What Bills Will Affect Occupational Licensing?
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The 86th Texas Legislative Session is under way as of January 9th. The budgets are in and hearings are occurring regarding the “exception” items for each area of state government.
The Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners and the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation have both delivered their messages to the House and Senate Budget committees.
May 27th is the official end of this legislative cycle. The Governor can call a special session if need be.
Friday, March 8th is the last day that all non-emergency bills must be filed. To date just under 3000 bills have been filed. With the deadline to file looming, we should see an onslaught of bills in the very near future.
What bills will affect occupational licensing? Look at this link to see what has been filed to date: Bill Tracker
· The medical and recreational use of cannabis, or marijuana. At least 10 bills have been filed so far relating to this issue. The medical use angle seems to be the most prevalent.
· Matters pertaining to school funding, teacher pay, and more.
What bills will affect occupational licensing?
Subcontractor bills will be filed regarding lien law modernization (HB 589), Defective Designs responsibilities, retainage issues, and construction defects. The Texas Construction Association (TCA) of which PHCC is a member works diligently to promote and protect the interests of the subcontractors. We monitor these bills closely throughout the session.
As it is known by now, on January 9th the Texas Sunset Commission voted to accept the recommendations and subsequent modifications for the TSBPE. Ultimately, they approve 7-5 to agree with the proposed move to TDLR, thereby abolishing TSBPE. This was not a final decision, but an “upholding” of the Sunset Staff recommendation.
What happens next? A bill will be drafted for both the House and the Senate. In those bills will be the recommendation to move to TDLR along with any other law changes that came from the report. A point to remember is, most of the recommendations in the report were actual management or rule change items, not law.
Once the bills are drafted, reviewed, and filed, they will go through the normal hearing and legislative processes. Senate Business and Commerce along with House Licensing & Regulation will be the arenas for testimony by the stakeholders.
What will PHCC do? We will work closely to provide input and industry opinions to the points of each bill. Next, we will provide testimony and support/non- support at the hearings in question. We will work diligently to inform all members of these two committees as to the industry’s feelings regarding TSBPE and a possible move to TDLR.
If the Sunset Bill is defeated, the agency will be placed in a “safety net” bill that will continue the agency until 9/1/2021. (This allows for the process of sunset to be rescheduled) If it is not placed in such, the agency will expire as of 9/1/19. And has a one-year wind down process.
The key legislative members who have influence know where the majority of plumbers stand. We thank all of you who have already reached out with your notes, emails, and phone calls. Believe me when I say, the plumbers are known in Austin!
What can you do right now? Continue to reach out to your legislators. Write or call them. Tell them what you want for your industry. Offer to be a resource as an expert in the trade. Explain what the licenses are and how it is important that the oversight of your license matter. Give concrete examples.
What do we do now? As of this writing, we wait. When the bills are filed, we will be ready to act. Please let us know what you think. Time is of the essence once the process begins.
