HB 24-1344

House Bill 24-1344, which has been approved by the Governor and is now law, extends the State Plumbing Board's term for another eight years until September 1, 2032. It updates rules for plumbing professionals, such as allowing plumbers to work on water conditioning systems without additional registration and requiring contractors to display their license information prominently. The bill also removes outdated political affiliation requirements for board members and clarifies disciplinary actions against plumbers who violate laws or abuse substances. Some parts of the bill will take effect in July 2024, while others will start in July 2025. This affects plumbing professionals and anyone involved with plumbing regulations in Colorado.

Official Summary

The act implements recommendations of the department of regulatory agencies (DORA) in its 2023 sunset review of the state plumbing board (board). The act: Continues the board for 8 years to September 1, 2032; Authorizes the board to discipline plumbers who aid or abet a person in violating the plumbing practice act or other statutes that apply to plumbers; Removes the political affiliation requirement for the board, which requires that a major political party not have more than one member more than the other major political party; Clarifies that the licensed categories of plumbers, plumbing apprentices, and registered plumbing contractors can work on water conditioning systems without being required to register with the board as a water conditioning contractor, principal, or installer; Modernizes the term "journeyman" by changing it to "journeyworker" throughout the plumbing practice act, effective July 1, 2025; Modifies the license period for licenses issued or renewed on or after March 1, 2027, to be 3 years or as otherwise determined by the director of the division of professions and occupations in DORA (director); Modifies the grounds for discipline of a licensee regarding habitual or excessive use or abuse of controlled substances or alcohol and removes "substance use disorder" as a ground for discipline; Requires a plumbing contractor to display the plumbing contractor's and attached master plumber's registration information on the plumbing contractor's vehicle or in other locations and makes a plumbing contractor's failure to display the required information grounds for discipline; Repeals the requirement that the board send a letter of admonition by certified mail; Requires persons who are engaged in the business of installing, removing, inspecting, testing, and repairing backflow prevention devices to be licensed, except when installing or testing a stand-alone fire suppression sprinkler system; and Makes technical changes, including to replace the word "administrator" with the word "director" where appropriate and to replace references to "he or she" with gender-neutral terms. APPROVED by Governor June 3, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024 PORTIONS EFFECTIVE July 1, 2025(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)

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