By: Yarbrough H.B. No. 1071
73R2923 CAG-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to performance standards for certain plumbing fixtures and
1-3 related labeling requirements.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Sections 372.001 and 372.002, Health and Safety
1-6 Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 372.001. Definitions. In this chapter:
1-8 (1) "Board" means the Texas State Board of Plumbing
1-9 Examiners <Natural Resource Conservation Commission>.
1-10 (2) "Code" means the Uniform Plumbing Code or the
1-11 Southern Standard Plumbing Code, as amended <"Commissioner" means
1-12 the executive director of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
1-13 Commission>.
1-14 (3) <"Department" means the Texas Natural Resource
1-15 Conservation Commission.>
1-16 <(4)> "Plumbing fixture" means a sink faucet, lavatory
1-17 faucet, faucet aerator, shower head, urinal, toilet, flush valve
1-18 toilet, or drinking water fountain.
1-19 (4) <(5)> "Toilet" means a toilet or water closet
1-20 except a wall-mounted toilet that employs a flushometer or flush
1-21 valve.
1-22 Sec. 372.002. Water Saving Performance Standards. (a) A
1-23 person may not sell, offer for sale, distribute, or import into
1-24 this state a plumbing fixture for use in this state unless<:>
2-1 <(1)> the plumbing fixture meets the water saving
2-2 performance standards provided by Subsection (b)<; and>
2-3 <(2) the plumbing fixture is listed by the department
2-4 under Subsection (c)>.
2-5 (b) The <water saving> performance standards for a plumbing
2-6 fixture are those established by the American National Standards
2-7 Institute or the following standards, whichever are more
2-8 restrictive:
2-9 (1) for a sink or lavatory faucet or a faucet aerator,
2-10 maximum flow may not exceed 2.2 gallons of water per minute at a
2-11 pressure of 60 pounds per square inch when tested according to
2-12 testing procedures adopted by the board;
2-13 (2) for a shower head, maximum flow may not exceed
2-14 2.75 gallons of water per minute at a constant pressure over 80
2-15 pounds per square inch when tested according to testing procedures
2-16 adopted by the board;
2-17 (3) for a urinal and the associated flush valve, if
2-18 any, maximum flow may not exceed an average of one gallon of water
2-19 per flushing when tested according to the hydraulic performance
2-20 requirements adopted by the board;
2-21 (4) for a toilet, maximum flow may not exceed an
2-22 average of 1.6 gallons of water per flushing when tested according
2-23 to the hydraulic performance requirements adopted by the board;
2-24 (5) for a wall-mounted toilet that employs a
2-25 flushometer or flush valve, maximum flow may not exceed an average
2-26 of two gallons of water per flushing or the flow rate established
2-27 by the American National Standards Institute for low-consumption
3-1 <ultra-low> flush toilets, whichever is lower; and
3-2 (6) a drinking water fountain must be self-closing.
3-3 (c) The board shall make and maintain a current list of
3-4 plumbing fixtures that are certified to the board by the
3-5 manufacturer or importer to meet the water saving performance
3-6 standards established by Subsection (b). To have a plumbing
3-7 fixture included on the list, a manufacturer or importer must
3-8 supply to the board <department>, in the form prescribed by the
3-9 board <department>, the identification and the performance
3-10 specifications of the plumbing fixture. The board <department> may
3-11 test a listed fixture to determine the accuracy of the
3-12 manufacturer's or importer's certification and shall remove from
3-13 the list a fixture the board finds to be inaccurately certified.
3-14 (d) The board <department> may assess against a manufacturer
3-15 or an importer a reasonable fee for an inspection of a product to
3-16 determine the accuracy of the manufacturer's or importer's
3-17 certification in an amount determined by the board to cover the
3-18 expenses incurred in the administration of this chapter. A fee
3-19 received by the board <department> under this subsection shall be
3-20 deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the plumbing
3-21 examiners fund 077 <department> and may be used only for the
3-22 administration of this chapter.
3-23 (e) The board <and the department> shall, to the extent
3-24 appropriate and practical, employ the standards designated American
3-25 National Standards by the American National Standards Institute in
3-26 determining or evaluating performance standards or testing
3-27 procedures under this chapter.
4-1 (f) This section does not apply to:
4-2 (1) a plumbing fixture that has been ordered by or is
4-3 in the inventory of a building contractor or a wholesaler or
4-4 retailer of plumbing fixtures on January 1, 1992;
4-5 (2) a fixture, such as a safety shower or aspirator
4-6 faucet, that, because of the fixture's specialized function, cannot
4-7 meet the standards provided by this section; or
4-8 (3) a fixture originally installed before January 1,
4-9 1992, that is removed and reinstalled in the same building on or
4-10 after that date on the same water supply line and wastewater drain
4-11 line if the renovation cost does not exceed 51 percent of the
4-12 appraised value of the building<; or>
4-13 <(4) a fixture imported only for use at the importer's
4-14 domicile>.
4-15 SECTION 2. Sections 372.003(c) and (d), Health and Safety
4-16 Code, are amended to read as follows:
4-17 (c) The board by rule shall prohibit the sale, offering for
4-18 sale, distribution, or importation into this state of a new
4-19 commercial or residential clothes-washing machine, dish-washing
4-20 machine, or lawn sprinkler unless<:>
4-21 <(1) the manufacturer has furnished to the department,
4-22 in the form prescribed by the department, the identification and
4-23 performance specifications of the device; and>
4-24 <(2)> the clothes-washing or dish-washing machine or
4-25 lawn sprinkler is labeled in accordance with rules adopted by the
4-26 board with a statement that describes the device's water use
4-27 characteristics.
5-1 (d) Rules adopted or amended under this section shall be
5-2 developed by the board in conjunction with a technical advisory
5-3 panel of designated representatives of the Texas Water Development
5-4 Board, the Texas Natural Resources Commission, the Texas Department
5-5 of Health, and other outside technical experts <the Texas State
5-6 Board of Plumbing Examiners, and the Texas Natural Resource
5-7 Conservation Commission>.
5-8 SECTION 3. Sections 372.004(c) and (d), Health and Safety
5-9 Code, are amended to read as follows:
5-10 (c) Not later than the 30th day after the date on which the
5-11 board's <commissioner's> order assessing the administrative penalty
5-12 is final, the person assessed shall pay the full amount of the
5-13 penalty or file a petition for judicial review. If the person
5-14 seeks judicial review, the person shall send the amount of the
5-15 penalty to the board <commissioner> for placement in escrow or post
5-16 with the board <commissioner> a bond in a form approved by the
5-17 board <commissioner> for the amount of the penalty, the bond to be
5-18 effective until judicial review of the order is final. A person
5-19 who fails to comply with this subsection waives judicial review.
5-20 (d) The board <commissioner> may request enforcement by the
5-21 attorney general if the person assessed the penalty fails to comply
5-22 with this section.
5-23 SECTION 4. Sections 372.005(b), (c), (e), and (g), Health
5-24 and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
5-25 (b) If it appears that a person has violated, is violating,
5-26 or is threatening to violate this chapter or a rule adopted under
5-27 this chapter, the board <department>, a county, or a municipality
6-1 may bring a civil action in a district court in Travis County, the
6-2 county in which the defendant resides, or the county where the
6-3 violation occurred, is occurring, or is threatened for:
6-4 (1) injunctive relief to restrain the person from
6-5 continuing the violation or threat of violation;
6-6 (2) the assessment of a civil penalty for a violation;
6-7 or
6-8 (3) both injunctive relief and a civil penalty.
6-9 (c) The board <department> is an indispensable party in a
6-10 suit brought by a county or municipality under this section.
6-11 (e) In a suit to enjoin a violation of this chapter or a
6-12 rule adopted under this chapter, the court shall grant the state,
6-13 board <department>, county, or municipality, without bond or other
6-14 undertaking, any injunction that the facts warrant, including a
6-15 temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, or permanent
6-16 injunction.
6-17 (g) At the request of the board <department>, the attorney
6-18 general shall bring and conduct a suit in the name of the state for
6-19 injunctive relief, to recover a civil penalty, or both.
6-20 SECTION 5. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
6-21 (b) The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners shall adopt
6-22 rules and codes necessary to implement the performance standards
6-23 established by Chapter 372, Health and Safety Code, as amended by
6-24 this Act, not later than January 1, 1994.
6-25 (c) The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners shall
6-26 propose, on or before September 30, 1993, rules necessary to
6-27 implement the labeling requirements, according to the labeling
7-1 requirements established by the Uniform Plumbing Code and the
7-2 Southern Standard Plumbing Code, as provided by Chapter 372, Health
7-3 and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, and shall adopt rules
7-4 necessary to implement the labeling requirements as provided by
7-5 that chapter to take effect on January 1, 1994.
7-6 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
7-7 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-8 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-9 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-10 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.