Relating to the procedure for a hearing by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation on the denial of an electrician's license or disciplinary action against an electrician.
Summary
SB 764 makes a narrow procedural change to the Texas Occupations Code governing electrician licensing matters. It amends Section 1305.253(b) to provide that proceedings involving the denial of an electrician’s license or disciplinary action against an electrician are governed by Chapter 2001 of the Government Code, Texas’s Administrative Procedure Act. The bill removes language that had allowed a hearing under this chapter to be conducted by a hearings officer designated by the commission.
The bill does not change the substantive grounds for denying, suspending, or disciplining an electrician’s license. Instead, it clarifies the hearing process and the administrative law framework that applies when the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation takes licensing or disciplinary action against an electrician. The change applies only to hearings that begin on or after September 1, 2025; hearings already underway before that date remain subject to prior law.
Impact
SB 764 affects the procedural rules for contested electrician licensing cases handled by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. By expressly tying these proceedings to Chapter 2001, Government Code, the bill places them under the state’s general administrative hearing procedures and removes the prior reference to a hearings officer designated by the commission. The practical effect is to standardize how these cases are heard and to clarify the governing process for applicants and licensees in the electrical trade, while leaving the underlying licensing standards unchanged.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been noncontroversial and broadly supported. It passed the Senate unanimously and cleared the House with overwhelming support, with no recorded opposition in either chamber. The absence of committee testimony in the provided materials also suggests there was little visible resistance or public dispute around the measure.
Contention
There is little evidence of substantive contention over SB 764. The only notable issue is the procedural shift away from a hearings officer designated by the commission and toward the general administrative procedure framework in Chapter 2001, which may matter to parties involved in electrician licensing disputes. However, the unanimous and near-unanimous votes indicate that any concerns about hearing structure, agency discretion, or administrative process were not significant enough to generate opposition.