H.B. No. 3744

	AN ACT
	relating to the regulation of water well drillers and water well
	pump installers.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 1901.051(a), Occupations Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The department[, with the advice of the council,] shall
	provide for the examination of license applicants [prepare
	licensing examinations].
	SECTION 2.  Section 1901.155, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1901.155.  LICENSE EXPIRATION[; RENEWAL].  [(a)]  A
	license issued under this chapter is valid for one or two years as
	determined by commission rule [expires annually.  On or before the
	license expiration date, a license holder must pay an annual
	renewal fee to the department].
	SECTION 3.  Section 1901.201, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1901.201.  EXAMINATION. The department may prepare,
	recognize, administer, or arrange for the administration of an
	examination required [shall offer examinations for a license] under
	this chapter.
	SECTION 4.  Section 1901.202(a), Occupations Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The department shall ensure that examinations are
	designed [design written examinations] to disqualify a person who
	lacks the necessary knowledge of drilling, of completion and
	plugging methods and techniques, and of groundwater formations to
	the extent that drilling by the person would create a serious risk
	of polluting fresh water.
	SECTION 5.  Section 1902.051(a), Occupations Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The department[, with the advice of the council,] shall
	provide for the examination of license applicants [prepare
	licensing examinations].
	SECTION 6.  Section 1902.155, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1902.155.  LICENSE EXPIRATION[; RENEWAL].  [(a)]  A
	license issued under this chapter is valid for one or two years as
	determined by commission rule [expires annually.  On or before the
	license expiration date, a license holder must pay an annual
	renewal fee to the department].
	SECTION 7.  Section 1902.201, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1902.201.  EXAMINATION. The department may prepare,
	recognize, administer, or arrange for the administration of an
	examination required [shall offer examinations for a license] under
	this chapter.
	SECTION 8.  Section 1902.202, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1902.202.  CONTENTS OF EXAMINATION. The department
	shall ensure that examinations are designed [design written
	examinations] to disqualify a person who lacks the knowledge of
	pump installation to the extent that pump installation by the
	person would create a serious risk of polluting fresh water.
	SECTION 9.  The following provisions of the Occupations Code
	are repealed:
	(1)  Section 1901.054;
	(2)  Section 1901.203;
	(3)  Section 1901.204;
	(4)  Section 1902.054; and
	(5)  Section 1902.203.
	SECTION 10.  Not later than January 1, 2024, the Texas
	Commission of Licensing and Regulation shall adopt rules to
	implement the changes in law made by this Act to Chapters 1901 and
	1902, Occupations Code.
	SECTION 11.  Sections 1901.155 and 1902.155, Occupations
	Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a license issued under
	Chapter 1901 or 1902, Occupations Code, that expires on or after
	January 1, 2024.  A license issued under Chapter 1901 or 1902,
	Occupations Code, that expires before January 1, 2024, is governed
	by the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this
	Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 12.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 3744 was passed by the House on May 2,
	2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 131, Nays 14, 2 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 3744 was passed by the Senate on May
	24, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED:  _____________________
	Date
	_____________________
	Governor