Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3436 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R8079 JAM-F
2	2	By: Hamilton H.B. No. 3436
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the licensing and regulation of plumbers.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Sections 1301.002(4), (5), (7), (8), and (10),
10	10	Occupations Code, are amended to read as follows:
11	11	(4) "Journeyman plumber" means a person licensed under
12	12	this chapter who:
13	13	(A) has met the qualifications for registration
14	14	as a plumber's apprentice or for licensing as a tradesman
15	15	plumber-limited license holder;
16	16	(B) has completed at least 8,000 hours working
17	17	under the supervision of a master plumber;
18	18	(C) installs, changes, repairs, services, or
19	19	renovates plumbing or supervises any of those activities; [and]
20	20	(D) has passed the required examination; and
21	21	(E) has fulfilled the other requirements of the
22	22	board.
23	23	(5) "Master plumber" means a person licensed under
24	24	this chapter who:
25	25	(A) is skilled in the design, planning, and
26	26	superintending of plumbing and in the practical installation,
27	27	repair, and servicing of plumbing;
28	28	(B) has worked as a journeyman plumber:
29	29	(i) for at least four years; or
30	30	(ii) for at least one year and has
31	31	successfully completed a training program approved by the United
32	32	States Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship, or another
33	33	nationally recognized apprentice training program accepted by the
34	34	board [secures permits for plumbing work];
35	35	(C) [is knowledgeable about the codes,
36	36	ordinances, or rules governing the activities described by
37	37	Paragraphs (A) and (B);
38	38	[(D)] performs or supervises plumbing work;
39	39	[and]
40	40	(D) [(E)] has passed the required examination;
41	41	and
42	42	(E) has fulfilled the other requirements of the
43	43	board.
44	44	(7) "Plumbing" means:
45	45	(A) a fixture, appurtenance, appliance, or
46	46	piping, including a disposal system, used [in or around a building
47	47	in which a person lives or works or in which persons assemble,] to:
48	48	(i) supply, distribute, circulate, or
49	49	recirculate water, other liquid, or gas; or
50	50	(ii) eliminate sewage for a personal or
51	51	domestic purpose;
52	52	(B) a fixture, appurtenance, appliance, or
53	53	piping used outside a building to connect the building to:
54	54	(i) a supply of water, other liquid,
55	55	medical gases and vacuum, or other gas on the premises; or
56	56	(ii) the main in the street or alley or at
57	57	the curb;
58	58	(C) a fixture, appurtenance, appliance, or
59	59	piping, including a drain or waste pipe, used to carry wastewater or
60	60	sewage from or within a building to:
61	61	(i) a sewer service lateral at the curb or
62	62	in the street or alley; or
63	63	(ii) a disposal or septic terminal that
64	64	holds private or domestic sewage; or
65	65	(D) the installation, repair, service, or
66	66	maintenance of a fixture, appurtenance, appliance, or piping
67	67	described by Paragraph (A), (B), or (C).
68	68	(8) "Plumbing inspector" means a person who:
69	69	(A) is employed by a political subdivision or
70	70	state agency, or contracts as an independent contractor with a
71	71	political subdivision or state agency, to inspect plumbing in
72	72	connection with health and safety laws, including ordinances, and
73	73	plumbing and gas codes; [and]
74	74	(B) has passed the required examination; and
75	75	(C) has fulfilled the other requirements of the
76	76	board.
77	77	(10) "Tradesman plumber-limited license holder" means
78	78	a person who:
79	79	(A) has completed at least 4,000 hours working
80	80	under the direct supervision of a journeyman or master plumber as a
81	81	plumber's apprentice;
82	82	(B) has passed the required examination [and
83	83	fulfilled the other requirements of the board];
84	84	(C) constructs and installs plumbing for
85	85	one-family or two-family dwellings; [and]
86	86	(D) has not met or attempted to meet the
87	87	qualifications for a journeyman plumber license; and
88	88	(E) has fulfilled the other requirements of the
89	89	board.
90	90	SECTION 2. Section 1301.052, Occupations Code, is amended
91	91	to read as follows:
92	92	Sec. 1301.052. WORK INSIDE COUNTIES OR INSIDE OR OUTSIDE
93	93	MUNICIPALITIES. A person is not required to be licensed under this
94	94	chapter to perform plumbing, other than plumbing performed in
95	95	conjunction with new construction, repair, or remodeling, on a
96	96	property that is:
97	97	(1) located in a subdivision or on a tract of land that
98	98	is not required to be platted under Section 232.0015, Local
99	99	Government Code; [or]
100	100	(2) not connected to a public water system and is
101	101	located outside a municipality; [or]
102	102	(3) located outside a municipality and connected to a
103	103	public water system that does not require a license to perform
104	104	plumbing; or
105	105	(4) located inside a municipality that is within a
106	106	county that has fewer than 50,000 inhabitants and that:
107	107	(A) has [with] fewer than 5,000 inhabitants; and
108	108	(B) by municipal ordinance or order of the county
109	109	commissioners court has authorized a person who is not licensed
110	110	under this chapter to perform plumbing [, unless an ordinance of the
111	111	municipality requires the person to be licensed].
112	112	SECTION 3. Section 1301.053(a), Occupations Code, is
113	113	amended to read as follows:
114	114	(a) A person is not required to be licensed under this
115	115	chapter to perform:
116	116	(1) plumbing incidental to and in connection with the
117	117	business in which the person is employed or engaged if the person:
118	118	(A) is regularly employed as or acting as a
119	119	maintenance person or maintenance engineer; and
120	120	(B) does not engage in plumbing for the public;
121	121	(2) construction, installation, or maintenance on the
122	122	premises or equipment of a railroad if the person is an employee of
123	123	the railroad who does not engage in plumbing for the public;
124	124	(3) plumbing if the person is engaged by a public
125	125	service company to:
126	126	(A) lay, maintain, or operate its service mains
127	127	or lines to the point of measurement; and
128	128	(B) install, change, adjust, repair, remove, or
129	129	renovate appurtenances, equipment, or appliances;
130	130	(4) appliance installation and service work, other
131	131	than installation and service work on water heaters, that involves
132	132	connecting appliances to existing openings with a code-approved
133	133	appliance connector if the person performs the work as an appliance
134	134	dealer or an employee of an appliance dealer; or
135	135	(5) water treatment installations, exchanges,
136	136	services, or repairs.
137	137	SECTION 4. Section 1301.203(a), Occupations Code, is
138	138	amended to as follows:
139	139	(a) The board may employ a field representative to assist
140	140	the board in enforcing this chapter and rules adopted under this
141	141	chapter. A field representative must [be]:
142	142	(1) hold a license as a plumber under this chapter;
143	143	(2) be knowledgeable of this chapter and municipal
144	144	ordinances relating to plumbing; and
145	145	(3) be [(2)] qualified by experience and training in
146	146	plumbing practice.
147	147	SECTION 5. Subchapter H, Chapter 1301, Occupations Code, is
148	148	amended by adding Section 1301.405 to read as follows:
149	149	Sec. 1301.405. MANDATORY TRAINING FOR DRAIN CLEANER, DRAIN
150	150	CLEANER-RESTRICTED REGISTRANT, AND RESIDENTIAL UTILITIES
151	151	INSTALLER. (a) To renew the certificate of registration, a person
152	152	who holds a certificate of registration under this chapter as a
153	153	drain cleaner, drain cleaner-restricted registrant, or residential
154	154	utilities installer must annually complete at least six hours of
155	155	approved training that includes training in health and safety
156	156	requirements, board-approved plumbing codes, and water
157	157	conservation.
158	158	(b) A person may receive credit for participating in a
159	159	training program only if the program is provided:
160	160	(1) by a person approved by the board; and
161	161	(2) according to criteria adopted by the board.
162	162	(c) The board by rule may exempt certain persons from the
163	163	requirements of this section if the board determines that the
164	164	exemption is in the public interest.
165	165	SECTION 6. Section 1301.551, Occupations Code, is amended
166	166	by adding Subsections (e), (f), (g), and (h) to read as follows:
167	167	(e) A municipality or other political subdivision in this
168	168	state that requires a plumbing contractor to obtain a permit before
169	169	the person performs plumbing shall electronically:
170	170	(1) accept permit applications;
171	171	(2) collect required fees; and
172	172	(3) issue the required permits.
173	173	(f) If drawings of proposed plumbing work are required by
174	174	the municipality or other political subdivision, the municipality
175	175	or political subdivision shall specify how permit drawings are to
176	176	be submitted.
177	177	(g) A person who is required to obtain a permit under this
178	178	section is not required to pay a plumbing registration fee or
179	179	administrative fee in a municipality or any other political
180	180	subdivision.
181	181	(h) A plumbing contractor must electronically register with
182	182	a municipality or other political subdivision that requires
183	183	registration before performing plumbing regulated by the
184	184	municipality or other political subdivision.
185	185	SECTION 7. Sections 1301.552 and 1301.553, Occupations
186	186	Code, are amended to read as follows:
187	187	Sec. 1301.552. CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE FOR PLUMBING PERMIT
188	188	IN POLITICAL SUBDIVISION. A political subdivision that requires a
189	189	plumbing contractor to obtain a permit before performing plumbing
190	190	in the political subdivision shall verify through the board's
191	191	Internet website that the plumbing contractor has on file with the
192	192	board [master plumber to have a bond before issuing a permit to the
193	193	master plumber shall accept either a bond or] a certificate of
194	194	insurance. The certificate of insurance must:
195	195	(1) be written by a company licensed to do business in
196	196	this state;
197	197	(2) provide for commercial general liability
198	198	insurance for the master plumber for a claim for property damage or
199	199	bodily injury, regardless of whether the claim arises from
200	200	negligence or on a contract; and
201	201	(3) provide coverage of not less than $300,000 for all
202	202	claims arising in a one-year period.
203	203	Sec. 1301.553. PLUMBING INSPECTIONS IN MUNICIPALITY THAT
204	204	OVERLAPS ANOTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION [MUNICIPAL UTILITY
205	205	DISTRICT]. [(a)] If the boundaries of a municipality and another
206	206	political subdivision [a municipal utility district] overlap, only
207	207	the affected municipality may perform a plumbing inspection and
208	208	collect a permit fee.
209	209	[(b) The standard used in the plumbing inspection may not be
210	210	less restrictive than the standard used by the municipal utility
211	211	district.]
212	212	SECTION 8. (a) Not later than January 1, 2010, the Texas
213	213	State Board of Plumbing Examiners shall adopt the rules and approve
214	214	the programs necessary to implement the changes in law made by this
215	215	Act to Chapter 1301, Occupations Code.
216	216	(b) The changes in law made by this Act to the requirements
217	217	for issuance of a license or certificate of registration under
218	218	Chapter 1301, Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, apply only
219	219	to an application submitted for the issuance or renewal of a license
220	220	or certificate of registration under Chapter 1301, Occupations
221	221	Code, on or after January 1, 2010. An application submitted before
222	222	that date is governed by the law in effect when the application was
223	223	submitted, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
224	224	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.