1. (a) Before a Master Plumber acts as a Responsible Master Plumber, the Master Plumber must complete a Board approved training program which includes laws and rules applicable to the operation of a plumbing business in this state, as required by §1301.3576 of the Plumbing License Law.

   1. (1) The requirements of this section do not apply to a Responsible Master Plumber who, on or before January 1, 2012, provides the Board with a Certificate of Insurance that meets the requirements of Board Rule §367.3 (relating to Requirements for Plumbing Companies, Responsible Master Plumbers; Certificate of Insurance); and
   2. (2) that is effective on January 1, 2012.

2. (b) The training program required under subsection (a) of this section, must be a minimum of 24 hours in length and include instruction in the following subjects applicable to the operation of a plumbing business in this state:

   1. (1) finance;
   2. (2) legal;
   3. (3) local, state and federal rules and regulations;
   4. (4) insurance/bonds, including workman's compensation insurance;
   5. (5) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements awareness; and
   6. (6) customer service.
3. (c) The Board will approve only Course Providers and Course Instructors who are approved to provide and instruct Continuing Professional Education (CPE) courses, under Board Rule §365.14 (relating to Continuing Professional Education Programs), to provide and instruct the classroom training required by this section, except that an approved Course Provider may utilize another government and/or education entity to provide the instruction through the approved Course Provider.

4. (d) Course Providers and Course Instructors may be approved to provide the classroom training required under this section without submitting a separate application in addition to the application required to be approved to provide and instruct CPE, under Board Rule §365.14.

   1. (1) Any Course Provider or Course Instructor whose approval to provide or instruct CPE courses under Board Rule §365.14 is suspended or revoked for any reason, is not approved to provide or instruct the classroom training required under this section.
   2. (2) Course Providers and Course Instructors shall adhere to the instruction criteria in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, and ensure that any individual who receive the specified number of contact hours of instruction (excluding any time spent on breaks from instruction) receive credit for completing the training required by this section.
   3. (3) Course Providers or Course instructors shall provide notice of intent to conduct training required by this section, in the same manner required by Board Rule §365.14(b)(10).
   4. (4) Course Instructors shall abide by the same standards of conduct described in Board Rule §365.14(c), when providing the training required by this section. (5) Course providers shall limit the number of students of any class to forty-five (45).

5. (e) The training required by this section may be provided in increments, as appropriate, and the Course Provider or Course Instructor shall provide a certificate of completion to the individual for each increment completed.

   1. (1) The certificate of completion shall state:

      1. (A) the names of the Course Provider and Course Instructor;
      2. (B) the name and license number of the individual;
      3. (C) the specific instruction and number of hours completed; and
      4. (D) the date that the increment of instruction was completed.
   2. (2) The Course Provider shall maintain a record of the information contained on each certificate of completion for at least six years.

6. (f) Prior to the date that the Master Plumber begins acting as a Responsible Master Plumber, the Master Plumber shall submit to the Board:

   1. (1) a certificate or certificates of completion of the training required by this section; and
   2. (2) a Certificate of Insurance as required by Board Rule §367.3.
7. (g) Providing false certificates of completion or any other false information to the Board may result in disciplinary action, as provided by the Plumbing License Law, Board Rules or other laws of this state.

Source Note:The provisions of this §363.13 adopted to be effective February 6, 2012, 37 TexReg 487; amended to be effective February 14, 2013, 38 TexReg 641; amended to be effective November 24, 2014, 39 TexReg 9205.