Committee amends water‑well contractor bill to keep licensing standards in statute, then recommends passage

The House Industry, Business and Labor Committee amended and recommended passage of Senate Bill 2058 after members expressed concern about removing core licensing qualifications for well contractors from statute and leaving them entirely to administrative rule.

The bill originally sought broader delegation of licensing and operational details to the Water Well Contractors Board. During committee review Representative Koppelman presented an amendment that keeps statutory sections describing license qualifications, apprenticeship and continuing‑education hour requirements, while giving the board limited rulemaking authority over continuing‑education program approval, bond amounts and testing fees. The amendment preserves statutory language that the committee said is appropriate for statute while allowing the board operational flexibility in specific, circumscribed areas.

Committee discussion focused on consumer‑protection tradeoffs and on whether removing fee and bond amounts from statute could create a barrier to entry if a future board set excessive amounts. Representatives debated whether boards commonly use rule authority to set fees; members also asked staff to confirm statutory caps in comparable boards. Representative Koppelman said the amendment restores the statutory licensing framework and leaves only a short set of operational items to rule authority.

Vice Chair Ostley moved the do‑pass as amended motion and Representative Shower seconded. The House committee approved the bill as amended by roll call; several members voted no, citing concerns that the rulemaking authority could allow higher fees and reduce access for small contractors.

The amended bill will move forward with the committee’s recommendation; sponsors and staff said they will provide the finalized amendment language to the bill sponsor and to interested stakeholders.