1. (a) Each licensee shall have at least one company representative for the license and at least one operations supervisor for each outlet.

   1. (1) A licensee maintaining one or more outlets shall file LPG Form 1 with the Commission designating the company representative for the license and/or LPG Form 1A designating the operations supervisor for each outlet.
   2. (2) A licensee may have more than one company representative.
   3. (3) An individual shall be operations supervisor at only one outlet.
   4. (4) The company representative may also serve as operations supervisor for one of the licensee's outlets provided that the individual meets both the company representative and the operations supervisor requirements in this section.

   5. (5) A licensee shall immediately notify the Commission in writing upon termination, for whatever reason, of its company representative or any operations supervisor and shall at the same time designate a replacement by submitting a new LPG Form 1 for a new company representative or a new LPG Form 1A for a new operations supervisor.

      1. (A) A licensee shall cease all LP-gas activities if, at the termination of its company representative, there is no other qualified company representative of the licensee who has complied with the Commission's requirements. A licensee shall not resume LP-gas activities until such time as it has a properly qualified company representative or it has been granted an extension of time in which to comply as specified in subsection (e) of this section.
      2. (B) A licensee shall cease LP-gas activities at an outlet if, at the termination of its operations supervisor for that outlet, there is no other qualified operations supervisor at that outlet who has complied with the Commission's requirements. A licensee shall not resume LP-gas activities at that outlet until such time as it has a properly qualified operations supervisor or it has been granted an extension of time in which to comply as specified in subsection (e) of this section.

2. (b) Company representative. A company representative shall comply with the following requirements:

   1. (1) be an owner or employee of the licensed entity;
   2. (2) be the licensee's principal individual in authority and responsible for actively supervising all LP-gas activities conducted by the licensee, including all appliance, container, portable cylinder, product, and system activities;
   3. (3) have a working knowledge of the licensee's LP-gas activities to insure compliance with the LP-Gas Safety Rules;
   4. (4) pass the appropriate management-level rules examination and complete any required training specified in §9.52 of this title (relating to Training and Continuing Education Courses), or in the case of an applicant for a Category D license, obtain a General Installers and Repairman Exemption as specified in §9.13 of this title (relating to General Installers and Repairman Exemption);
   5. (5) comply with the work experience or training requirements in subsection (e) of this section, if applicable;
   6. (6) be directly responsible for all employees performing their assigned LP-gas activities, unless an operations supervisor is fulfilling this requirement; and
   7. (7) submit any additional information as deemed necessary by the Commission.

3. (c) Operations supervisors. An operations supervisor shall comply with the following requirements:

   1. (1) be an owner or employee of the licensee;
   2. (2) pass the applicable management-level rules examination and complete any required training specified in §9.52 of this title (relating to Training and Continuing Education Courses) or, in the case of a Category D license only, obtain a General Installers and Repairman Exemption as specified in §9.13 of this title (relating to General Installers and Repairman Exemption), before commencing or continuing the licensee's LP-gas activities at the outlet; and
   3. (3) be directly responsible for actively supervising the LP-gas activities of the licensee at the designated outlet.

4. (d) Category P licensees. The company representative requirement for a Category P licensee may be satisfied by employing a Category E or J licensee company representative if the Category E or J company representative:

   1. (1) is an employee of the Category P licensee; and
   2. (2) is authorized by the Category P licensee to assign and supervise the LP-gas activities of any employee, including removing any employee who does not comply with the LP-Gas Safety Rules or who performs any unsafe LP-gas activities.
5. (e) Work experience substitution for Category E and I. The assistant director may, upon written request, allow a conditional qualification for a Category E or I company representative or operations supervisor who passes the applicable management-level rules examination provided that the individual attends and successfully completes the next available Category E or I training course, or one agreed on by the assistant director and the applicant. The written request shall include a description of the individual's LP-gas experience and other related information in order that the assistant director may properly evaluate the request. If the individual fails to complete the training requirements within the time granted by the assistant director, the conditional qualification shall immediately be voided and the conditionally qualified company representative or operations supervisor shall immediately cease all LP-gas activities. Applicants for company representative or operations supervisor who have less than three years' experience or experience which is not applicable to the category for which the individual is applying shall not be granted a conditional qualification and shall comply with the training requirements in §9.52 of this title (relating to Training and Continuing Education Courses) prior to the Commission issuing a certificate.

Source Note:The provisions of this §9.17 adopted to be effective February 1, 2001, 26 TexReg 947.