(a) In addition to complying with NFPA 58, §§4.4
and 11.2, individuals shall comply with the training and continuing
education requirements in this chapter.
(b) Applicants for new certificates, as set forth in §9.8
of this title (relating to Requirements and Application for a New
Certificate) and persons holding existing certificates or a Dispenser
Operations certificate exemption shall comply with the training or
continuing education requirements in this chapter. Any individual
who fails to comply with the training or continuing education requirements
by the assigned deadline may regain certification by paying the nonrefundable
course fee and satisfactorily completing an authorized training or
continuing education course within two years of the deadline. In addition
to paying the course fee, the person shall pay any fee or late penalties
to AFS.
(c) The training requirements apply to:
(1) applicants for Category D, E, F, G, I, J, K, or
M management-level certificates; and
(2) applicants for the following employee-level certifications:
(A) bobtail driver;
(B) DOT cylinder filler;
(C) recreational vehicle technician;
(D) service and installation technician;
(E) appliance service and installation technician;
and
(F) motor/mobile fuel filler.
(d) The continuing education requirements apply to
the following individuals:
(1) Category D, E, F, G, I, J, K, and M management-level
certificate holders;
(2) any ultimate consumer who has purchased, leased,
or obtained other rights in any LP-gas bobtail, including any employee
of such ultimate consumer if that employee drives or in any way operates
the equipment on an LP-gas bobtail;
(3) individuals holding the following employee-level
certifications:
(A) bobtail driver;
(B) DOT cylinder filler;
(C) recreational vehicle technician;
(D) service and installation technician;
(E) appliance service and installation technician;
and
(F) motor/mobile fuel filler; and
(4) individuals holding a Dispenser Operations certificate
exemption.
(e) The training and continuing education requirements
do not apply to an individual who:
(1) drives or fuels a motor vehicle powered by LP-gas
as an ultimate consumer;
(2) fuels motor vehicles as an employee of an ultimate
consumer;
(3) is employed by a state agency, county, municipality,
school district, or other governmental subdivision;
(4) holds a general installers and repairman exemption;
or
(5) holds a management or employee-level certification
not specified in subsection (c) or (d) of this section.
(f) Except as provided in §9.41(b) of this title
(relating to Testing of LP-Gas Systems in School Facilities), each
individual who performs LP-gas activities as an employee of an ultimate
consumer or a state agency, county, municipality, school district,
or other governmental subdivision shall be properly supervised by
his or her employer. Any such individual who is not certified by the
Commission to perform such LP-gas activities shall be properly trained
by a competent person in the safe performance of such LP-gas activities.
(g) Individual credit. Successful completion of any
required training or continuing education course shall be credited
to and accrue to the individual.
(h) No partial credit. Individuals attending courses
shall receive credit only if they attend the entire course and pay
any training or continuing education course fees in full. The Commission
shall not award partial credit for partial attendance.
(i) Schedules. Dates and locations of available AFS
LP-gas training and continuing education courses can be obtained on
the Commission's web site. AFS courses shall be conducted in Austin
and in other locations around the state. Individuals or companies
may request in writing that AFS courses be taught in their area. AFS
shall schedule courses at its discretion.
(j) Course registration and scheduling.
(1) Registering for a course. To register for a scheduled
training or continuing education course, an individual shall complete
the online registration process at least seven days prior to the course.
(2) Costs for courses.
(A) Each registration for a training course shall require
the payment of the applicable nonrefundable course fee as follows:
(i) $75 for an eight-hour course;
(ii) $150 for the 16-hour Category F, G, I, and J course;
and
(iii) $750 for the 80-hour Category E course.
(B) The course fees do not include the license or rules
examination fees described in §9.6 and §9.10 of this title
(relating to License Categories, Container Manufacturer Registration,
and Fees, and Rules Examination, respectively).
(C) Current certificate holders who have paid the annual
renewal fee and who want to add a new certification other than Category
E, F, G, I or J shall not be required to pay the $75 course fee.
(D) Continuing education courses shall be offered at
no charge to certificate holders who have timely paid the annual certificate
renewal fee specified in §9.9 of this title (relating to Requirements
for Certificate Holder Renewal).
(E) Requests for courses where no training or continuing
education course credit is given shall be submitted in writing to
the AFS training section. The AFS training section may conduct the
requested courses at its discretion. The nonrefundable fee for a non-credit
course is $250 if no overnight expenses are incurred by the AFS training
section, or $500 if overnight expenses are incurred. AFS may waive
the fee for a non-credit course in cases where the Commission recovers
the cost of the course from another source, such as a grant.
(F) AFS may charge reasonable fees for materials for
courses using third-party materials.
(3) If any course has fewer than eight individuals
registered within seven calendar days prior to the course, AFS may
cancel the course and may reschedule the registered individuals in
another course agreed upon by the individuals and the AFS training
section. The AFS training section reserves the right to determine
the number of course registrants.
(4) If a previously registered individual is unable
to attend the course at the time and place for which the individual
is registered due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances, another
individual from the same company may attend that same course in his
or her place.
(5) Applicants who take courses offered by an entity
other than AFS shall comply with the registration, fee, and other
requirements specified by that entity.
(k) An individual registered to take a course shall
bring the following items to the course site:
(1) a registration confirmation email or fax;
(2) proof of payment unless exempt from the course
fee; and
(3) documents required in §9.10(b) of this title
if one or more examinations will be taken.
(l) Individual applicants or certificate holders shall
be responsible for promptly notifying the AFS training section in
writing of any discrepancies or errors in the training or continuing
education records, and shall notify AFS of any discrepancies or errors
in examination records or certificates. In the event of a discrepancy,
AFS' records, including due dates, shall be deemed correct unless
the individual has copies of applicable documents which clarify the
discrepancy.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §9.51 adopted to be effective February 1, 2001, 26 TexReg 947; amended to be effective May 28, 2001, 26 TexReg 3742; amended to be effective August 25, 2003, 28 TexReg 6831; amended to be effective September 1, 2005, 30 TexReg 4810; amended to be effective March 1, 2006, 31 TexReg 843; amended to be effective February 1, 2008, 33 TexReg 138; amended to be effective December 24, 2012, 37 TexReg 9913; amended to be effective January 4, 2016, 41 TexReg 238; amended to be effective January 6, 2020, 45 TexReg 127; amended to be effective July 18, 2022, 47 TexReg 4119 |