NUCA Texas Announces Passage of HB 2334
This legislative session, NUCA Texas worked with State Representative DeWayne Burns and State Senator Angela Paxton to pass HB 2334, which eliminates the requirement that a licensed plumber perform the installation, service or repair of service mains or service lines that provide water, sewer, or storm drainage services on private property up to five feet of a building or structure. This is a huge win for utility contractors and eliminates the need to hire or contract with a licensed plumber to do this work. The Texas Legislature recognized that utility contractors are highly trained professionals who do not need to be overseen by plumbers to perform this work.
The Texas Municipal Association, which represents 1,1174 cities across Texas, included the following information about HB 2334 in the legislative session wrap up that it sent to its members:
H.B. 2334 (Burns/Paxton) – Plumbers: this bill provides that: (1) a person is not required to be licensed under the plumbing licensing law to perform plumbing work consisting of installing, servicing, or repairing service mains or service lines that provide water, sewer, or storm drainage services on private property in an area that extends from a public right-of-way or public easement to not less than five feet from a building or structure; and (2) the exemption to licensure in (1), above, does not apply to plumbing work performed on private property designated for use as a one-family or two-family dwelling. (Effective Sept. 1, 2023.)
Chairman Burns also drafted this letter, which was sent to the Texas Municipal Association, the Texas City Managers Association, and the Texas Municipal Utilities Association, to educate those organizations and their members about the bill and its intent.
HB 2334 went into effect on Sept. 1. If any municipalities are still requiring you to have a licensed plumber to get a permit to perform this work described in the bill, please reach out to Alan Burrows, NUCA’s lobbyist in Austin, at 512-478-8396.
