Texas Attorney General Opinion: V-1217 Page: 4 of 5
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Hon. C. E. Belk, page 4 (V-1217)
of plumbers are intended to cover the subject of skill
and personal fitness of plumbers and matters incidental
thereto. Cities may not invade that field. Neither
may the Board invade the field reserved for municipal
regulation. Section 15 of the Plumbing License Law re-
serves to municipalities the power to prescribe the
manner in which plumbing is to be installed, the type
and quality of material to be used, and generally the
manner in which the work is to be done. The law is
not intended to limit the power of a city to exact
"terms and conditions" for the issuance of a permit
which are designed to guarantee compliance with its
rules and regulations in the field reserved to it.
The posting of a reasonable bond to indem-
nify the municipality or those engaging the plumber
for damages caused by improper installation work is
a requirement generally conceded to be within the au-
thority of a city in the absence of statutory restric-
tion. 9 McQuillin on Municipal Corporations (3rd Ed.
1950) 155. It is reasonable to conclude that Section
15 of the Plumbing License Law authorizes cities to
require bonds for the observance of its regulations
in the field over which it has supervision. These
regulations have no direct relation to the personal
fitness and skill of the individual plumber. It thus
appears that a proper bond requirement is beyond the
authority of the Board to prohibit and that such a re-
quirement by a city is valid. However, we are of the
opinion that the conditions of the bond required by a
city must be confined to the field over which it has
supervision. If a city undertakes to exact conditions
in the bond which pertain to the plumber's skill and
fitness, to that extent the requirements would be in-
consistent with the Plumbing License Law.
Since cities may require a bond as a condi-
tion to the granting of a permit, we see no reason why
they may not allow the filing of a blanket bond cover-
ing all jobs done under permits. This is merely per-
missive and cannot, therefore, be considered as an
extension of its powers.
However, since the authority to require a
bond can be based only on the provisions of Section
15, the requirement may be made only as a condition
to the granting of a specific "permit." Municipalities
are not granted authority to regulate plumbing generally
but only in the manner set out in Section 15 as to spe-
cific work done in the city. A city may not, therefore,
require a bond as a condition to doing a plumbing business.
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: V-1217, text, July 24, 1951; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth266035/m1/4/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.