79R8379 YDB-F
By: Flores H.B. No. 2008
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of plumbers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1301.002, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subdivisions (2), (3), (5), and (6) and by adding
Subdivisions (1-b), (1-c), (8-a), and (8-b) to read as follows:
(1-b) "Drain cleaner" means a person who installs
cleanouts and removes and resets p-traps to eliminate obstructions
in building drains and sewers, and who:
(A) has completed at least 4,000 hours working
under the supervision of a master plumber as a drain cleaner
restricted registrant; and
(B) has fulfilled the requirements of and is
registered with the board.
(1-c) "Drain cleaner restricted registrant" means a
person who clears obstructions in sewer and drain lines through any
code-approved existing opening, and who:
(A) has worked as a plumber's apprentice under
the supervision of a master plumber; and
(B) has fulfilled the requirements of and is
registered with the board.
(2) "Journeyman plumber" means a person licensed under
this chapter [other than a master plumber] who:
(A) has met the qualifications for registration
as a plumber's apprentice or for licensing as a tradesman plumber
limited license holder;
(B) has completed at least 8,000 hours working
under the supervision of a master plumber;
(C) installs, changes, repairs, services, or
renovates plumbing or supervises any of those activities; and
(D) [(B)] has passed the required examination
and fulfilled the other requirements of the board.
(3) "Master plumber" means a person licensed under
this chapter who:
(A) has completed at least 8,000 working hours as
a journeyman plumber under the supervision of a master plumber;
(B) is skilled in the planning and superintending
of plumbing and in the practical installation, repair, and
servicing of plumbing;
(C) secures permits for plumbing work;
(D) [(B)] is knowledgeable about [familiar with]
the codes, ordinances, or rules governing those activities
described by Paragraphs (B) and (C);
(E) [(C)] performs or supervises plumbing work;
and
(F) [(D)] has passed the required examination
and fulfilled the other requirements of the board.
(5) "Plumbing" means:
(A) a fixture, appurtenance, appliance, water
heater, or piping, including a disposal system, used in or around a
building in which a person lives or works or in which persons
assemble, to:
(i) supply or recirculate water, other
liquid, or gas; or
(ii) eliminate sewage for a personal or
domestic purpose;
(B) a fixture, appurtenance, appliance, or
piping used outside a building to connect the building to:
(i) a supply of water, other liquid,
medical gases and vacuum, or gas on the premises; or
(ii) the main in the street or alley or at
the curb;
(C) a fixture, appurtenance, appliance, or
piping, including a drain or waste pipe, used to carry wastewater or
sewage from or within a building to:
(i) a sewer service lateral at the curb or
in the street or alley; or
(ii) a disposal or septic terminal that
holds private or domestic sewage; or
(D) the installation, repair, service, or
maintenance of a fixture, appurtenance, appliance, water heater, or
piping described by Paragraph (A), (B), or (C).
(6) "Plumbing inspector" means a person who:
(A) is employed by a political subdivision, or
contracts as an independent contractor with a political
subdivision, to inspect plumbing in connection with health and
safety laws, including ordinances and plumbing and gas codes; and
(B) has passed the required examination and
fulfilled the other requirements of the board.
(8-a) "Residential utilities installer" means a
person who constructs and installs yard water service piping for
one-family or two-family dwellings and building sewers, and who:
(A) has completed at least 2,000 hours working
under the supervision of a master plumber as a plumber's
apprentice; and
(B) has fulfilled the requirements of and is
registered with the board.
(8-b) "Tradesman plumber limited license holder"
means a person who constructs and installs plumbing for one–family
or two–family dwellings, and who:
(A) has completed at least 4,000 hours working
under the direct supervision of a journeyman or master plumber as a
plumber's apprentice;
(B) has passed the required examination and
fulfilled the other requirements of the board; and
(C) has not met or attempted to meet the
qualifications for a journeyman plumber license.
SECTION 2. Section 1301.052, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1301.052. WORK INSIDE OR OUTSIDE MUNICIPALITIES;
REQUIREMENTS FOR WORK PERFORMED BY PERSONS WHO ARE NOT
PLUMBERS. (a) A person is not required to be licensed under this
chapter to perform plumbing, other than plumbing performed in
conjunction with new construction, on a property that is:
(1) located in a subdivision or on a tract of land that
is not required to be platted under Section 232.0015, Local
Government Code; or
(2) not connected to a public water system and is
located outside a municipality; or
(3) located outside a municipality and connected to a
public water system that does not require a license to perform
plumbing; or
(4) inside a municipality with fewer than 5,000
inhabitants, unless an ordinance of the municipality requires the
person to be licensed.
(b) A nonlicensed person who performs plumbing work
described by Subsection (a) must post in advertising and on all
vehicles the words "NOT LICENSED BY THE TEXAS STATE BOARD OF
PLUMBING EXAMINERS".
(c) All plumbing work performed in conjunction with new
construction in this state must be inspected by a licensed plumbing
inspector.
SECTION 3. Section 1301.255(e), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(e) Plumbing installed in compliance with a code adopted
under Subsection (a), (b), or (d) must be inspected by a plumbing
inspector. To perform the inspection, the political subdivision
may employ a plumbing inspector or contract with any plumbing
inspector paid directly by the political subdivision.
SECTION 4. Section 1301.551(b), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) Any other municipality may regulate by ordinance or
bylaw the matters described by Subsection (a), or may vote to not
regulate those matters.
SECTION 5. Section 1301.552, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1301.552. CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE FOR PLUMBING PERMIT
IN POLITICAL SUBDIVISION. A political subdivision that requires a
master plumber to have a permit bond before issuing a permit to the
master plumber shall accept [either a bond or] a certificate of
insurance in lieu of the bond. The certificate of insurance must:
(1) be written by a company licensed to do business in
this state;
(2) provide for commercial general liability
insurance for the master plumber for a claim for property damage or
bodily injury, regardless of whether the claim arises from
negligence or on a contract; and
(3) provide coverage of not less than $300,000 for all
claims arising in a one-year period.
SECTION 6. Section 1301.553, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1301.553. PLUMBING INSPECTIONS IN MUNICIPALITY THAT
OVERLAPS MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT AND OTHER
SUBDIVISIONS. (a) If the boundaries of a municipality and
another political subdivision [a municipal utility district]
overlap, only the affected municipality may perform a plumbing
inspection and collect a permit fee.
(b) The standard used in the plumbing inspection may not be
less restrictive than the standard used by the other political
subdivision [municipal utility district].
SECTION 7. The following laws are repealed:
(1) Section 1301.255(d), Occupations Code; and
(2) Section 1301.357(e), Occupations Code.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.