Texas 2013 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB2062 House Committee Report / Bill

Filed 02/01/2025

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                    83R17857 BEF-F
 By: J. Davis of Harris H.B. No. 2062
 Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2062:
 By:  Smith C.S.H.B. No. 2062


 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 AN ACT
 relating to the regulation of plumbing.
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 SECTION 1.  Section 1301.002, Occupations Code, is amended
 by amending Subdivisions (7), (11), and (12) and adding Subdivision
 (8-a) to read as follows:
 (7)  "Plumbing" means:
 (A)  a fixture, appurtenance, appliance, or
 piping, including a disposal system, used to:
 (i)  supply, distribute, circulate, or
 recirculate water, other liquid, or gas; or
 (ii)  eliminate sewage for a personal or
 domestic purpose;
 (B)  a fixture, appurtenance, appliance, or
 piping used outside a building to connect the building to:
 (i)  a supply of water, other liquid,
 medical gases and vacuum, or other gas on the premises; or
 (ii)  the main in the street or alley or at
 the curb;
 (C)  a fixture, appurtenance, appliance, or
 piping, including a drain or waste pipe, used to carry wastewater or
 sewage from or within a building to:
 (i)  a sewer service lateral at the curb or
 in the street or alley; or
 (ii)  a disposal or septic terminal that
 holds private or domestic sewage; [or]
 (D)  the installation, repair, service, or
 maintenance of a fixture, appurtenance, appliance, or piping
 described by Paragraph (A), (B), or (C); or
 (E)  the installation, repair, and service of
 equipment for rainwater harvesting.
 (8-a)  "Rainwater harvesting" means the capture,
 diversion, storage, treatment, and distribution of rainwater from a
 roof structure for potable drinking water for a personal residence
 or domestic use.
 (11)  "Water supply protection specialist" means a
 person who holds an endorsement issued by the board to engage in:
 (A)  customer service inspections, as defined by
 rule of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; and
 (B)  the installation, service, and repair of
 plumbing associated with the treatment, use, and distribution use
 of rainwater to supply a plumbing fixture, appliance, or irrigation
 system.
 (12)  "Water treatment" means a business conducted
 under contract that requires ability, experience, and skill in
 analyzing water to determine how to treat influent and effluent
 water to change or purify the water or to add or remove minerals,
 chemicals, or bacteria. The term does not include treatment of
 rainwater or the repair of systems for rainwater harvesting.  The
 term includes:
 (A)  installing and servicing fixed or portable
 water treatment equipment in a public or private water treatment
 system; or
 (B)  making connections necessary to install a
 water treatment system.
 SECTION 2.  Section 1301.053(a), Occupations Code, is
 amended to read as follows:
 (a)  A person is not required to be licensed under this
 chapter to perform:
 (1)  plumbing incidental to and in connection with the
 business in which the person is employed or engaged if the person:
 (A)  is regularly employed as or acting as a
 maintenance person or maintenance engineer; and
 (B)  does not engage in plumbing for the public;
 (2)  construction, installation, or maintenance on the
 premises or equipment of a railroad if the person is an employee of
 the railroad who does not engage in plumbing for the public;
 (3)  plumbing if the person is engaged by a public
 service company to:
 (A)  lay, maintain, or operate its service mains
 or lines to the point of measurement; and
 (B)  install, change, adjust, repair, remove, or
 renovate appurtenances, equipment, or appliances;
 (4)  appliance installation and service work, other
 than installation and service work on water heaters, that involves
 connecting appliances to existing openings with a code-approved
 appliance connector if the person performs the work as an appliance
 dealer or an employee of an appliance dealer; or
 (5)  water treatment installations, exchanges,
 services, or repairs, other than for rainwater harvesting.
 SECTION 3.  Section 1301.302, Occupations Code, is amended
 to read as follows:
 Sec. 1301.302.  CONTRACT INFORMATION; REQUIRED DOCUMENTS. A
 written proposal, invoice, or contract relating to plumbing
 services performed by or under the direction of a plumber licensed
 under this chapter must contain the name and license number of the
 responsible master plumber and the name, mailing address, and
 telephone number of the board. The person who performed the
 services shall give the customer an invoice or completed contract
 document on completion of the job, regardless of whether the person
 charged a fee for performing the services.
 SECTION 4.  Section 1301.303(a), Occupations Code, is
 amended to read as follows:
 (a)  The board may investigate an alleged violation of this
 chapter by a person who:
 (1)  is licensed under this chapter; [or]
 (2)  is the owner of a plumbing company subject to this
 chapter; or
 (3)  performs plumbing without holding a license under
 this chapter.
 SECTION 5.  Section 1301.351, Occupations Code, is amended
 by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
 (d)  A person who holds a license or registration issued
 under this chapter shall carry the license or registration on his or
 her person while engaged in plumbing.
 SECTION 6.  Section 1301.357(e), Occupations Code, is
 amended to read as follows:
 (e)  A person is not required to hold a water supply
 protection specialist endorsement if the person[:
 [(1)]  is employed by:
 (1) [(A)]  a political subdivision; or
 (2) [(B)]  an electric utility as defined by Section
 31.002, Utilities Code[; and
 [(2)     acts as a backflow prevention device specialist
 or water supply protection specialist in the course of the person's
 employment].
 SECTION 7.  Sections 1301.551(c) and (g), Occupations Code,
 are amended to read as follows:
 (c)  A municipality that adopts an ordinance or bylaw under
 this section shall provide by ordinance or bylaw that a person must
 obtain a permit before the person performs plumbing, other than the
 repairing of leaks, the replacement of lavatory or kitchen faucets,
 the replacement of ballcocks or water control valves, the
 replacement of garbage disposals, or the replacement of water
 closets. The municipality may prescribe the terms on which the
 permit is issued.
 (g)  A responsible master plumber, plumbing contractor, or
 other person who is required to obtain a permit under this section
 is not required to pay a plumbing registration fee or
 administrative fee in a municipality or any other political
 subdivision.
 SECTION 8.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
 services performed on or after the effective date of this Act.
 Services performed before the effective date of this Act are
 governed by the law in effect on the date the services were
 performed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
 purpose.
 SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.