of license types was considered and, though not endorsed by the Board, recommended to the Commissioner for review as well.

A second proposal, from the National Windshield Repair Association (NWRA), defined a limited [auto glass] repair contractor as one who "may perform work limited to the repair of damage occurring in laminated glass" in compliance with the standards set by the Board. The qualifications for the limited repair contractor license, as proposed by the NWRA remained the same as the draft the Board approved on Friday, though the definitions of what could be repaired were slightly different. The NWRA draft suggested a maximum of five (5) individual repairs to windshield and dropped the requirement of cracks longer than 6 inches be replaced rather than repaired. Additional differences included the rephrasing of the required training both in and out of the classroom to earn the limited [auto glass] repair journeyperson license, which eliminated the set number of hours and gave the Board authority to determine and adjust the amount of training time needed.

In the accepted draft, the Subcommittee defined a limited [auto glass] repair contractor as being licensed to make no more than four (4) total repairs to a windshield and requires two years of experience as a licensed journey person or the equivalent experience and training as determined by the Board. Additionally, the draft defined what constituted a repairable break as:

• The impact point is not larger than 3/8 inch diameter;
• The individual impact damage (not classified as "Combination Break") is not larger than 1 inch (or just slightly larger than a U.S. quarter);
• A crack is 6 inches or less in length;
• A combination break has cracks of less than 6 inches and the entire damage area can be completely covered by a U.S. dollar; and
• Crack damage is not caused by "stress."