(a) Course Materials--In preparation for the Continuing
Professional Education course year, which begins on July 1 of each
year, the Board will annually approve Course Materials to be used
for the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) required for renewal
of Journeyman Plumber, Master Plumber, Tradesman Plumber-Limited Licensee
and Plumbing Inspector Licenses. The CPE required for the renewal
of the aforementioned licenses, shall be accepted by the Board as
the mandatory training required under §1301.404 of the Plumbing
License Law for the renewal of Drain Cleaner, Drain Cleaner-Restricted
Registrant and Residential Utilities Installer registrations. The
Course Materials are the printed materials that are the basis for
a substantial portion of a CPE course and which are provided to the
Licensees and Registrants for use in the classroom, correspondence
courses and future reference by the Licensees and Registrants (students).
The provider of Course Materials, Course Provider and Course Instructor
shall encourage the student to retain the Course Materials for future
reference and shall not purchase the used Course Materials from the
student or otherwise offer any incentive to the student to not retain
the Course Materials. Board approval of Course Materials will be subject
to all of the terms and conditions of this Section. The following
minimum criteria will be used by the Board in considering approval
of Course Materials:
  (1) The Course Materials will provide the basis for
a minimum of six classroom hours of study. Three of the six hours
will be in the subjects of health protection, energy conservation
and water conservation, with the remaining three hours covering subjects
which shall include information concerning the Act, Board Rules, current
industry practices and codes, and subjects from lists of approved
subjects published by the Board.
  (2) The Board will periodically publish lists of approved
subjects.
  (3) The Course Materials must be presentations of relevant
issues and changes within the subject areas as they apply to the plumbing
practice in the current market or topics which increase or support
the Licensee's development of skill and competence.
  (4) The provider of the Course Materials must provide
the Course Materials, as needed, in correspondence course form to
comply with §1301.404(e) of the Act and subsection (b)(15)(L)
of this section, which are to be made available for at least three
(3) years or as necessary for renewal of an expired license.
  (5) The Course Materials may not advertise or promote
the sale of goods, products or services.
  (6) The draft version of the Course Materials must
be submitted electronically to the Board for approval. Upon Board
approval the final copies must be printed and distributed to students
in a bound version meeting the following minimum technical specifications
for printing and production:
    (A) Binding--Perfect or Metal Coiled,
    (B) Ink--Full Bleed Color,
    (C) Cover Material--80 Pound Gloss Paper,
    (D) Page Material--70 Pound
  (7) Course Materials will provide information stating
that the most current Board forms used for doing business with licensees,
registrants, and the public are available on the Board's website or
by mail upon request.
  (8) All Course Materials must have the following characteristics:

    (A) Correct grammar, spelling and punctuation,
    (B) Appropriate illustrations and graphics to show
concepts not easily explained in words, and
    (C) In depth and comprehensive presentation of subject
matter which increases or supports the skills or competence of the
Licensees and Registrants.
  (9) The provider of Course materials must have legal
ownership of or an appropriate license for the use of all copyrighted
material included within the Course materials. Board approved Course
materials will contain a prominently displayed approval statement
in 10 point bold type or larger containing the following language:
"THIS CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION COURSE MATERIAL HAS BEEN APPROVED
BY THE TEXAS STATE BOARD OF PLUMBING EXAMINERS FOR USE IN THE (state
year) CPE YEAR. BY ITS APPROVAL OF THIS COURSE MATERIAL, THE TEXAS
STATE BOARD OF PLUMBING EXAMINERS DOES NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY
FOR THE ACCURACY OF THE CONTENTS OF THE COURSE MATERIAL. FURTHER,
THE TEXAS STATE BOARD OF PLUMBING EXAMINERS IS NOT MAKING ANY DETERMINATION
THAT THE PARTY PUBLISHING THE COURSE MATERIALS HAS COMPLIED WITH ANY
APPLICABLE COPYRIGHT AND OTHER LAWS IN PUBLISHING THE COURSE MATERIAL
AND THE TEXAS STATE BOARD OF PLUMBING EXAMINERS DOES NOT ASSUME ANY
LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY THEREFOR. THE COURSE MATERIAL IS NOT BEING
PUBLISHED BY NOR IS IT A PUBLICATION OF THE TEXAS STATE BOARD OF PLUMBING
EXAMINERS."
  (10) The provider of Course Materials will conduct
instructor training in the use of Course Materials.
  (11) The provider of Course Materials will be required
to have distribution facilities that will ensure prompt distribution
of course materials, facsimile ordering and a statewide toll free
telephone number for placing orders. The provider of Course Materials
must ship any ordered material within ten business days after the
receipt of the order and payment for the course materials.
  (12) The Board shall annually approve only individuals,
businesses or associations to provide Course Materials. Any individual,
business or association who wishes to offer to provide Course Materials
shall apply to the Board for approval using application forms prepared
by the Board. In order to be approved, the application must satisfy
the Board as to the ability of the individual, business or association
to provide quality Course Materials as required in this section and
must include:
    (A) name and address of individual applicant,
    (B) names and addresses of all officers, directors,
trustees or members of the governing board of any business or association
applicant,
    (C) statement by individual applicant, and each officer,
director, trustee or member of governing board as to whether he or
she has ever been convicted of a felony,
    (D) current certificate of good standing issued to
the business or association by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts
for business or association applicants,
    (E) fees to be charged for Course Materials,
    (F) taxpayer identification number,
    (G) name, telephone number and electronic mail address
of the individual who is designated by the provider of Course Materials
to be responsible for answering inquiries and receiving notifications
from the Board.
  (13) If the provider of Course Materials sells Course
Materials to Course Providers, Registrants and Licensees, the Course
Provider must sell the Course Materials at the same price as stated
in the application.
  (14) The Board may refuse to accept any application
for approval as a provider of Course Materials that is not complete.
The Board may deny approval of an application for any of the following
reasons:
    (A) failure to comply with the provisions of this section;
or
    (B) inadequate coverage of the materials required to
be included in Course Materials.
  (15) If an application is refused or disapproved, written
notice detailing the basis of the decision shall be provided to the
applicant.
  (16) A provider's authority to offer the Course Materials
for which CPE credit is given begins on July 1, of the calendar year
of approval and continues until the Course Materials are no longer
required for the renewal of an expired license or registration. When
requested in writing, the Board may authorize the use of these Course
Materials prior to July 1, for industry related programs.
  (17) An electronic copy of the Course Materials must
accompany the Course Material Provider application and be submitted
to the Board's office no later than November 15 for Board approval
at its January Board meeting.
  (18) A provider's failure to comply with this section
constitutes grounds for disciplinary action against the provider or
for disapproval of future applications for approval as a provider
of Course Materials.