Section 7.133 - Technician License Requirements(a) A technician is a person who has qualified for and been issued a technician's license pursuant to the provisions of § 7.132 of this chapter (relating to Requirements for Apprentice Registration) and whose training and supervision is the responsibility of the responsible certified applicator, and who works under the direct supervision of licensed certified applicators.(b) A certified applicator registered with the business must be physically present to give verbal instructions to a technician at least one (1) day a week and available during operating hours for questions and instructions as needed.(c) To add a category to a technician's license, a technician must complete eight (8) hours of classroom hours training and forty (40) hours of on-the-job training prior to taking that category's exam. The training must be recorded on the verifiable training record form prescribed by the department.(d) The department shall require as a condition of the renewal of each commercial or noncommercial technician's license that the responsible certified applicator must certify on the verifiable training records form that the technician has completed eight (8) hours of verifiable training in the calendar year preceding the calendar year in which the renewal is to take place. No additional training will be required in the first calendar year in which a technician is first licensed. Changing employers or moving to an inactive status does not eliminate, defer or extend the verifiable training requirement. (1) The eight (8) hours of verifiable training must be selected from the following general standard subject areas: (A) Federal and state laws regulating structural pest control and pesticide application;(B) Recognition of pest and pest damage;(C) Pesticide labels and label comprehension;(E) Environmental protection;(F) Application equipment and techniques;(G) Pesticide formulations and actions;(H) Emergency procedures and pesticide cleanup, and procedures for the immediate reporting of spills and misapplications;(I) Basic principles of mathematics, chemistry, toxicology, and entomology; or(J) Non-chemical pest control techniques including biological, mechanical, and integrated pest management techniques.(2) Two (2) hours of the eight (8) hours of training may be on-the-job training or hands-on-training verified by the responsible certified applicator.(3) Self-study training may be used if the responsible certified applicator certifies that the training is the appropriate training. Inactive technicians may only use self-study training every other year to satisfy their annual training requirement.(4) A technician will receive one (1) hour of credit for each department-approved CEU course completed.(5) No courses may be repeated for credit within the same re-certification year.(e) All verifiable training records and certification for each technician must be maintained in the business files for two (2) calendar years after the calendar year in which the training or certification was completed.(f) The verifiable training records forms must be made available to the licensee within twenty (20) days of written request to a current or former employer.(g) The business licensee, responsible certified commercial applicator, or certified noncommercial applicator shall be responsible for the proper certification and maintenance of employee training records in accordance with this subchapter.(h) Technicians unable to certify their required training at renewal or during inspection will have twenty (20) days to submit the verifiable training records for training previously obtained prior to the initiation of enforcement proceedings.(i) Upon written request, the Commissioner may grant a hardship extension for completion of training requirements due to extenuating circumstances. The length of the extension is at the discretion of the Commissioner. All requests are subject to review and may require additional documentation.4 Tex. Admin. Code § 7.133
The provisions of this §7.133 adopted to be effective January 1, 1996, 20 TexReg 7826; amended to be effective December 1, 1999, 24 TexReg 9290; amended to be effective September 1, 2000, 25 TexReg 2067; amended to be effective January 11, 2001, 26 TexReg 198; amended to be effective July 29, 2001, 26 TexReg 5641; amended to be effective February 1, 2005, 30 TexReg 397; amended to be effective June 13, 2005, 30 TexReg 3407; amended to be effective September 10, 2006, 31 TexReg 7126; transferred effective September 1, 2007, as published in the Texas Register August 17, 2007, 32 TexReg 5189; amended to be effective December 11, 2008, 33 TexReg 9974; Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 43, Number 01, January 5, 2018, TexReg 0043, eff. 1/9/2018; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 48, Number 02, January 13, 2023, TexReg 0131, eff. 1/16/2023