My Hopes for the Future of TSBPE

• Richmond Goolsby RMP#36524

        www.rg-services.org

These are some of my thoughts. Some of them are more informed and some are less informed. I am not infallible in these thoughts. This is only intended to be a contribution to the conversation. Take what is worthy and leave the rest behind. I don’t have time to debate and my voice is only a small one in the midst of many. I will not entertain any comments that are unkind to anyone but welcome constructive thoughts.  I hope this helps our industry. 

Objective #1 - Prove Effectiveness to Consumers

Every Texas Citizen is a consumer of TSBPE who is worthy of being served well. Administrative/Organizational Leadership is needed. I do not oppose current TSBPE leadership. I believe they know the plumbing side of the Board. Moreover, there needs to be someone with organizational leadership expertise to come alongside us in some way to prove TSBPE’s value to consumers.

• Greater efficiency with resources - it is not enough to ask for budgetary infusion. The Board must also find ways to become more efficient with what they have by making internal adjustments. Some of my thoughts below can help with this issue.
• Retain more revenue - TSBPE should be granted budgetary expansion. The role of a state agency is not to turn a profit. Currently, Texas government is profiting approximately $2.5 million on TSBPE (roughly 100% profit margin on $2.5 million revenue). This must be restructured. 
• Keep RMP - This designates a knowledgable plumber as responsible for the quality of work being performed. This work impacts the health of Texans daily. This allows a Master Plumber to either maintain the expenses of being RMP (licensing fee, general liability insurance) or to alleviate the added expenses while continuing as a Master. 
• Eliminate mandatory RMP class - It is not the government’s role in American society to teach someone how to run a business. While these classes may be helpful to some, it is the type of government overreach that distracts TSBPE from their sole purpose which is protecting the rights of Texans.
• Improve/Eliminate new classes - the recently required 24/48 hour classes for training should either be improved or eliminated. I appreciate the intention of such classes and don’t mean any insult but after taking 3 classes from 3 different providers, there needs to be more influence from those experienced in pedagogy. 
• Communicate dangers of unsafe plumbing - Demonstration videos for cross connections, carbon monoxide exhaust poisoning, gas line dangers, water heater explosions, medical gas, sewer gas dangers should be made public for easy distribution on social media. The imperatives of clean drinking water and sanitary wastewater disposal as foundational for any developed society should be communicated widely.  
• Expand testing centers around state - approve licensed examiners in strategic locations around the state with qualified individuals. This will decrease exam waiting periods and increase overall efficiency for consumers.

Objective #2 - Protect the Rights of Texans

The primary role of government is to protect the free exercise of citizen’s rights. These rights articulated in the United States Constitution include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This protection is provided by legislation and enforcement of laws which punish those who threaten the rights of others. Unsafe plumbing should be illegal plumbing because the doers of illegal plumbing threaten the rights of other law abiding citizens. 

• Fingerprinting - with the privilege of a state license comes the responsibility of accountability. The assumed expectation of taxpayers providing for a state agency which endorses the minimal quality standards of licensed plumbers is that these plumbers are safe. Plumbers enter the most intimate places in peoples homes. Not only should the quality of their workmanship be safe but they should also be safe people.
• Keep fortified licensing requirements - inefficient bureaucracy should not hinder licensing but it should not be easier to be licensed. The current minimum requirements are minimal enough when one considers the enormous health risks involved with unsafe plumbing.
• Eliminate Drain Cleaner Restricted, Drain Cleaner, Residential Utilities Installer certifications - a licensed Tradesman can perform these duties under current statute. The 4,000 hour prerequisite (approx. 2 years) for the Tradesman is a minimal amount of time. A person with less training and experience than 2 years should not be working on plumbing systems without direct supervision. 
• Retain statutory requirements for direct supervision - qualified people get licensed. Licensed plumbers are qualified. Unlicensed workers need direct supervision because they are not yet qualified to perform safe plumbing work. 
• Keep practical exam - licensed examiners are needed to assess practical components of the exam. Unqualified administrators of exams do not have sufficient knowledge to evaluate proper plumbing skills. 
• Update written exam - current testing is woefully outdated. A 5-6 member committee should be commissioned. They need knowledge in both plumbing and psychometrics. 
• Update practical portions of exam - Basic pipefitting skills such as black iron pipe, copper, and PVC are still important skills that cannot be tested any other way. Newer technology including PEX, CSST, tankless water heaters should be considered. The DWV system as piped in the “dollhouse” is still essential to basic plumbing knowledge and there is no better way to test this knowledge.
• Authorize Field Investigators to enforce stronger consequences for unlicensed plumbing - current enforcement lacks penal authority. While fines can be assessed, there should be stricter legal ramifications upon those who break state law.  
• Focus on higher risk violations - it appears to many that people doing illegal work are getting away with too much. It appears to many that plumbers trying to work within legal parameters are hassled with bureaucratic minutiae.   
• Background checks - this responsibility has been entrusted to TSBPE by taxpayers. The dismally low percentage of applicants actually background checked must be reversed immediately. We cannot depend upon people who have been convicted of crimes to self report. This is one of the essential duties of TSBPE to protect citizens. 

Objective #3 - Help the supply side of qualified labor

Prevention is the best cure. TSBPE can help keep Texans safe by empowering the industry more on the entry side of plumbers. There is a shortage of plumbers (although not for the reasons our opponents speculate) and we can help with the supply of qualified plumbers. Opponents of TSBPE want to increase supply at the cost of trade integrity. We can help maintain safe plumbing practices and increase labor supply with at least the following. 

• Promote plumbing education - work with high school trade programs for educational incentives into the plumbing trade. Work with colleges and trade schools to provide work/classroom experience towards qualifying for exams. Provide testimonies of successful plumbers working for the health of the nation. Produce promotional videos that can be shared on social media and in schools. 
• Communicate with Colleges already pursuing degrees/certifications - cultivate relationships with those schools seeking to educate future plumbers. Higher education is a business. The market is ripe for degrees in the building trades. Institutions of higher learning have financial incentive to expand these programs. If done properly this will also help validate the value of our trade to the public. TSBPE has an opportunity to develop the higher education aspect of plumbing with quality knowledge. 
• Improve CE - many plumbers view CE as a necessity which is not quantifiably enriching. This course should provide innovative education for plumbers. It should be exciting and filled with transformative material for one of the most important vocations in our society. 
• Ambassador type position for promotion of industry - this person can go to “college day” events, trade conventions, and supply houses to promote a closer relationship with consumers. A smiling face and a solid handshake to prove the value of licensed plumbing in Texas. 
• Allow emergency status for test taking during disasters - we must not allow our state to be flooded with unsafe plumbing labor during times of dire need. Unscrupulous workers often pursue vulnerable customers in disasters and create conditions worse than the previous damage. We can welcome others to help us in times of disasters and verify they are qualified for the task at hand.  
• Allow previous Journeyman/Master holders to re-examine if lapsed - a previously qualified license holder should be allowed to retest for his/her previously held license without additional burdens. Bureaucracy must not stand in the way of getting qualified plumbers into the supply side of our plumbing economy. If a person who already has the experience and has held the license in previous years wants to return to the trade, then as was previous TSBPE practice that same person should be immediately scheduled for the previously held license.