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BILL UPDATE
The Senate Bill, SB1439, was passed by the State Senate on May 24, 2017. Two days later, on May 26, 2017, the House approved the Senate's version. The bill arrived at Governor Abbott's office on May 30, 2017. Governor Abbott has ten days to either approve or veto the bill. If does neither by the end of the ten day period, the bill with automatically become law.
As a review, here are the key points to this legislation and how it seeks to positively impact the HVAC industry in Texas:
**Becoming a certified technician is currently and will continue to be a voluntary process under the proposed amendments.
**TACCA desires to amend the definition and standards for achieving "certified technician" status in order to align the HVAC statute with Texas' "60x30TX" plan: By 2030, at least 60 percent of Texans ages 25-34 will have a certificate or degree. The amended technician certificate will indicate that those students who complete the HVAC training program in high school, an apprenticeship, community college, technical institute, or military training, have identifiable, marketable skills.
**The change will also align with SB 22 by Chairman Larry Taylor, the P-TECH schools model, by rewarding students who pursue an HVAC career and pass a TDLR competency exam with a higher level credential, than registered
technician.
**An approved training program will consist of at least 2,000 clock hours of a combination of instruction and practical experience in air conditioning and refrigeration-related work under the supervision of an instructor who is a certified teacher or a licensed air conditioning and refrigeration contractor.
**Training programs will be approved by TDLR and include high school programs such as P-TECH or other CTE programs, apprenticeship programs, community college or technical institute HVAC programs, military experience, or other on-the-job training.
**Students graduating from a 6-year P-TECH HVAC program, and who have passed a competency exam, will qualify to be certified technicians. Those students will also have completed HVAC internships while in school.
**A certified technician will have a faster path to contractor or HVAC business owner licensure than a registered technician, by 12 months.
**There are no proposed changes to the registered technician provisions, or to the exemption of installers from registration or certification.
**THIS IS NOT A NEW CERTIFICATE. There is currently a "certified technician" in the HVAC license law, but it has become diluted and is not widely utilized in the industry. This bill will make it meaningful in the industry.
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