H.B. No. 3744
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of water well drillers and water well
pump installers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1901.051(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department[, with the advice of the council,] shall
provide for the examination of license applicants [prepare
licensing examinations].
SECTION 2. Section 1901.155, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1901.155. LICENSE EXPIRATION[; RENEWAL]. [(a)] A
license issued under this chapter is valid for one or two years as
determined by commission rule [expires annually. On or before the
license expiration date, a license holder must pay an annual
renewal fee to the department].
SECTION 3. Section 1901.201, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1901.201. EXAMINATION. The department may prepare,
recognize, administer, or arrange for the administration of an
examination required [shall offer examinations for a license] under
this chapter.
SECTION 4. Section 1901.202(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department shall ensure that examinations are
designed [design written examinations] to disqualify a person who
lacks the necessary knowledge of drilling, of completion and
plugging methods and techniques, and of groundwater formations to
the extent that drilling by the person would create a serious risk
of polluting fresh water.
SECTION 5. Section 1902.051(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department[, with the advice of the council,] shall
provide for the examination of license applicants [prepare
licensing examinations].
SECTION 6. Section 1902.155, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1902.155. LICENSE EXPIRATION[; RENEWAL]. [(a)] A
license issued under this chapter is valid for one or two years as
determined by commission rule [expires annually. On or before the
license expiration date, a license holder must pay an annual
renewal fee to the department].
SECTION 7. Section 1902.201, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1902.201. EXAMINATION. The department may prepare,
recognize, administer, or arrange for the administration of an
examination required [shall offer examinations for a license] under
this chapter.
SECTION 8. Section 1902.202, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1902.202. CONTENTS OF EXAMINATION. The department
shall ensure that examinations are designed [design written
examinations] to disqualify a person who lacks the knowledge of
pump installation to the extent that pump installation by the
person would create a serious risk of polluting fresh water.
SECTION 9. The following provisions of the Occupations Code
are repealed:
(1) Section 1901.054;
(2) Section 1901.203;
(3) Section 1901.204;
(4) Section 1902.054; and
(5) Section 1902.203.
SECTION 10. Not later than January 1, 2024, the Texas
Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall adopt rules to
implement the changes in law made by this Act to Chapters 1901 and
1902, Occupations Code.
SECTION 11. Sections 1901.155 and 1902.155, Occupations
Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a license issued under
Chapter 1901 or 1902, Occupations Code, that expires on or after
January 1, 2024. A license issued under Chapter 1901 or 1902,
Occupations Code, that expires before January 1, 2024, is governed
by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this
Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3744 was passed by the House on May 2,
2023, by the following vote: Yeas 131, Nays 14, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3744 was passed by the Senate on May
24, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor