1. (a) A company or person advertising or otherwise offering to perform plumbing or provide plumbing must secure the services of at least one Responsible Master Plumber holding a current Master Plumber License.

   1. (1) Only a company or person which has secured the services of a Responsible Master Plumber as required by this Section, may:

      1. (A) advertise or otherwise offer or agree to perform plumbing or provide plumbing to the public; or
      2. (B) contract or agree to perform plumbing or provide plumbing with the public.
      3. (C) For the purposes of this Section, "public" means any person other than Responsible Master Plumbers or companies which have secured the services of Responsible Master Plumbers.
   2. (2) A Responsible Master Plumber shall not allow any person, firm, company, or corporation to use his or her Master Plumber License for any purpose unless the Master Plumber is a bona fide employee of the person, firm, company, or corporation or is the owner of the firm, company, or corporation that will use the master plumber's license.
   3. (3) A Master Plumber may act as the Responsible Master Plumber for only one such person, company, firm, or corporation.
   4. (4) The Responsible Master Plumber shall be knowledgeable of and responsible for all permits, contracts, and agreements to perform plumbing work secured and plumbing performed under his or her Master Plumber License.

   5. (5) All plumbing performed under the license of the Responsible Master Plumber, other than that performed in accordance with §365.1 of these Rules by a Drain Cleaner-Restricted Registrant, Drain Cleaner or Residential Utilities Installer, shall be under the on-the-job direct supervision of a licensed plumber who is under written contract with, a bona fide employee of, or the owner of the firm, company, or corporation using the Responsible Master Plumber's License.

      1. (A) A licensed plumber, whether as an employee or under contract as provided by (a)(5) of this Section, may only perform plumbing under contracts or agreements to perform plumbing secured by the Responsible Master Plumber.
      2. (B) All vehicles used in conjunction with plumbing by an employee or a licensed plumber under contract, must be marked with the Responsible Master Plumber's license number and company name, in the same manner as required in §367.4 of these Rules.
      3. (C) The Responsible Master Plumber is subject to all requirements and responsibilities set forth by the Plumbing License Law and Board Rules, whether or not the plumbing was performed by an employee or a licensed plumber under contract.

   6. (6) Prior to acting as a Responsible Master Plumber as defined in these Rules, a Master Plumber shall furnish the Board with a certificate of insurance using a Certificate of Insurance form provided by the Board. The certificate of insurance must:

      1. (A) be written by a company licensed to do business in this state;
      2. (B) provide for commercial general liability insurance for the Master Plumber for claims for property damage or bodily injury, regardless of whether the claim arises from a negligence claim or on a contract claim;
      3. (C) be in a coverage amount of not less than $300,000 for all claims arising in any one-year period;
      4. (D) state the name and license number of the Master Plumber for whom the coverage is provided;
      5. (E) state the name of the plumbing company for which the Master Plumber is acting as the Responsible Master Plumber.
   7. (7) Insurance coverage specified in paragraph (6) of this section, shall be maintained at all times during which a Master Plumber acts as a Responsible Master Plumber.
   8. (8) The Certificate of Insurance form expires on the date that the insurance coverage, specified in paragraph (6) of this section, expires.
   9. (9) The Responsible Master Plumber shall furnish the Board with a completed Certificate of Insurance form not later than 10 days after the expiration of the previously furnished Certificate of Insurance form.
   10. (10) Each written contract for plumbing services by the licensed Responsible Master Plumber shall contain the Responsible Master Plumber's License number, the Board's name, mailing address and telephone number. The term "written contract" includes documents used by a plumber or plumbing company to define the scope and cost of the work to be provided to the public. This would include items such as service invoices, billing invoices or any document which defines the services and cost of the services provided to the consumer. For the purposes of this section, the public need not sign the document for it to be considered a contract.

2. (b) A company or person offering to install pipe used solely to transport gases for medical purposes must first secure the services of at least one Responsible Master Plumber that holds a current Master Plumber License that contains a current Medical Gas Installation Endorsement issued by the Board to be responsible for the installation of all pipe used solely to transport gases for medical purposes installed by that company and permits required to install the piping.

   1. (1) The Responsible Master Plumber with the Medical Gas Installation Endorsement shall be responsible for generally supervising any individuals involved in the installation of pipe used solely to transport gases for medical purposes installed by that company and ensuring that all medical gas pipe assembly, brazing, and installation of required pipe markings is performed only by a Licensed Plumber holding a current Medical Gas Installation Endorsement issued by the Board.
   2. (2) The relationship between the Master Plumber and the company or person using the Responsible Master Plumber's License with the Medical Gas Installation Endorsement must be as defined in subsection (a) of this section.

Source Note:The provisions of this §367.3 adopted to be effective August 25, 1993, 18 TexReg 5400; amended to be effective June 2, 1994, 19 TexReg 3932; amended to be effective June 7, 1996, 21 TexReg 4689; amended to be effective April 9, 1998, 23 TexReg 3447; amended to be effective January 30, 2001, 26 TexReg 976; amended to be effective December 30, 2001, 26 TexReg 10592; amended to be effective August 11, 2004, 29 TexReg 7703; amended to be effective October 30, 2007, 32 TexReg 7689.