82R9052 SLB-F

By: Carona S.B. No. 1244

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the eligibility requirements for licenses for certain air conditioning and refrigeration contractors.

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

SECTION 1. Section 1302.255, Occupations Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1302.255. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. (a) An applicant for a license under this chapter must:

(1) be at least 18 years old; and

(2) have at least 48 [36] months of practical experience with the tools of the trade in the preceding six [five] years:

(A) under the supervision of a licensed air conditioning and refrigeration contractor;

(B) as an employee of a school district in this state;

(C) as an employee in an industrial process plant; or

(D) while serving in the military.

(b) Notwithstanding the requirements of [For purposes of determining an applicant's practical experience under] Subsection (a)(2), an applicant may satisfy a portion of the practical experience requirement as provided by Subsection (c).

(c) An applicant who obtains a degree or diploma or completes a certification program from an institution of higher education that holds a certificate of authority issued by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, or an equivalent governing body in another state as approved by the executive director, may satisfy a portion of the practical experience requirement as follows:

(1) completing a four-year degree or diploma in air conditioning technology [engineering], refrigeration technology [engineering], or mechanical engineering is equivalent to 24 months [two years] of practical experience [if:

[(1) the degree or diploma is from an institution of higher education]; [and]

(2) completing a two-year associate's degree, a two-year diploma, or a two-year certification program primarily focused on air conditioning and refrigeration-related work is equivalent to 12 months of practical experience; and

(3) completing a one-year certification program in air conditioning and refrigeration-related work is equivalent to six months of practical experience [the institution's program is approved by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers for the purpose of licensing engineers].

(d) Every 2,000 hours of on-the-job training in an air conditioning and refrigeration apprenticeship program registered with the United States Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship is equivalent to 12 months of practical experience under Subsection (a)(2).

(e) Notwithstanding the requirements of Subsection (a)(2), verified military service in which the person was trained in or performed air conditioning and refrigeration-related work as part of the person's military occupational specialty qualifies as practical experience for purposes of satisfying the 48-month requirement.

SECTION 2. (a) Not later than March 1, 2012, the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall adopt rules to implement Chapter 1302, Occupations Code, as amended by this Act.

(b) Section 1302.255, Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an application for an air conditioning and refrigeration contractor license submitted to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation on or after September 1, 2012. An application for a license submitted before that date is governed by the law in effect on the date the application was submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.