KEY TAKEAWAYS: Revised bill keeps Louisiana State Plumbing Board intact Training requirements for plumbers would be significantly reduced Senate committee removed plan allowing journeymen independent work Trade groups warn reduced training could threaten public health   Legislation to o verhaul the way plumbers are licensed in Louisiana underwent significant changes Wednesday from a previous version that sought to dissolve the profession’s regulatory board. The latest update to House Bill 953, sponsored by Rep. Bryan Fontenot, R-Thibodaux, still greatly reduces the number of hours required to train for a plumber’s license, but it keeps the Louisiana State Plumbing Board, which issues those licenses, largely intact with a few caveats. An earlier version of the bill that passed the House would have folded the board and transferred its powers, funds and staff to the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors. At Wednesday’s hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, lawmakers revised the measure at the request of plumber unions and trade groups — and despite opposition from Fontenot. “I think that it’s more reasonable in the state to have one agency that manages all licensed contractors, from electricians to plumbers to builders of bridges and roads. They should all be under one board,” Fontenot said in a post-meeting interview. Under the revised bill, the plumbing board would retain its independence and autonomy, but it would need to add two general contractors. The board would also have to remove its seat currently filled by a residential plumber, changing its total roster from 11 members to 12. The governor would still appoint all of the plumbing board members but would have to choose from a list of nominees provided by Associated Builders and Contractors of Louisiana and the Louisiana Home Builders Association for the two new seats. Fontenot is sponsoring the legislation with the backing of general contractors and builders who he says have experienced construction delays from a shortage of plumbers. The current on-the-job training requirements for a plumbing license are “excessive,” Fontenot said. Currently, the state plumbing board offers multiple licensing tiers for plumbers that each require a set number of hours of on-the-job training. A residential limited plumber license takes 4,000 hours, which is about two years on a full-time schedule. A journeyman license requires a minimum of 7,000 to 8,000 hours, which is about four years, and the passage of written and skills-based exams. A master plumber license, the top tier, can take even longer, and all other plumbers must work under the employment and supervision of a licensed master plumber. Fontenot’s legislation would reduce the journeyman training requirement from four years to one year, and the master plumber training requirement would shrink from four years to 18 months. The bill’s earlier version would have allowed journeyman plumbers to work independently as self-employed business owners just like master plumbers can currently, but the Senate committee removed that provision. The latest revisions let master plumbers maintain their position at the top of the industry as the only self-employed plumbers in Louisiana. Trey Giglio, president of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors of Louisiana, an industry group that represents union and non-union plumbers, said he was thankful the committee adopted the new revisions, but he still isn’t happy with the legislation. His primary concerns are that the low training requirements could  jeopardize public health and set up inexperienced plumbers for failure. “Everybody agrees we need more plumbers … [but] it’s not a regulatory issue,” Giglio said. Fontenot’s bill heads to the Senate floor for consideration, and it would have to return to the House of Representatives for approval of the Senate-side changes. ...read more read less