Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1079 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R10566 MAW-F
2	2	By: Eltife S.B. No. 1079
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the regulation of water well drillers and water well
8	8	pump installers; affecting fees.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 1901.152, Occupations Code, is amended
11	11	to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 1901.152. LICENSE APPLICATION[; EXAMINATION FEE].
13	13	[(a)] An application for a license must contain:
14	14	(1) the applicant's name;
15	15	(2) the applicant's business address;
16	16	(3) the applicant's permanent mailing address; and
17	17	(4) any other relevant information required by the
18	18	department.
19	19	[(b) An applicant must pay to the department an examination
20	20	fee at the time the application is submitted.]
21	21	SECTION 2. Section 1901.155, Occupations Code, is amended
22	22	to read as follows:
23	23	Sec. 1901.155. LICENSE EXPIRATION; RENEWAL. (a) A license
24	24	issued under this chapter expires on the first anniversary of the
25	25	date of issuance [annually].
26	26	(b) The commission shall by rule establish requirements for
27	27	renewing a license issued under this chapter, including the payment
28	28	of applicable fees [On or before the license expiration date, a
29	29	license holder must pay an annual renewal fee to the department].
30	30	SECTION 3. Section 1901.251, Occupations Code, is amended
31	31	to read as follows:
32	32	Sec. 1901.251. WELL REPORT [LOG]. (a) Each driller who
33	33	drills, deepens, or otherwise alters a water well in this state
34	34	shall make and keep a legible and accurate well report [log] in
35	35	accordance with rules adopted by the commission and on forms
36	36	prescribed by the executive director. The well report [log] shall
37	37	be recorded at the time of drilling, deepening, or otherwise
38	38	altering the well and must contain:
39	39	(1) the depth, thickness, and character of the strata
40	40	penetrated;
41	41	(2) the location of water-bearing strata;
42	42	(3) the depth, size, and character of casing
43	43	installed; and
44	44	(4) any other information required by rules adopted by
45	45	the commission.
46	46	(b) Not later than the 60th day after the date of the
47	47	completion or cessation of drilling, deepening, or otherwise
48	48	altering the well, the driller shall deliver or send by certified
49	49	mail a copy of the well report [log] to:
50	50	(1) the department;
51	51	(2) the Texas [Natural Resource Conservation]
52	52	Commission on Environmental Quality; and
53	53	(3) the owner of the well or the person for whom the
54	54	well was drilled.
55	55	(c) If the department receives, by certified mail, a written
56	56	request from the owner of the well or from the person for whom the
57	57	well was drilled that the well report [log] be made confidential,
58	58	the department shall protect the contents of the well report [log]
59	59	as confidential and not a matter of public record.
60	60	SECTION 4. Section 1901.301, Occupations Code, is amended
61	61	to read as follows:
62	62	Sec. 1901.301. GROUNDS FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION. The
63	63	commission may discipline a person under Section 51.353 for a
64	64	violation of this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter,
65	65	including:
66	66	(1) an intentional misstatement or misrepresentation
67	67	of a fact on an application or well report [log] or to a person for
68	68	whom a well is being drilled, deepened, or otherwise altered;
69	69	(2) the failure to keep, deliver, or send a well report
70	70	[log] as required by Section 1901.251;
71	71	(3) the failure to advise a person for whom a well is
72	72	being drilled that:
73	73	(A) injurious water has been encountered;
74	74	(B) the water is a pollution hazard; and
75	75	(C) the well must be immediately plugged in an
76	76	acceptable manner; or
77	77	(4) the failure to complete a well in accordance with
78	78	standards and procedures adopted by the commission.
79	79	SECTION 5. Section 1902.152, Occupations Code, is amended
80	80	to read as follows:
81	81	Sec. 1902.152. LICENSE APPLICATION[; EXAMINATION FEE].
82	82	[(a)] An application for a license must contain:
83	83	(1) the applicant's name;
84	84	(2) the applicant's business address;
85	85	(3) the applicant's permanent mailing address; and
86	86	(4) any other information required by the department.
87	87	[(b) An applicant must pay to the department an examination
88	88	fee at the time the application is submitted.]
89	89	SECTION 6. Section 1902.155, Occupations Code, is amended
90	90	to read as follows:
91	91	Sec. 1902.155. LICENSE EXPIRATION; RENEWAL. (a) A license
92	92	issued under this chapter expires on the first anniversary of the
93	93	date of issuance [annually].
94	94	(b) The commission shall by rule establish requirements for
95	95	renewing a license issued under this chapter, including the payment
96	96	of applicable fees [On or before the license expiration date, a
97	97	license holder must pay an annual renewal fee to the department].
98	98	SECTION 7. The following provisions of the Occupations Code
99	99	are repealed:
100	100	(1) Section 1901.154;
101	101	(2) Section 1901.201;
102	102	(3) Section 1901.203;
103	103	(4) Section 1901.204;
104	104	(5) Section 1901.206;
105	105	(6) Section 1902.154;
106	106	(7) Section 1902.201; and
107	107	(8) Section 1902.203.
108	108	SECTION 8. Sections 1901.152 and 1902.152, Occupations
109	109	Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an application for a
110	110	license under Chapter 1901 or 1902, Occupations Code, as
111	111	applicable, that is submitted to the Texas Department of Licensing
112	112	and Regulation on or after the effective date of this Act. An
113	113	application for a license submitted before the effective date of
114	114	this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the
115	115	application was submitted, and the former law is continued in
116	116	effect for that purpose.
117	117	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.