H.B. No. 1391
AN ACT
relating to the requirements to obtain a residential wireman
license.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1305.157, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1305.157. RESIDENTIAL WIREMAN. An applicant for a
license as a residential wireman must:
(1) either:
(A) have at least 4,000 hours of on-the-job
training under the supervision of a master electrician or
residential wireman; or
(B) successfully complete a career and
technology education program described by Section 1305.1575; and
(2) pass a residential wireman examination
administered under this chapter.
SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 1305, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1305.1575 to read as follows:
Sec. 1305.1575. CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR
RESIDENTIAL WIREMAN LICENSE; INSTRUCTORS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Career and technology education program" means:
(A) a career and technology education program
under Subchapter F, Chapter 29, Education Code; or
(B) a program determined by the department to be
similar to that described by Paragraph (A) and offered by:
(i) an institution of higher education; or
(ii) a private school, as defined by
Section 5.001, Education Code.
(2) "Institution of higher education" means an
institution of higher education or a private or independent
institution of higher education, as those terms are defined by
Section 61.003, Education Code.
(b) A person who successfully completes a sequence of
courses in the electrical trade that are offered through a career
and technology education program may apply for and take an
examination for a license as a residential wireman, regardless of
whether the person has completed the number of hours of on-the-job
training required by Section 1305.157(1).
(c) The commission by rule shall establish standards for the
essential knowledge and skills of a career and technology education
program described by Subsection (b), subject to the approval of the
State Board of Education if the courses are to be offered in a high
school. The rules must:
(1) require the program to consist of an appropriate
number of hours of classroom instruction and a practical component;
and
(2) provide for crediting appropriate on-the-job
training toward meeting the requirements of the practical
component.
(d) A student of any age enrolled in a career and technology
education program is eligible to take the sequence of courses
described by Subsection (b) without being licensed under this
chapter. This subsection does not authorize a person to perform
electrical work without the appropriate license outside of a
program described by this section.
(e) A person may not provide instruction in a program
described by this section unless the person is licensed as a master
electrician, journeyman electrician, or residential wireman.
(f) A career and technology education program offered under
this section by an institution of higher education may not be more
stringent than a program offered by a public high school.
(g) Hours spent completing a program described by this
section may not be credited toward any on-the-job training required
to apply for a license under this chapter.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 1305.167, Occupations
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1305.167. LICENSE RENEWAL; FEE EXEMPTION.
SECTION 4. Section 1305.167, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) A license holder who provides instruction in a career
and technology education program described by Section 1305.1575 is
not required to pay a fee to renew the license.
SECTION 5. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall
adopt rules necessary to implement the changes in law made by this
Act to Chapter 1305, Occupations Code.
SECTION 6. In developing the initial standards for the
career and technology education program under Section
1305.1575(c), Occupations Code, as added by this Act, the Texas
Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall consult with the Texas
State Technical College and relevant interest groups in the
electrical industry.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1391 was passed by the House on April
25, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 101, Nays 46, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1391 was passed by the Senate on May
17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 20, Nays 11.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor