| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the regulation of air conditioning and refrigeration |
|
|
contracting, including eligibility for an air conditioning and |
|
|
refrigeration technician registration or certification. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 1302.002(5-c), Occupations Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(5-c) "Certification training program" means: |
|
|
(A) a career and technology education program |
|
|
described by Section 1302.5037; or |
|
|
(B) a program of education and training that[: |
|
|
[(A)] is accepted or approved by the |
|
|
department[;] and |
|
|
[(B)] consists of at least 2,000 hours of a |
|
|
combination of: |
|
|
(i) classroom instruction: |
|
|
(a) at a secondary school; |
|
|
(b) at an institution of higher |
|
|
education, as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code; or |
|
|
(c) in an apprenticeship program |
|
|
accepted by the department; and |
|
|
(ii) practical experience in air |
|
|
conditioning and refrigeration-related work under the supervision |
|
|
of a licensed air conditioning and refrigeration contractor. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 1302, Occupations Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 1302.1015 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 1302.1015. RULES REGARDING RENEWAL FEE AND CONTINUING |
|
|
EDUCATION EXEMPTIONS FOR CERTAIN LICENSE OR CERTIFICATION HOLDERS. |
|
|
The commission shall adopt rules waiving any applicable renewal fee |
|
|
and providing for a reduction in the number of hours of continuing |
|
|
education required to renew an air conditioning and refrigeration |
|
|
contractor license or air conditioning and refrigeration |
|
|
technician certification for a person who provides instruction in a |
|
|
career and technology education program described by Section |
|
|
1302.5037. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 1302.502, Occupations Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 1302.502. EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS. A person is |
|
|
not required to be registered or certified under this subchapter to |
|
|
act or offer to act as an air conditioning and refrigeration |
|
|
technician if the person: |
|
|
(1) is a student in a certification training program |
|
|
who acts or offers to act as an air conditioning and refrigeration |
|
|
technician solely as part of the program; and |
|
|
(2) is[: |
|
|
[(A) younger than 18 years of age; or |
|
|
[(B)] enrolled at a secondary school or an |
|
|
institution of higher education, as that term is defined by Section |
|
|
1302.5037. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Section 1302.503, Occupations Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 1302.503. SUPERVISION REQUIREMENTS FOR TECHNICIANS |
|
|
AND MINORS. (a) An air conditioning and refrigeration technician |
|
|
must be supervised by an air conditioning and refrigeration |
|
|
contractor licensed under this chapter. |
|
|
(b) A person who is younger than 18 years of age and acting |
|
|
or offering to act as an air conditioning and refrigeration |
|
|
technician must at all times work under the on-site supervision of a |
|
|
licensed air conditioning and refrigeration contractor or a |
|
|
certified air conditioning and refrigeration technician. |
|
|
SECTION 5. Section 1302.5035(a), Occupations Code, is |
|
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) An applicant for a technician registration under this |
|
|
subchapter must be at least 16 [18] years old. |
|
|
SECTION 6. Section 1302.5036, Occupations Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 1302.5036. CERTIFICATION ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. |
|
|
To be eligible for an air conditioning and refrigeration technician |
|
|
certification, an applicant must: |
|
|
(1) be at least 18 years old; |
|
|
(2) have completed: |
|
|
(A) [in the preceding 48 months] a certification |
|
|
training program; or |
|
|
(B) 24 months of air conditioning and |
|
|
refrigeration-related work: |
|
|
(i) under the supervision of a licensed air |
|
|
conditioning and refrigeration contractor; or |
|
|
(ii) as part of the applicant's military |
|
|
occupational specialty within the armed forces of the United |
|
|
States; and |
|
|
(3) have passed a competency examination |
|
|
administered, recognized, or accepted by the department. |
|
|
SECTION 7. Subchapter K, Chapter 1302, Occupations Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Section 1302.5037 to read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 1302.5037. CAREER AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR |
|
|
TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATION; 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) The department shall recognize a career and technology |
|
|
education program as a certification training program for purposes |
|
|
of Section 1302.5036. |
|
|
(c) The commission by rule shall establish standards for the |
|
|
essential knowledge and skills of a career and technology education |
|
|
program described by Subsection (a), 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 person may not provide instruction in a career and |
|
|
technology education program unless the person is: |
|
|
(1) a licensed air conditioning and refrigeration |
|
|
contractor; or |
|
|
(2) a certified air conditioning and refrigeration |
|
|
technician whose certification was issued on or after September 1, |
|
|
2018. |
|
|
(e) A career and technology education program offered by an |
|
|
institution of higher education may not be more stringent than a |
|
|
program offered by a public high school. |
|
|
SECTION 8. 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 1302, Occupations Code. |
|
|
SECTION 9. In developing the initial standards for the |
|
|
career and technology education program under Section |
|
|
1302.5037(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 air |
|
|
conditioning and refrigeration industry. |
|
|
SECTION 10. 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. |