HBA-CMT C.S.H.B. 196 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 196
By: Reyna, Arthur
Licensing & Administrative Procedures
3/29/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractor License Law
specifies the Standard Mechanical Code and the Uniform Mechanical Code as
the codes authorized for contractor licensing.  In 1996, a single family of
model codes known as the International Mechanical Code was published by the
International Code Council, an umbrella organization composed of
representatives from the Southern Building Code Congress International,
International Conference of Building Officials, and Building Officials and
Code Administrators International.  C.S.H.B. 196 replaces the Standard
Mechanical Code with the International Mechanical Code in the Air
Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractor License Law.  The bill replaces
the Standard Mechanical Code with the International Mechanical Code in the
list of guidelines that contractors must comply with and the commissioner
of licensing and regulation must follow when adopting rules for the
practice of air conditioning and refrigeration contracting. 

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 2 (Article 8861 V.T.C.S.) of this bill. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 196 amends the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractor
License Law to delete the Standard Mechanical Code from the list of
mechanical integrity standards that contractors must comply with in the
installation of products, systems, and equipment and add the International
Mechanical Code to the list.  The bill also deletes the Standard Mechanical
Code and adds the International Mechanical Code to the guidelines that the
commissioner of licensing and regulation must follow when adopting rules
for the practice of air conditioning and refrigeration contracting.     

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 196 provides that the mechanical integrity standards must comply
with both the Uniform Mechanical Code and the International Mechanical
Code, rather than either of them.