Currently, pool maintenance technicians are authorized under certain licenses issued by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) to perform limited electrical work relating to pool maintenance on certain residential properties. Some sources assert that the testing TDLR conducts for such licenses involves technical knowledge applicable to both business and residential settings and that pool technicians often have the expertise required to maintain and repair sophisticated pool equipment and devices, many of which are located on business properties. S.B. 1630 seeks to authorize pool technicians to perform work in business settings by specifying that certain provisions of law relating to the licensing of electricians for purposes of pool-related electrical maintenance encompass both business and residential pools.

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

S.B. 1630 amends the Occupations Code to redefine "residential appliance," for purposes of provisions of law relating to the regulation of electricians, by making the term apply to any pool-related electrical device and by removing the specification that the term applies only to such a device installed as a unit in a single-family or multifamily dwelling that does not exceed four stories, directly connected to an electrical circuit, and that performs a specific function.

S.B. 1630 redefines "pool," defined for purposes of those same provisions as an outdoor or indoor structure intended for swimming or recreational bathing, to specify that the term applies to such a structure located at a residential property, a business property, or a property owned by a municipality.

S.B. 1630 redefines "pool-related electrical device" for purposes of those same provisions to include among the qualifications for such a device that it use single-phase power of 240 volts or less.

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.