82R11450 JAM-F

By: Hamilton H.B. No. 3377

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the licensing and registration of installers of on-site sewage disposal systems by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 366.002, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Subdivision (2-a) to read as follows:

(2-a) "Department" means the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

SECTION 2. Section 366.0515(m), Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

(m) If a maintenance company violates an order, resolution, or rule described by Subsection (k) three or more times, the commission, in the manner provided by Subchapter G, Chapter 7, Water Code, or the department, as appropriate, may revoke the license or registration of the maintenance company or any person employed by the maintenance company issued under:

(1) Section 26.0301, Water Code;

(2) Chapter 37, Water Code; or

(3) Section 366.071 of this code.

SECTION 3. Section 366.071, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 366.071. OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING AND REGISTRATION. (a) A person who constructs, installs, alters, extends, services, maintains, or repairs an on-site sewage disposal system or any part of an on-site sewage disposal system for compensation must hold a license or registration issued by the department [commission] under this subchapter [Chapter 37, Water Code].

(b) A person designated by an authorized agent under Section 366.014 must hold a license issued by the department [commission] under this subchapter [Chapter 37, Water Code].

(c) A person who conducts preconstruction site evaluations, including visiting a site and performing a soil analysis, a site survey, or other activities necessary to determine the suitability of a site for an on-site sewage disposal system must hold a license issued by the department [commission] under this subchapter [Chapter 37, Water Code,] unless the person is licensed by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers as an engineer.

(d) The department [commission] may implement a program [under Chapter 37, Water Code,] to register persons who service or maintain on-site sewage disposal systems for compensation.

SECTION 4. Subchapter E, Chapter 366, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Section 366.072 to read as follows:

Sec. 366.072. ISSUANCE OF LICENSE OR REGISTRATION. (a) Notwithstanding Section 366.002, in this section, "commission" means the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation.

(b) The department shall license and register persons who construct, install, alter, extend, service, maintain, or repair an on-site sewage disposal system or any part of an on-site sewage disposal system for compensation.

(c) The commission shall adopt any rules necessary to:

(1) establish occupational licenses and registrations under this subchapter;

(2) establish classes and terms of occupational licenses and registrations; and

(3) administer the provisions of this subchapter.

(d) The commission may establish qualifications for each license and registration issued under this subchapter.

(e) The department shall establish requirements and uniform procedures for issuing licenses and registrations under this chapter.

(f) The department shall establish requirements and uniform procedures for renewing licenses and registrations.

(g) The department shall prescribe the content, location, and frequency of licensing examinations.

SECTION 5. Section 1305.003(a), Occupations Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) This chapter does not apply to:

(1) the installation of electrical equipment in a ship, watercraft other than a floating building, railway rolling stock, aircraft, motor vehicle, or recreational vehicle;

(2) the installation of electrical equipment underground in a mine and in self-propelled mobile surface mining machinery and its attendant electrical trailing cable;

(3) the installation of electrical equipment for generation, transformation, transmission, or distribution of power used exclusively to operate railway rolling stock or exclusively for signaling and communications purposes;

(4) the installation, maintenance, alteration, or repair of communications equipment provided by a telecommunications provider;

(5) the installation, maintenance, alteration, or repair of electrical equipment under the exclusive control of an electric utility, power generation company as defined by Sections 31.002(1) and (10), Utilities Code, electric cooperative, or municipally owned utility and used for communications or metering, or for the generation, control, transformation, transmission, and distribution of electrical energy, and located:

(A) in a building used exclusively by a utility or power generation company for those purposes;

(B) outdoors on property owned or leased by the utility or power generation company;

(C) on public highways, streets, roads, or other public rights-of-way; or

(D) outdoors by established rights in vaults or on private property;

(6) work not specifically regulated by a municipal ordinance that is performed in or on a dwelling by a person who owns and resides in the dwelling;

(7) work involved in the manufacture of electrical equipment that includes the on-site and off-site manufacturing, commissioning, testing, calibrating, coordinating, troubleshooting, or evaluating of electrical equipment, the repairing or retrofitting of electrical equipment with components of the same ampacity, and the maintenance and servicing of electrical equipment within the equipment's enclosure that is performed by an authorized employee or authorized representative of an electrical equipment manufacturer and limited to the type of products manufactured by the manufacturer;

(8) electrical work if:

(A) the work is performed by a person who does not engage in electrical work for the public;

(B) the work is performed by a person regularly employed as a maintenance person or maintenance electrician for a business; and

(C) the electrical work does not involve the installation of electrical equipment during new construction as defined by rules adopted under Chapter 151, Tax Code;

(9) the installation, maintenance, alteration, or repair of electrical equipment or associated wiring under the exclusive control of a gas utility and used for communications or metering or for the control, transmission, or distribution of natural gas;

(10) thoroughfare lighting, traffic signals, intelligent transportation systems, and telecommunications controlled by a governmental entity;

(11) electrical connections supplying heating, ventilation, and cooling and refrigeration equipment, including any required disconnect exclusively for the equipment, if the service is performed by a licensed air conditioning and refrigeration contractor under Chapter 1302;

(12) the design, installation, erection, repair, or alteration of Class 1, Class 2, or Class 3 remote control, signaling, or power-limited circuits, fire alarm circuits, optical fiber cables, or communications circuits, including raceways, as defined by the National Electrical Code;

(13) landscape irrigation installers, as necessary to perform the installation and maintenance of irrigation control systems, and landscapers, as necessary to perform the installation and maintenance of low-voltage exterior lighting and holiday lighting excluding any required power source;

(14) electrical work performed at a business that operates:

(A) a chemical plant, petrochemical plant, refinery, natural gas plant, natural gas treating plant, pipeline, or oil and gas exploration and production operation by a person who works solely for and is employed by that business; or

(B) a chemical plant, petrochemical plant, refinery, natural gas plant, or natural gas treatment plant by a person who under a contract of at least 12 months' duration performs electrical work for that plant and:

(i) the electrical work is not performed during new construction as defined by rules adopted under Chapter 151, Tax Code; or

(ii) the person is not working for a contractor that has a principal place of business in another state or territory of the United States or a foreign country;

(15) the installation, maintenance, alteration, or repair of elevators, escalators, or related equipment, excluding any required power source, regulated under Chapter 754, Health and Safety Code;

(16) the installation, maintenance, alteration, or repair of equipment or network facilities provided or utilized by a cable operator, as that term is defined by 47 U.S.C. Section 522, as amended;

(17) the location, design, construction, extension, maintenance, and installation of on-site sewage disposal systems in accordance with Chapter 366, Health and Safety Code, or an on-site sewage facility installer licensed under Chapter 366, Health and Safety Code [37, Water Code];

(18) electrical work performed on a building, structure, or equipment in agricultural use as defined by Section 11.002, Water Code, other than the processing of an agricultural commodity;

(19) the installation, maintenance, alteration, or repair of well pumps and equipment in accordance with Chapter 1902;

(20) electrical work required for the construction and assembly of HUD-code manufactured housing or modular housing and building units, other than the installation of service entrance conductors, that is performed by a licensed manufacturer or installer under Chapter 1201 or 1202, as applicable, if work performed is within the scope of the license as defined by applicable statutes and administrative rules;

(21) work performed by a plumber who holds a license or endorsement or is registered under Chapter 1301 that is necessary to install, service, maintain, repair, or replace any type of plumbing fixture or appliance, as described by Section 1301.002(7), including a water heater, food disposer, garbage disposal, water softener, dishwashing machine, and clothes washing machine on existing electrical circuits only;

(22) the maintenance or repair of a residential appliance by a residential appliance dealer or manufacturer or a person authorized by a residential appliance dealer or manufacturer using only components of the same type and ampacity as the original components; and

(23) the maintenance, alteration, or repair of a pool-related electrical device by, or pool-related electrical maintenance performed by, an employee of a municipality on a pool owned or operated by the municipality.

SECTION 6. Section 37.002, Water Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 37.002. RULES. The commission shall adopt any rules necessary to:

(1) establish occupational licenses and registrations prescribed by Sections 26.0301, 26.3573, 26.452, and 26.456 of this code, Sections 341.033, 341.034, and 361.027, [and 366.071,] Health and Safety Code, and Section 1903.251, Occupations Code;

(2) establish classes and terms of occupational licenses and registrations; and

(3) administer the provisions of this chapter and other laws governing occupational licenses and registrations under the commission's jurisdiction.

SECTION 7. Section 37.003, Water Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 37.003. LICENSE OR REGISTRATION REQUIRED. A person may not engage in a business, occupation, or profession described by Section 26.0301, 26.3573, 26.452, or 26.456 of this code, Section 341.033, 341.034, or 361.027, [366.014, or 366.071,] Health and Safety Code, or Section 1903.251, Occupations Code, unless the person holds the appropriate license or registration issued by the commission.

SECTION 8. Chapter 37, Water Code, is amended by adding Section 37.016 to read as follows:

Sec. 37.016. LICENSING OF INSTALLERS OF ON-SITE SEWAGE DISPOSAL SYSTEMS BY TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING AND REGULATION. Notwithstanding any other law:

(1) the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, as appropriate, shall exercise all powers and duties formerly exercised by the commission under this chapter in relation to the licensing or registration of a person who constructs, installs, alters, extends, services, maintains, or repairs an on-site sewage disposal system;

(2) a reference in this chapter to the commission in relation to the licensing or registration of a person who constructs, installs, alters, extends, services, maintains, or repairs an on-site sewage disposal system means the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation or the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, as appropriate; and

(3) a reference in any other law to the commission in relation to the licensing or registration of a person who constructs, installs, alters, extends, services, maintains, or repairs an on-site sewage disposal system under this chapter means the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation or the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, as appropriate.

SECTION 9. (a) Not later than September 1, 2012, all powers, duties, functions, programs, and activities related to the licensing and registration of installers of on-site sewage disposal systems are transferred to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, as appropriate.

(b) On the date specified by Subsection (a) of this section for the transfer described by that subsection:

(1) all obligations and contracts of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that are related to a power, duty, function, program, or activity transferred from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under Subsection (a) of this section are transferred to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, as appropriate;

(2) all property and records in the custody of a state agency or entity that are related to a power, duty, function, program, or activity transferred from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under Subsection (a) of this section and all funds appropriated by the legislature for the power, duty, function, program, or activity are transferred to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, as appropriate; and

(3) all complaints, investigations, or contested cases that are pending before the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that are related to a power, duty, function, program, or activity transferred from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under Subsection (a) of this section are transferred without change in status to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, as appropriate.

(c) A rule or form adopted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that relates to a power, duty, function, program, or activity transferred from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under Subsection (a) of this section is a rule or form of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation or the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, as appropriate, and remains in effect until altered by the commission or department.

(d) A reference in law to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, or to the governing body of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, that relates to a power, duty, function, program, or activity transferred under Subsection (a) of this section means the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation or the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, as appropriate.

(e) A license or registration in effect that was issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that relates to a power, duty, function, program, or activity transferred under Subsection (a) of this section is continued in effect as a license or registration of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation or the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, as appropriate.

SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.