Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1391 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	H.B. No. 1391
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the requirements to obtain a residential wireman
6	6	license.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 1305.157, Occupations Code, is amended
9	9	to read as follows:
10	10	Sec. 1305.157. RESIDENTIAL WIREMAN. An applicant for a
11	11	license as a residential wireman must:
12	12	(1) either:
13	13	(A) have at least 4,000 hours of on-the-job
14	14	training under the supervision of a master electrician or
15	15	residential wireman; or
16	16	(B) successfully complete a career and
17	17	technology education program described by Section 1305.1575; and
18	18	(2) pass a residential wireman examination
19	19	administered under this chapter.
20	20	SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 1305, Occupations Code, is
21	21	amended by adding Section 1305.1575 to read as follows:
22	22	Sec. 1305.1575. CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR
23	23	RESIDENTIAL WIREMAN LICENSE; INSTRUCTORS. (a) In this section:
24	24	(1) "Career and technology education program" means:
25	25	(A) a career and technology education program
26	26	under Subchapter F, Chapter 29, Education Code; or
27	27	(B) a program determined by the department to be
28	28	similar to that described by Paragraph (A) and offered by:
29	29	(i) an institution of higher education; or
30	30	(ii) a private school, as defined by
31	31	Section 5.001, Education Code.
32	32	(2) "Institution of higher education" means an
33	33	institution of higher education or a private or independent
34	34	institution of higher education, as those terms are defined by
35	35	Section 61.003, Education Code.
36	36	(b) A person who successfully completes a sequence of
37	37	courses in the electrical trade that are offered through a career
38	38	and technology education program may apply for and take an
39	39	examination for a license as a residential wireman, regardless of
40	40	whether the person has completed the number of hours of on-the-job
41	41	training required by Section 1305.157(1).
42	42	(c) The commission by rule shall establish standards for the
43	43	essential knowledge and skills of a career and technology education
44	44	program described by Subsection (b), subject to the approval of the
45	45	State Board of Education if the courses are to be offered in a high
46	46	school. The rules must:
47	47	(1) require the program to consist of an appropriate
48	48	number of hours of classroom instruction and a practical component;
49	49	and
50	50	(2) provide for crediting appropriate on-the-job
51	51	training toward meeting the requirements of the practical
52	52	component.
53	53	(d) A student of any age enrolled in a career and technology
54	54	education program is eligible to take the sequence of courses
55	55	described by Subsection (b) without being licensed under this
56	56	chapter. This subsection does not authorize a person to perform
57	57	electrical work without the appropriate license outside of a
58	58	program described by this section.
59	59	(e) A person may not provide instruction in a program
60	60	described by this section unless the person is licensed as a master
61	61	electrician, journeyman electrician, or residential wireman.
62	62	(f) A career and technology education program offered under
63	63	this section by an institution of higher education may not be more
64	64	stringent than a program offered by a public high school.
65	65	(g) Hours spent completing a program described by this
66	66	section may not be credited toward any on-the-job training required
67	67	to apply for a license under this chapter.
68	68	SECTION 3. The heading to Section 1305.167, Occupations
69	69	Code, is amended to read as follows:
70	70	Sec. 1305.167. LICENSE RENEWAL; FEE EXEMPTION.
71	71	SECTION 4. Section 1305.167, Occupations Code, is amended
72	72	by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
73	73	(d) A license holder who provides instruction in a career
74	74	and technology education program described by Section 1305.1575 is
75	75	not required to pay a fee to renew the license.
76	76	SECTION 5. As soon as practicable after the effective date
77	77	of this Act, the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall
78	78	adopt rules necessary to implement the changes in law made by this
79	79	Act to Chapter 1305, Occupations Code.
80	80	SECTION 6. In developing the initial standards for the
81	81	career and technology education program under Section
82	82	1305.1575(c), Occupations Code, as added by this Act, the Texas
83	83	Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall consult with the Texas
84	84	State Technical College and relevant interest groups in the
85	85	electrical industry.
86	86	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
87	87	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
88	88	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
89	89	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
90	90	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
91	91	______________________________ ______________________________
92	92	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
93	93	I certify that H.B. No. 1391 was passed by the House on April
94	94	25, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 101, Nays 46, 1 present, not
95	95	voting.
96	96	______________________________
97	97	Chief Clerk of the House
98	98	I certify that H.B. No. 1391 was passed by the Senate on May
99	99	17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 20, Nays 11.
100	100	______________________________
101	101	Secretary of the Senate
102	102	APPROVED: _____________________
103	103	Date
104	104	_____________________
105	105	Governor