SECTION 9.51. General Requirements for LP-Gas Training and Continuing Education

(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.

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