# So... did Texas really just do away with plumbing codes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 1, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882 "2019-06-01T16:55:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/1 "2019-06-01T16:55:01Z")
[Reading this article](http://loweringthebar.net/2019/05/texas-repeals-plumbing-code.html), it appears that they did by abolishing the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, which is responsible for enforcing the state plumbing code. > [@](#): > > What the legislature seems to have done, according to the Texas Tribune, is abolish the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, which is currently responsible for licensing plumbers and enforcing the state plumbing code. Or, at least, it failed to reauthorize the thing. Under a “sunset” law, the board dissolves automatically on September 1 unless the legislature takes action. But that didn’t happen. It looks like the legislature had no intention of doing so anyway, because it had a bill ready to go (Senate Bill 621) providing that the board’s functions would be transferred to the larger Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation on September 1, when the sunset provision takes effect. So one way or another, the legislature apparently planned to get rid of the TSBPE for good. > > Okay, fine—except that it then failed to pass SB 621, or a backup “safety net” bill that protects agencies otherwise threatened by the sunset provision. And the legislative session has now ended. So as of September 1, there will be no entity responsible for licensing plumbers and enforcing the state plumbing code, although that last part won’t matter because the code also expires automatically on September 1. So it’s not that the legislature just made everyone in Texas a licensed plumber, it’s that now anybody can legally do plumbing work in Texas without a license. Not seeing how this is a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/2 "2019-06-01T18:08:46Z")
Plumbing is mostly just a matter of opinion, right? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/3 "2019-06-01T18:17:32Z")
Just pray away the spray. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/4 "2019-06-01T18:18:53Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Just pray away the spray. I like the comments in a news article that pointed out stuff I didn’t know. Gas lines in your house/apartment/business complex are also done by plumbers. Also, the medical O2 lines in hospitals. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/5 "2019-06-01T18:20:03Z")
This is the same state that figured there was no problem whatsoever with putting a highly explosive fertilizer plant within blocks of multiple schools and nursing homes so… ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/6 "2019-06-01T18:27:10Z")
Teach the controversy! Intelligent draining! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/7 "2019-06-01T21:11:10Z")
I’ve often used “plumbing” as an example of how stupid anti-Science stuff is. Suppose someone claimed that all plumbers were atheists, etc. That the way to get rid of a clog was to pray it away. If you used a drain snake you are clearly working for the devil. Etc. I guess my humorous analogy is an actual thing in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/8 "2019-06-01T22:12:45Z")
But… but… FREE MARKET! CAPITALISM! _Caveat emptor_ Sounds like a bunch of anarcho-libertarians got their wish. So glad I don’t live in Texas. I like working flush toilets. Among other things, like a _lack_ of raw sewage in the basement or the street in front of my home. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/9 "2019-06-01T22:16:11Z")
But at least [brass knuckles](https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/30/us/texas-brass-knuckles-trnd/index.html) are now legal. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2019, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/10 "2019-06-01T22:34:03Z")
It is my constitutional right to believe that shit flows _up_hill. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2019, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/11 "2019-06-02T00:24:55Z")
Certainly there must be city and or county enforcement. A high rise in Houston is gonna have to meet some specs. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/12 "2019-06-02T00:37:32Z")
Waitaminnit… the _plumbing code_ itself had a sunset provision??? Why the hell would anyone write a plumbing code with a sunset provision? So come September you can install any gear any which way, have the toilet, kitchen sink and sump pump all go into one same 3 inch drain, bring back lead pipe, take out the relief valve in the water heater? Seems like someone really, really, really hated how much their plumber charged. Or got told they could not do some value-adding home improvement because it would be against code. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2019, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/13 "2019-06-02T00:43:35Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Waitaminnit… the _plumbing code_ itself had a sunset provision??? Why the hell would anyone write a plumbing code with a sunset provision? > > So come September you can install any gear any which way, have the toilet, kitchen sink and sump pump all go into one same 3 inch drain, bring back lead pipe, take out the relief valve in the water heater? > > Seems like someone really, really, really hated how much their plumber charged. Or got told they could not do some value-adding home improvement because it would be against code. don’t think it is the code with a sunset provision but the agency. I believe all state agencies have it. The dental board just had its last year or so. In about 92 or 93 it was sunseted/abolished had to be completely redone by the legislature. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2019, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/14 "2019-06-02T03:24:26Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > don’t think it is the code with a sunset provision but the agency. From the OP link, underline mine: > [@](#): > > Okay, fine—except that it then failed to pass SB 621, or a backup “safety net” bill that protects agencies otherwise threatened by the sunset provision. And the legislative session has now ended. So as of September 1, there will be no entity responsible for licensing plumbers and **enforcing the state plumbing code, although that last part won’t matter because the code also expires automatically on September 1**. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/15 "2019-06-02T03:37:08Z")
Sounds like a golden opportunity for Sovereign Citizens. ---
**Author:** ![HelenGawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@HelenGawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelenGawn)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2019, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/16 "2019-06-02T09:33:02Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > This is the same state that figured there was no problem whatsoever with putting a highly explosive fertilizer plant within blocks of multiple schools and nursing homes so… In the next session of the state legislature, a bill was proposed to require chemical plants to disclose what the hell was in there. It either didn’t pass or the governor vetoed it. When a reporter asked if this wasn’t information that citizens were entitled to, the gov replied that they could go ask nicely. He said that sincerely, with a smile. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2019, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/17 "2019-06-02T15:07:03Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Waitaminnit… the _plumbing code_ itself had a sunset provision??? Why the hell would anyone write a plumbing code with a sunset provision? From time to time, posters on these very boards have suggested all laws should have sunset clauses, to force legislatures to re-examine on a regular basis whether a law is needed, because there are too many laws. Looks like the Texas Legislature decided to implement that suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2019, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/18 "2019-06-02T15:36:29Z")
So let’s say I’m in Texas. September 1 comes and the plumbing code is no longer law. I build a house in October and it has plumbing that doesn’t comply with the old code. January arrives and the legislature goes back into session. They realize that Texas needs a plumbing code and enact the old code back into law. Where does this leave me? Will my house now have to comply with the “new” plumbing code that didn’t exist at the time my house was built? Or is it grandfathered in as not having to be up to code? ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/19 "2019-06-02T16:57:22Z")
**Little Nemo** , if I read the story correctly, the plumbing board and codes go away THIS September, but the Texas Legislature doesn’t come back into session until 2022. So you’ve got a couple years, there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882/20 "2019-06-03T14:21:31Z")
The general rule of thumb is that if something was legal per code at the time it was done, then you’re okay. Hence if you have a classic water wasting toilet you are good even if a new rule on efficient toilets goes into effect. Some jurisdictions might have upgrade requirements on critical items or you may be forced to fix something when doing a repair/replacement. Insurance companies and potential buyers down the road might feel differently about it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-did-texas-really-just-do-away-with-plumbing-codes/834882.md?page=2)