Bill Text: TX HB1391 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to the requirements to obtain a residential wireman license.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-06-09 - Effective on 9/1/23 [HB1391 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB1391-Enrolled.html
H.B. No. 1391 |
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relating to 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. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I certify that H.B. No. 1391 was passed by the House on April | ||
25, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 101, Nays 46, 1 present, not | ||
voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
I certify that H.B. No. 1391 was passed by the Senate on May | ||
17, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 20, Nays 11. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
APPROVED: _____________________ | ||
Date | ||
_____________________ | ||
Governor |