88R6654 JCG-D
 
  By: Schaefer H.B. No. 1391
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the regulation of electricians, including the
  requirements to obtain a residential wireman license.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 1305.157, Occupations Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 1305.157.  RESIDENTIAL WIREMAN. An applicant for a
  license as a residential wireman must:
               (1)  either:
                     (A)  have at least 4,000 hours of on-the-job
  training under the supervision of a master electrician or
  residential wireman; or
                     (B)  successfully complete a career and
  technology education program described by Section 1305.1575; and
               (2)  pass a residential wireman examination
  administered under this chapter.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter D, Chapter 1305, Occupations Code, is
  amended by adding Section 1305.1575 to read as follows:
         Sec. 1305.1575.  CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR
  RESIDENTIAL WIREMAN LICENSE; INSTRUCTORS. (a)  In this section:
               (1)  "Career and technology education program" means:
                     (A)  a career and technology education program
  under Subchapter F, Chapter 29, Education Code; or
                     (B)  a program determined by the department to be
  similar to that described by Paragraph (A) and offered by:
                           (i)  an institution of higher education; or
                           (ii)  a private school, as defined by
  Section 5.001, Education Code.
               (2)  "Institution of higher education" means an
  institution of higher education or a private or independent
  institution of higher education, as those terms are defined by
  Section 61.003, Education Code.
         (b)  A person who successfully completes a sequence of
  courses in the electrical trade that are offered through a career
  and technology education program may apply for and take an
  examination for a license as a residential wireman, regardless of
  whether the person has completed the number of hours of on-the-job
  training required by Section 1305.157(1).
         (c)  The commission by rule shall establish standards for the
  essential knowledge and skills of a career and technology education
  program described by Subsection (b), subject to the approval of the
  State Board of Education if the courses are to be offered in a high
  school. The rules must:
               (1)  require the program to consist of an appropriate
  number of hours of classroom instruction and a practical component;
  and
               (2)  provide for crediting appropriate on-the-job
  training toward meeting the requirements of the practical
  component.
         (d)  A student of any age enrolled in a career and technology
  education program is eligible to take the sequence of courses
  described by Subsection (b) without being licensed under this
  chapter. This subsection does not authorize a person to perform
  electrical work without the appropriate license outside of a
  program described by this section.
         (e)  A person may not provide instruction in a program
  described by this section unless the person is licensed as a master
  electrician, journeyman electrician, or residential wireman.
         (f)  A career and technology education program offered under
  this section by an institution of higher education may not be more
  stringent than a program offered by a public high school.
         (g)  Hours spent completing a program described by this
  section may not be credited toward any on-the-job training required
  to apply for a license under this chapter.
         SECTION 3.  The heading to Section 1305.167, Occupations
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 1305.167.  LICENSE RENEWAL; FEE EXEMPTION.
         SECTION 4.  Section 1305.167, Occupations Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  A license holder who provides instruction in a career
  and technology education program described by Section 1305.1575 is
  not required to pay a fee to renew the license.
         SECTION 5.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall
  adopt rules necessary to implement the changes in law made by this
  Act to Chapter 1305, Occupations Code.
         SECTION 6.  In developing the initial standards for the
  career and technology education program under Section
  1305.1575(c), Occupations Code, as added by this Act, the Texas
  Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall consult with the Texas
  State Technical College and relevant interest groups in the
  electrical industry.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2023.