PHCC slams Louisiana licensing rollback as industrywide ‘warning’

Industry association PHCC last week described a Louisiana bill — signed into law in mid-June and taking effect on Jan. 1, 2027 — as the “most damaging rollback of plumbing licensure standards seen anywhere in the country in recent memory.”

Catch up quick: House Bill 953, introduced in late February by Rep. Bryan Fontenot, dissolves the longstanding State Plumbing Board of Louisiana — one of 14 plumbing-specific licensing boards in the U.S. — and folds it into the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors as a subcommittee, with the Board for Contractors assuming authority. 

• It also reduces hours requirements, with apprentices needing 2,500 hours to sit for the journeyman’s exam, down from 7,000-8,000, and journeymen needing 1,000 hours of work experience to be eligible for a contractor’s license, among other provisions. 

What’s happening: “Decisions that were once made by subject matter experts and experienced plumbing professionals will now be made by a body without that specialized expertise,” PHCC wrote Tuesday. 

• Meanwhile, the bill’s hours reductions “create a compounding risk,” it added — “less-prepared workers entering the market faster, at every level of the licensing pipeline.”

The big picture: The bill — along with similar initiatives in several states, including California and North Carolina — is ultimately aimed at improving affordability and addressing labor shortages. 

• “Other states are potentially looking at Louisiana as a model for passing legislation like this under the guise of ‘affordability,’” Mark Valentini, PHCC’s vice president of legislative affairs, told Homepros in an email. 
• “What was once a largely partisan policy posture is now drawing bipartisan support, because the affordability argument is politically appealing,” PHCC said. 

Yes, but: “The problem with that logic is straightforward: cutting corners doesn’t lower costs, it defers them,” the association added. “Work done by undertrained hands creates failures that must be repaired — and those repairs cost far more than the savings ever justified.”

What they’re saying: “Louisiana had stronger licensure protections than most states, and watering them down will ultimately cost consumers through poorer work quality and greater safety hazards,” PHCC COO Dan Quinonez told Homepros in an email. “I’m confident that over time, consumers will feel the impact and push legislators to reverse course.”

Looking ahead: The law provides PHCCLA — the association’s Louisiana chapter — with representation on the State Licensing Board for Contractors and three seats on the plumbing subcommittee. 

• “We intend to use that representation responsibly and aggressively to advocate for our industry, our licensees, our businesses, and the public we serve,” the organization wrote in an update. 
• “Our focus will be on ensuring that areas left gray, unclear, or unaddressed in the legislation are appropriately accounted for during the rule-making process.”

Of note: PHCC, in urging the industry to “take this moment seriously” and make the case to elected officials “for a well-trained workforce and rigorous licensing framework,” will be launching a new webpage with resources to “help make these arguments in state capitals across the country,” it said. 

The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors didn’t return a request for comment.