The National Electrical Code (NEC) specifies a national code for the safe use of Electricity, BUT there is no enforcement arm. The code is informational, and a guideline for local authorities to use so they can enforce electrical safety. NEC section 520 is the one that deals with theaters.(§525 is for Carnivals and Circuses; §530 is for Motion Picture Studios)
The Engineering Commission had place into the NEC the following wording added to the code. Theater electrical systems should only be operated by “One qualified with the equipment and the nature of the hazards involved.” What this implies is that there are those out there operating theater electrical systems that are NOT qualified.
There are differences in interpretation, remember the NEC is only a guideline. (i.e: Mass. says that a qualified electrician is a union Journeyman, RI says Master Electrician, Oregon that the qualified electrician be a Licensed Theatrical Electrician . California has no license for electricians, only for contractors carry liability. LA county says that all power hookups be inspected by the city[what a headache that can be])
One place where the NEC can be applied to you is if you “get away” with a dubious hookup and there is a problem insurance becomes void because the code is used as a precedent in court.
The Engineering commission is trying to push for a National Certification (so you don’t have to hold licenses in every state you tour to, for instance), but it’ll be a long time coming.
To accomplish this there may have to be some sort of training program, most likely current practitioners will be 'grandfathered' in, currently we’re more concerned with getting the certification program in place. Any code crafted will include recognition for work done. What that means is that, for now, it’s up to us to decide what a qualified electrician should be.
One of the things that we can look at to define this position is how we do it now? What defines someone we’d hire to be a stage electrician? (And do we document this?)