BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4006

By: Thompson, Senfronia

Licensing & Administrative Procedures

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that the examination required for a license as a journeyman lineman consists of information that may not necessarily be relevant to applicants in the performance of their job-related duties after licensure. Concerns have been raised that this situation may be responsible for a decrease in recent years in the applicant passing rate on the examination. C.S.H.B. 4006 seeks to address these issues by clarifying the law relating to examination requirements for a journeyman lineman.

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 rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation in SECTION 4 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4006 amends the Occupations Code to require the executive director of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) or the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation (TCLR), 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 an examination required for a license as a journeyman industrial electrician and for a license as a journeyman lineman. The bill limits the scope of the journeyman lineman examination to the testing of an applicant for the license regarding activities performed by a journeyman lineman as described by the National Electrical Safety Code as adopted by TCLR. The bill requires TCLR, not later than March 1, 2020, to adopt rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions. The bill's provisions apply only to an examination for a journeyman lineman license administered on or after June 1, 2020.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 4006 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute includes a requirement for TCLR or the executive director of TDLR, as appropriate, after publication of the National Electrical Safety Code every five years, to adopt the revised National Electrical Safety Code for purposes of certain examinations.

The substitute sets a specified deadline by which TCLR is required to adopt rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions.