|
House Bill 1656 |
House Author: Puente |
|
Effective: 06-15-07 |
Senate Sponsor: Averitt |
State law requires a person to hold a license issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to connect an irrigation system to a private or public water supply, or to sell, design, install, maintain, alter, repair, service, or act as a consultant in relation to an irrigation system. House Bill 1656 amends the Water Code and Local Government Code to allow water districts and municipalities with a population of 20,000 or more to require an installer of irrigation systems to obtain such a license and to obtain a permit before installing a system within the water district or the territorial limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction of the municipality. These provisions do not apply to an on-site sewage disposal system or to an irrigation system that is used on or by an agricultural operation or that is connected to a groundwater well used by a property owner for domestic use. The bill amends the Occupations Code to require a TCEQ license for a person to inspect an irrigation system for a water district or for a municipality of any population size. A person is ineligible for an inspection license if he or she engages in or has a financial interest in an entity that engages in any of the other types of irrigation system activities for which a TCEQ license is required.