The following words and terms have the following meanings as
used in this chapter:
(1) Act--Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1302, Air
Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors.
(2) Advertising or Advertisement--Any commercial message
which promotes the services of an air conditioning and refrigeration
contractor.
(3) Air conditioning and refrigeration subcontractor--A
person or firm who contracts with a licensed air conditioning contractor
for a portion of work requiring a license under the Act. The subcontractor
contracts to perform a task according to his own methods, and is subject
to the contractor's control only as to the end product or final result
of his work.
(4) Air conditioning or heating unit--A stand-alone
system with its own controls that conditions the air for a specific
space and does not require a connection to other equipment, piping,
or ductwork in order to function.
(5) Assumed name--As defined in the Business and Commerce
Code, Title 5, Chapter 71.
(6) Biomedical Remediation--The treatment of ducts,
plenums, or other portions of air conditioning or heating systems
by applying disinfectants, anti-fungal substances, or products designed
to reduce or eliminate the presence of molds, mildews, fungi, bacteria,
or other disease-causing organisms.
(7) Biomedical Testing--The inspection and sampling
of ducts, plenums, or other portions of air conditioning or heating
systems to test for the presence of molds, mildews, fungi, bacteria,
or other disease-causing organisms. The term does not include performing
any type of treatment or remediation.
(8) Boiler--As defined in Chapter 755 of the Health
and Safety Code.
(9) Business affiliation--The business organization
to which a licensee elects to assign his license.
(10) Career and technology education program--An educational
program, defined in §1302.5037(a)(1) of the Act, focused on air
conditioning and refrigeration and:
(A) offered by a public high school under Subchapter
F, Chapter 29, Education Code; or
(B) offered by a private high school or institution
of higher education and determined by the department to be similar
to a program described by subparagraph (A).
(11) Certification training program--A program of education
and training, defined in §1302.002(5-c)(B) of the Act and further
addressed in §75.122, accepted or approved by the department
and consisting of at least 2,000 hours of a combination of classroom
instruction and supervised practical experience.
(12) Certification training program provider--A person
providing or offering to provide a certification training program.
(13) Certified technician--A person granted an air
conditioning and refrigeration technician certification by the department
pursuant to §75.120, and §1302.5036 and §1302.5055
of the Act.
(14) Certified technician (legacy)--A person granted
a certified technician designation by the department pursuant to §75.28,
and §1302.508 of the Act, as continued by House Bill 3029 §18,
85th Leg., R.S. (2017).
(15) Cheating--Attempting to obtain, obtaining, providing,
or using answers to examination questions by deceit, fraud, dishonesty,
or deception.
(16) Cryogenics--Refrigeration that deals with producing
temperatures ranging from:
(A) -250 degrees F to Absolute Zero (-459.69 degrees
F);
(B) -156.6 degrees C to -273.16 degrees C;
(C) 116.5 degrees K to 0 degrees K; or
(D) 209.69 degrees R to 0 degrees R.
(17) Department--The Texas Department of Licensing
and Regulation.
(18) Design of a system--Making decisions on the necessary
size of equipment, number of grilles, placement and size of supply
and return air ducts, and any other requirements affecting the ability
of the system to perform the function for which it was designed.
(19) Direct supervision--Directing and verifying the
design, installation, construction, maintenance, service, repair,
alteration, or modification of an environmental air conditioning,
refrigeration, process cooling, or process heating product or equipment
to assure mechanical integrity. Verification may include, but is not
limited to:
(A) personal inspection of a job;
(B) reviewing a checklist or report completed by a
person who performed some or all of the work on a job; or
(C) reviewing an inspection report of the job made
by a municipal mechanical inspector.
(20) Employee--An individual who performs tasks assigned
by an employer, and who is subject to the employer's control in all
aspects of job performance, except that a licensed air conditioning
and refrigeration contractor remains responsible for all air conditioning
work he or she performs. An employee's wages are subject to deduction
of federal income taxes and social security payments. An employee
may be full time, part time, or seasonal. Simultaneous employment
with a temporary employment agency, a staff leasing agency, or other
employer does not affect an employee's status for the purpose of this
chapter.
(21) Executive Director--The executive director of
the department.
(22) Full time employee--An employee who is present
on the job either 40 hours a week, or at least 80% of the time the
company is offering air conditioning and refrigeration contracting
services to the public, whichever is less.
(23) In-person supervision--Supervision of air conditioning
and refrigeration maintenance work provided while physically present
at the same location as the person being supervised.
(24) Institution of higher education--An "institution
of higher education" or a "private or independent institution of higher
education," as those terms are defined by §61.003, Education
Code.
(25) Licensee--An individual holding a contractor's
license of the class and endorsement appropriate to the work performed
under the Act and this chapter.
(26) Offering to perform--Making a written or oral
proposal, contracting in writing or orally to perform air conditioning
and refrigeration work, or advertising in any form through any medium
that a person or business entity is an air conditioning and refrigeration
contractor, or that implies in any way that a person or business entity
is available to contract for or perform air conditioning and refrigeration
work.
(27) Permanent office--Any location, which must be
identified by a street address, or other data identifying a rural
location, from which a person or business entity conducts the business
of an air conditioning and refrigeration contracting company. A location
not open to the public, or not located within the state, may serve
as a permanent office so long as the department and consumers have
access to the licensee required by §1302.252 of the Act to be
employed in each permanent office.
(28) Portable--Able to be easily transported and readily
used as an entire system, without need for dismantling or assembly
in whole or in part, or addition of parts, components, or accessories.
(29) Primary process medium--A refrigerant or other
primary process fluid that is classified in the current ANSI/ASHRAE
Standard 34 as Safety Group A1, A2, B1, or B2. Safety Groups A3 and
B3 refrigerants are specifically excluded.
(30) Proper installation, and service--Installing,
servicing, repairing, and maintaining air conditioning and refrigeration
equipment in accordance with:
(A) applicable municipal ordinances and codes adopted
by a municipality where the installation occurs;
(B) the applicable edition of the Uniform Mechanical
Code as adopted under §75.110; or the applicable edition of the
International Mechanical Code as adopted under §75.110 and International
Fuel Gas Code, in areas where no code has been adopted; or the International
Residential Code, as applicable;
(C) the manufacturer's specifications and instructions;
and
(D) all requirements for safety and the proper performance
of the function for which the equipment or product was designed.
(31) Registrant--A person who is registered with the
department as a technician under the Act and this chapter.
(32) Repair work--Diagnosing and repairing problems
with air conditioning, commercial refrigeration, or process cooling
or heating equipment, and remedying or attempting to remedy the problem.
Repair work does not mean simultaneous replacement of the condensing
unit, furnace, and evaporator coil.
(33) Self-contained--Constructed so that all required
parts, components, and accessories of the air conditioning or heating
system are included within the same enclosure.
(34) System balancing--A process of adjusting, regulating,
or proportioning air distribution equipment or any activity beyond
system testing.
(35) System testing--Assessing or measuring the performance
of the air distribution equipment or air conditioning and refrigeration
duct system through equipment that can be attached externally to the
system. Testing does not include opening, adjusting, or balancing
equipment or ducts or any activity beyond assessing the system through
the use of external equipment. Testing does not include testing fire
and smoke dampers.
(36) Total replacement of a system--Simultaneous replacement
of the condensing unit, the evaporator coil, the furnace, if applicable,
and the air handling unit, or replacement of a package system.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §75.10 adopted to be effective July 21, 1999, 24 TexReg 5469; amended to be effective December 5, 1999, 24 TexReg 10857; amended to be effective March 7, 2001, 26 TexReg 1833; amended to be effective November 5, 2001, 26 TexReg 8814; amended to be effective March 27, 2002, 27 TexReg 2225; amended to be effective December 1, 2003, 28 TexReg 10465; amended to be effective September 1, 2004, 29 TexReg 8282; amended to be effective August 1, 2006, 31 TexReg 5944; amended to be effective December 31, 2007, 32 TexReg 9963; amended to be effective April 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 1975; amended to be effective May 15, 2017, 42 TexReg 2337; amended to beeffective May 1, 2018, 43 TexReg 2401; amended to be effective September 1, 2024, 49 TexReg 6449 |
