85R7637 BEE-F
 
  By: Garcia S.B. No. 961
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the licensing and regulation of a journeyman lineman.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 1305.002(12), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
               (12)  "Journeyman lineman" means an individual who
  engages in electrical work involving 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.
         SECTION 2.  Section 1305.101(a), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The executive director or commission, as appropriate,
  shall:
               (1)  by rule establish the financial responsibility
  requirements for electrical contractors; [and]
               (2)  after publication of the National Electrical Code
  by the National Fire Protection Association every three years,
  adopt the revised National Electrical Code as the electrical code
  for the state; and 
               (3)  after publication of the National Electrical
  Safety Code by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
  Engineers every five years, adopt the revised National Electrical
  Safety Code for purposes of Section 1305.162(e).
         SECTION 3.  Section 1305.162, Occupations Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  In addition to the other requirements of this section,
  the department shall accept, develop, or contract for a journeyman
  lineman examination that tests an applicant's knowledge of:
               (1)  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; and
               (2)  the standards prescribed by the National
  Electrical Safety Code as adopted by the commission.
         SECTION 4.  Section 1305.162(e), Occupations Code, as added
  by this Act, applies only to an examination for a journeyman lineman
  license administered on or after June 1, 2018. An examination for a
  journeyman lineman license administered before that date is
  governed by the law in effect on the date the examination was
  administered, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 5.  Not later than March 1, 2018, the Texas
  Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall adopt rules necessary
  to implement Sections 1305.101(a)(3) and 1305.162(e), Occupations
  Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.