BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1284

By: Thompson, Senfronia

Licensing & Administrative Procedures

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties contend that recently enacted legislation creating a journeyman lineman license excludes certain lineman work from the scope of work covered by the license. The parties explain that legislation is needed to clarify the licensing and regulation of a journeyman lineman as well as matters relating to the journeyman lineman examination to overcome this exclusion. H.B. 1284 seeks to provide this clarification.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1284 amends the Occupations Code to expand the definition of "journeyman lineman," for purposes of the Texas Electrical Safety and Licensing Act, by including an individual who engages in electrical work involving the installation of equipment associated with the transmission and distribution of electricity from the electricity's original source to a substation for further distribution and by including among the electrical work in which a journeyman lineman engages electrical work involving the installation, maintenance, and operation of equipment associated with the transmission and distribution of electricity from a substation to the point where the electricity enters a building or structure on a customer's premises for further distribution.

H.B. 1284 requires the executive director of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) or the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation, as appropriate, after publication of the National Electrical Safety Code by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers every five years, to adopt the revised National Electrical Safety Code for purposes of the bill's journeyman lineman examination provisions. The bill requires TDLR to accept, develop, or contract for a journeyman lineman examination that tests an applicant's knowledge of the standards prescribed by the National Electrical Safety Code as adopted by the commission and of materials and methods used in the installation, maintenance, and operation of equipment associated with the transmission and distribution of electricity from the electricity's original source to a substation and from a substation to the point where the electricity enters a building or structure on a customer's premises for further distribution. The bill's journeyman lineman examination provisions apply only to an examination for a journeyman lineman license administered on or after June 1, 2018. The bill requires the commission to adopt rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions relating to the National Electrical Safety Code and a journeyman lineman examination not later than March 1, 2018.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2017.