BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 1503 |
By: Kuempel |
Licensing & Administrative Procedures |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties contend that the electrical safety and licensing advisory board and the air conditioning and refrigeration contractors advisory board lack builder representation, despite the fact that electrical systems and air conditioning mechanisms are key components of a home and play a vital role in a home's overall construction practices and affordability. The parties further assert that such representation on these advisory boards would help create a more effective and efficient rulemaking process and would help the advisory boards gain a thorough understanding of regulatory implications on both the home and commercial building industries. C.S.H.B. 1503 seeks to add building contractors to the electrical safety and licensing advisory board and the air conditioning and refrigeration contractors advisory board.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
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.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 1503 amends the Occupations Code to expand from seven to nine the membership of the air conditioning and refrigeration contractors advisory board by adding one building contractor who is principally engaged in home construction and one member who holds a license of any classification under the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractor License Law, is principally engaged in air conditioning and refrigeration contracting, and practices in a municipality. The bill includes the building contractor member among the members who are exempt from the requirement that each appointed advisory board member be experienced in the design, installation, construction, maintenance, service, repair, or modification of equipment used for environmental air conditioning, commercial refrigeration, or process cooling or heating.
C.S.H.B. 1503 requires the electrical safety and licensing advisory board to include, in addition to the board's members with the specified affiliations or non-affiliation, one public member who is a building contractor principally engaged in home construction.
C.S.H.B. 1503 requires the presiding officer of the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation to appoint the additional board members to the air conditioning and refrigeration contractors advisory board, with the commission's approval, not later than December 1, 2013. The bill establishes that its provisions regarding the qualifications of members of the electrical safety and licensing advisory board do not affect the entitlement of a member serving on the board immediately before the bill's effective date to continue to serve for the remainder of the member's term. The bill requires the presiding officer of the commission, as terms on the board expire, to appoint members that reflect the requirements of the bill's provisions.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B 1503 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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