Environment and Conservation, Department of - As introduced, prohibits the board of water and wastewater operator certification from delegating, by contract or other agreement, to a third-party its authority to determine minimum operator competency or to prepare examinations administered to applicants seeking operator certification; establishes requirements for such examinations and minimum scores required for issuance of a certificate. - Amends TCA Title 68, Chapter 221, Part 9.

SB 743 amends Tennessee's Water and Wastewater Operator Certification Act to require the certification board to directly administer exams and determine competency, prohibiting delegation to third parties. The bill mandates that exams must test job-specific skills, use identical questions for all applicants, include at least 10% state regulatory questions, and require a 70% passing score on both the full exam and state questions. It also bans the board from collecting or using applicant demographic data (age, race, sex, etc.) and restricts exam preparation to board staff under direct supervision. This directly affects water/wastewater operators seeking certification and the state board managing the certification process.