HBA-CMT H.B. 2984 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2984 By: Corte Licensing & Administrative Procedures 3/26/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractor License Law (law) provides for an air conditioning and refrigeration contractor license. A person who works on air conditioning or heating systems and is not otherwise exempted by the law, must work under the supervision of a licensed contractor. House Bill 2984 creates a technician license, which allows the license holder to perform unsupervised work on systems for which the person holds a specific license endorsement. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the commissioner of licensing and regulation in SECTION 3 (Article 8861, V.T.C.S.) of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 2984 amends the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractor License Law to establish a technician license and that unless a person is exempted, that person is prohibited from performing air conditioning and refrigeration contracting or act as a technician without an appropriate license. The bill provides that a technician license must be endorsed with one or more specified endorsements. The bill requires the commissioner of licensing and regulation (commissioner) to prescribe a separate examination for each endorsement. The bill provides that an applicant for a technician license must pass an examination relating to the endorsement for which application is made, register with the commissioner, and have at least two years' experience installing, servicing, or repairing environmental air conditioning, commercial refrigeration, or process cooling or heating systems, or complete a training program approved by the commissioner and have at least one year of the specified experience. The bill establishes a technician license holder to install, service, or repair only the type of system for which the license is endorsed. The commissioner is required to adopt rules as necessary to implement the provisions of the bill. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.