1.4 Enforcement, Disciplinary Action, & Penalties

1.4 Enforcement, Disciplinary Action, & Penalties

Core Principle: The TSBPE examination review course names the exact statutes and rules a Journeyman candidate must study: Plumbing License Law Sections 1301.351, 1301.356, 1301.403, 1301.404, 1301.452, 1301.502, 1301.508, 1301.701, and 1301.702, together with Board Rules 361.1, 365.1, 367.2, 367.4, 367.5, and 367.7. Sections 1.1 and 1.2 covered licensing categories, scope, and the RMP designation. This section covers the enforcement provisions — the part of the law that decides what happens when the rules are broken.

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1. Section 1301.351 — License, Endorsement, or Registration Required

This is the foundation offense provision. Its structure is worth learning clause by clause because exam items are drawn straight from it.

• (a) A person other than a responsible master plumber may not engage in plumbing unless the person holds the proper license, registration, or endorsement and the person's work is supervised and controlled by a person licensed under the chapter. Both conditions, not either.
• (a-1) A person may not act as a responsible master plumber without the appropriate license and RMP requirements.
• (a-2) A person that advertises or otherwise offers to perform or provide plumbing must secure the services of an RMP.
• (b) Only a licensed plumbing inspector may serve as a plumbing inspector.
• (c) For new one- or two-family dwelling construction in an unincorporated area, the supervising license holder must have training and management responsibility for the work and must review and inspect it, but is not required to provide continuous or uninterrupted on-the-job oversight.
• (d) A license or registration holder shall carry the license or registration on his or her person while engaged in plumbing. Field representatives conduct on-site license checks.

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2. Section 1301.452 — Grounds for Disciplinary Action

A person is subject to discipline for violating the chapter, a Board order, or a Board rule. The statute expressly lists seven violations:

Ground 7 is the one candidates underestimate: a code violation is not merely a failed inspection, it is a statutory ground for action against your license. The Board may also use retesting procedures to determine whether grounds exist to suspend or revoke a credential for incompetence or a wilful violation.

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3. Citations, Criminal Penalties, and Administrative Penalties

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                  THREE ENFORCEMENT TRACKS IN CHAPTER 1301                |
|                                                                          |
|  1301.502  CITATION      -> A municipal plumbing inspector (within the   |
|                             municipality) or a water district plumbing   |
|                             inspector may issue a citation for conduct   |
|                             described by Section 1301.508.               |
|                                                                          |
|  1301.508  CRIMINAL      -> Offense to violate the chapter or a rule, to |
|                             work without the required credential, or to  |
|                             employ someone who lacks one.                |
|                             CLASS C MISDEMEANOR.                         |
|                                                                          |
|  1301.701/ ADMINISTRATIVE-> The Board may impose an administrative       |
|  1301.702                   penalty. NOT MORE THAN $5,000 PER VIOLATION. |
|                             Each day a violation continues or occurs is  |
|                             a SEPARATE violation.                        |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Section 1301.702(b) requires the penalty amount to be based on the seriousness of the violation (including the hazard created to public health, safety, or economic welfare), economic harm to property or the environment, history of previous violations, the amount necessary to deter, efforts made to correct the violation, and any other matter justice may require. The Board publishes a standardized penalty schedule built on those criteria.

Separately, Section 1301.504 allows the Board to bring an action in its own name to enjoin a person from violating the chapter, and it does not have to prove that no adequate remedy at law exists or that irreparable damage would result.

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4. Sections 1301.403 and 1301.404 — Staying Licensed

Renewal procedure (1301.403): licenses renew annually, and an expired credential cannot be used for work requiring it.

A person who held a Texas credential, moved to another state, and has practiced there under a current credential for the two years preceding application may obtain a new Texas credential without reexamination by paying twice the normal renewal fee.

Continuing professional education (1301.404): a license or endorsement holder must complete at least six hours of CPE annually, and three of those six hours must be in health protection, energy conservation, and water conservation. Only programs approved by the executive director count, and correspondence delivery is permitted where approved.

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5. Section 1301.356 — Medical Gas Piping Installation Endorsement

A person may not install pipe used solely to transport gas or vacuum for medical purposes unless the person is licensed as a master or journeyman plumber and holds the medical gas piping installation endorsement. Eligibility requires satisfactory performance on a separate examination. A plumbing inspector meeting Board requirements may hold the endorsement and inspect medical gas installations. Board Rule 367.7 places matching responsibility on the RMP: medical gas work performed under the company's license must be supervised by an RMP who holds the endorsement.

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6. Conduct Rules for RMPs and Plumbing Inspectors

Board Rule 367.5 — Responsibilities of the RMP

• A Master Plumber may act as the RMP of record for only one person at a time, and must notify the Board in writing of a change within ten business days.
• The RMP is responsible for all contracts and permits obtained under the license even when the permit task is delegated or the RMP did not personally sign the contract.
• The RMP must ensure that permits are obtained and inspections requested, that everyone performing work holds the correct credential, that a licensee is present providing direct supervision wherever registrants are working, and that service vehicles display the required information.

Board Rule 367.10 — Display and Disclosure

• Service vehicles: the company name and the RMP's license number, preceded by the letters M, MPL, or RMP, must appear on both sides of every service vehicle, in a contrasting color and letters and numbers at least two inches in height.
• Contracts, proposals, and invoices: the first page must carry, in at least twelve-point font, the RMP's first and last name, the RMP's license number, the phrase "regulated by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners," and the Board's mailing address, phone number, and website.
• Advertising: every advertisement soliciting plumbing business must state the RMP's license number, with narrow exceptions for national television, franchisor internet advertising, and non-visual media such as radio.

Board Rule 367.4 — Standards of Conduct for Plumbing Inspectors

• An inspector shall not have any financial or advisory interest in any plumbing company, and shall not represent that he or she works for the Board or the State unless that is actually true.
• An inspector may not inspect until proof of affiliation with a political subdivision is submitted to the Board.
• An inspector may accept compensation for an inspection only from the political subdivision with jurisdiction or a qualified plumbing inspection business under contract with it.
• Enforcement must be consistent and equitable to all persons, and the inspector's license number must appear on any inspection document, including green tags and correction notices.