An Act relating to certificates of fitness for employees of an electric utility.
HB 329 exempts certain employees of electric utilities from needing a certificate of fitness for work covered by safety standards, specifically when they operate in service areas without cities or towns exceeding 2,500 residents, or in disconnected service areas not electrically linked to larger population centers. It applies directly to utility workers and municipal/tribal employees performing work on behalf of utilities in these defined rural or isolated zones. The bill modifies existing law to remove certificate requirements under these specific geographic conditions while clarifying that "qualified employees" must demonstrate safety competency through credentials or experience. The change focuses on streamlining requirements for utility staff in smaller communities without altering safety standards for work.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 23, 2026
Last action Apr 1, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
HB 329
→
CSHB 329(L&C)
·
2 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to strengthen safety requirements for electric utilities by adding a new mandate that utilities must ensure municipal and tribal employees working on their behalf are qualified and follow safety standards. The definition of 'qualified employee' was retained, but the bill's focus shifted from merely exempting these workers from certification requirements to actively requiring utilities to verify their qualifications. This change expands the scope of the bill to include affirmative duties for utilities rather than just defining who is exempt from rules.
Scope change
The bill's scope expanded from establishing exemptions for municipal and tribal employees to imposing a new affirmative duty on electric utilities to verify that these employees are qualified and compliant with safety standards.
REQUIREMENT
Added a new subsection requiring electric utilities to ensure that local municipal or tribal government employees performing work on their behalf are qualified employees and that all work is performed in accordance with electrical safety standards.
ELIGIBILITY
Modified the amendment instructions for Section 1 to add new subsections (b) and (c) instead of just adding subsection (b), reflecting the addition of the new utility responsibility requirement alongside the existing definition of a qualified employee.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
21
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Apr 1, 2026
Committee
(H) REFERRED TO RULES
lower
Mar 30, 2026
Lower · Passed
(H) Moved CSHB 329(L&C) Out of Committee
lower
Mar 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
(H) Moved HB 329 Out of Committee
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
No sponsor information available.
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