By Gallegos H.B. No. 1604
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to performance standards for certain plumbing fixtures.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Title 5, Health and Safety Code, Subtitle E,
1-5 Section 421.002, as follows:
1-6 Sec. 372.002. Water Saving Performance Standards. (a) A
1-7 person may not sell, offer for sale, distribute, or import into
1-8 this state a plumbing fixture for use in this state unless:
1-9 (1) the plumbing fixture meets the water saving
1-10 performance standards provided by Subsection (b); and
1-11 (2) the plumbing fixture is listed by the department
1-12 under Subsection (c).
1-13 (b) The water saving performance standards for a plumbing
1-14 fixture are those established by the American National Standards
1-15 Institute or the following standards, whichever are more
1-16 restrictive:
1-17 (1) for a sink or lavatory faucet or a faucet aerator,
1-18 maximum flow may not exceed 2.2 gallons of water per minute at a
1-19 pressure of 60 pounds per square inch when tested according to
1-20 testing procedures adopted by the board;
1-21 (2) for a shower head, maximum flow may not exceed
1-22 2.75 gallons of water per minute at a constant pressure over 80
1-23 pounds per square inch when tested according to testing procedures
2-1 adopted by the board;
2-2 (3) for a urinal and the associated flush valve, if
2-3 any, maximum flow may not exceed an average of one gallon of water
2-4 per flushing when tested according to the hydraulic performance
2-5 requirements adopted by the board;
2-6 (4) for a toilet, maximum flow may not exceed an
2-7 average of <1.6> 3.5 gallons of water per flushing when tested
2-8 according to the hydraulic performance requirements adopted by the
2-9 board;
2-10 (5) for a wall-mounted toilet that employs a
2-11 flushometer or flush valve, maximum flow may not exceed an average
2-12 of two gallons of water per flushing or the flow rate established
2-13 by the American National Standards Institute for ultra-low flush
2-14 toilets, whichever is lower; and
2-15 (6) a drinking water fountain must be self-closing.
2-16 (c) The board shall make and maintain a current list of
2-17 plumbing fixtures that are certified to the board by the
2-18 manufacturer or importer to meet the water saving performance
2-19 standards established by Subsection (b). To have a plumbing
2-20 fixture included on the list, a manufacturer or importer must
2-21 supply to the department, in the form prescribed by the department,
2-22 the identification and the performance specifications of the
2-23 plumbing fixture. The department may test a listed fixture to
2-24 determine the accuracy of the manufacturer's or importer's
2-25 certification and shall remove from the list a fixture the board
3-1 finds to be inaccurately certified.
3-2 (d) The department may assess against a manufacturer or an
3-3 importer a reasonable fee for an inspection of a product to
3-4 determine the accuracy of the manufacturer's or importer's
3-5 certification in an amount determined by the board to cover the
3-6 expenses incurred in the administration of this chapter. A fee
3-7 received by the department under this subsection shall be deposited
3-8 in the state treasury to the credit of the department and may be
3-9 used only for the administration of this chapter.
3-10 (e) The board and the department shall, to the extent
3-11 appropriate and practical, employ the standards designated American
3-12 National Standards by the American National Standards Institute in
3-13 determining or evaluating performance standards or testing
3-14 procedures under this chapter.
3-15 (f) This section does not apply to:
3-16 (1) a plumbing fixture that has been ordered by or is
3-17 in the inventory of a building contractor or a wholesaler or
3-18 retailer of plumbing fixtures on January 1, 1992;
3-19 (2) a fixture, such as a safety shower or aspirator
3-20 faucet, that, because of the fixture's specialized function, cannot
3-21 meet the standards provided by this section;
3-22 (3) a fixture originally installed before January 1,
3-23 1992, that is removed and reinstalled in the same building on or
3-24 after that date; or
3-25 (4) a fixture imported only for use at the importer's
4-1 domicile.
4-2 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
4-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.