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Senate Bill 1354 |
Senate Author: Jackson, Mike |
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Effective: 9-1-09 |
House Sponsor: Hamilton |
Senate Bill 1354 amends provisions of the Occupations Code to modify in the definition of "master plumber" the qualifications for that classification, redefine "plumbing" to include certain equipment or systems used to distribute and circulate a liquid or gas and to remove such equipment or systems used in or around a building in which a person lives or works or in which persons assemble, and include in the definition of "plumbing inspector" a person who is employed by or contracts as an independent contractor with a state agency. The bill adds plumbing performed in conjunction with repair or remodeling in the types of work not exempted from plumbing license requirements and amends the exemption for a person who performs plumbing on a property in a municipality with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants to apply specifically in a municipality that is in a county with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants and that by ordinance authorizes a person who is not a licensed plumber to perform plumbing, rather than allowing providing the exemption in the absence of a municipal ordinance requiring the person to be licensed.
Senate Bill 1354 specifies that the exemption from licensing requirements as an appliance dealer does not extend to a person who installs and services water heaters, and requires a field representative employed by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners to hold a license as a plumber. The bill authorizes the examining board, if certain requirements are met, to credit an applicant who has worked as a plumber's apprentice for a specified period with a number of hours against the hours of work experience required to take an examination. The bill establishes training requirements for a person who wishes to renew a certificate of registration as a drain cleaner, drain cleaner-restricted registrant, or residential utilities installer; allows a person to receive credit for participating in a training program under specified conditions; and provides for an exemption from these requirements.
Senate Bill 1354 establishes the methods by which a municipality or other political subdivision in Texas that requires a plumbing contractor to obtain a permit before performing plumbing work is required to accept permit applications, collect fees, and issue permits; requires the political subdivision to verify that the contractor has a certificate of insurance on file with the examining board and to specify how permit drawings of proposed plumbing work are to be submitted, if such drawings are required; and, if the political subdivision requires registration of plumbing contractors, requires a plumbing contractor to register before performing plumbing regulated by the political subdivision. The bill provides that a person who must obtain a plumbing permit is not required to pay a plumbing registration fee or administrative fee in a municipality or other political subdivision and removes a requirement that a political subdivision requiring a master plumber to have a bond must accept the bond before issuing a master plumber permit. The bill authorizes only an affected municipality to perform a plumbing inspection and collect a permit fee if the boundaries of a municipality and another political subdivision, rather than a municipal utility district, overlap. The bill makes its provisions applicable to an application for the issuance or renewal of a license or certificate of registration submitted on or after January 1, 2010, and requires the examining board to adopt the rules and approve the programs necessary to implement these changes not later than that date.