The title of this article shall be “The Heating, Air Conditioning and Mechanical Refrigeration Code of the City of Atlanta, Texas”, and may be cited as such.
(Ordinance 391, adopted 11/20/89, Section I)
(a) 
Scope.
The purpose of this code is to protect the health, safety, property, and welfare of the general public and to protect the public from any improper business practices employed by an person or persons, and to insure the safe design, construction, installation and service of mechanical equipment pertaining to heating, ventilation, air conditioning and mechanical refrigeration in the City of Atlanta.
(b) 
Exemptions.
(1) 
This act does not apply to a person who:
(A) 
performs air conditioning and refrigeration contracting in a building owned solely by him as his home;
(B) 
performs environmental air conditioning maintenance work if (i) the person is a maintenance man or maintenance engineer who is a regular bona fide employee of the property owner, the property lessee, or the management company managing the property where the maintenance work is being performed, (ii) the work is performed in connection with the business in which the person is employed, and (iii) the person and the person’s employer referred to an (i) above do not engage in the occupation of air conditioning and refrigeration contracting for the general public;
(C) 
performs air conditioning and refrigeration contracting and is regularly employed by a regulated electric or gas utility;
(D) 
is licensed as a professional engineer under The Texas Engineering Practice Act (Article 3271a Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes), performs work in connection with the business in which the person is employed, and does not engage in the practice of air conditioning and refrigeration contracting for the general public;
(E) 
performs process cooling or heating work for an industrial operation such as a chemical plant, petrochemical plant, refinery, natural gas plant, or natural gas treating plant when employed by that operation; or
(F) 
performs air conditioning and refrigeration contracting on:
(i) 
a portable or self-contained ductless environmental air conditioning product that has a cooling capacity of three tons or less;
(ii) 
a portable or self-contained heating product that does not require the forced movement of air outside the heating unit; or
(iii) 
environmental air conditioning equipment that is intended for temporary use and is not fixed in place.
(2) 
The work described by Subsection (1) of this section remains subject to any permit, inspection, or approval requirements prescribed by a municipal ordinance.
(3) 
A person licensed under this act may not perform or offer or attempt to perform any act, service, or function that is defined as the practice of engineering by the Texas Engineering Practice, as amended (Ordinance 3271a, Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes).
(4) 
A person licensed under this act may not perform or offer or attempt to perform any act, service or function regulated under Chapter 113, Natural Resources Code, unless licensed or exempted by rule under that law. A person regulated under Chapter 113, Natural Resources Code, may not perform or offer or attempt to perform air conditioning or refrigeration contracting unless licensed under this act.
(5) 
A person licensed under this act may not perform or offer or attempt to perform any act, service, or function that is defined as plumbing work under The Plumbing License Law (Article 6243-101, Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes) unless licensed under that law. A person who is licensed in this state as a plumber and is engaged in business as a plumber may not perform or offer or attempt to perform air conditioning and refrigeration contracting unless licensed under this act.
(6) 
This article does not apply to a person or firm that is registered as a manufacturer, retailer, or installer and regulated pursuant to the Texas Manufactured Housing Standards Act (Article 5221f, Vernon’s Texas Civil Statutes) and that engages exclusively in air conditioning and refrigeration contracting for manufactured homes.
(7) 
A person who assists in the performance of air conditioning and refrigeration contracting work under the supervision of a licensee is not required to be licensed by a municipality.
(c) 
Reporting Requirement.
Each person licensed under this act shall notify the municipal authority who has control of the enforcement of regulations relative to air conditioning and refrigeration contracting in the municipality in which the person is engaged in air conditioning and refrigeration contracting that the person has obtained a state license. The notification must be in the form required by the municipality.
(d) 
Penalty.
A person commits an offense if the person knowingly or intentionally engages in air conditioning and refrigeration contracting without a license issued under this act. An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
(Ordinance 391, adopted 11/20/89, Section II)
(a) 
License Categories.
A license to engage in the air conditioning business in the City of Atlanta shall be one of five (5) classification, as follows:
(1) 
Class “I” License.
Master contractor shall qualify the holder to install, alter or repair air conditioning system using compressors of any size. The holder may take out permits.
(2) 
Class “II” License.
Journeyman contractor shall authorize the holder of such license to install, or alter, air conditioning systems of any size, but license holder may not take out permits. The journeyman contractor must work under a master contractor.
(3) 
Class “III” License.
Master sheet metal may fabricate, install and repair air conditioning duct work and may take out permits for duct installation only.
(4) 
Class “IV” License.
Journeyman sheet metal may not take out permits and must work under a master sheet metal license holder.
(5) 
Class “V” License.
A contractor not holding a City of Atlanta license but with a license from some other approved municipality, without examination. Holder of this permit may take out one (1) permit per year.
(b) 
License Fees.
The initial fee for a license, Classes “I”, “II”, “III”, “IV” and “V” are as provided for in the fee schedule found in the appendix of this code.
(c) 
License Not Transferable.
Licenses are not transferable, but the license of any active member, officer or supervisory employee of a partnership, firm or corporation shall be sufficient to qualify the partnership, firm or corporation to engage in the business of air conditioning contracting of the type for which the license qualified the holder is employed by that firm only and does in fact supervise and control those installations and alternations of heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems which are required by this article to be installed or altered by a person licensed under the provision hereof.
(d) 
Valid License at all Times.
A partnership, firm or corporation engaged in the business of air conditioning contracting shall steadily employ a person holding a master contractor’s license as provided herein.
(e) 
Obtaining Permit for Others.
A permit obtained under the provisions of this article will require that the work be done by or under the supervision of the person obtaining the permit.
Licensed air conditioning contractors shall not be simultaneously employed by, or work for, more than one business entity for the purpose of obtaining permits under this article, or for the purpose of doing or supervising work that can only be done by authority of a permit obtained under the provisions of the article.
(f) 
Bond Requirements.
Each person licensed under this article in the City of Atlanta shall file with the city secretary a corporate surety bond in the sum of $5,000.00 conditioned upon full compliance with the ordinances of the city regulating air conditioning work and conditioned upon the faithful performance of all contracts entered into for the installation or repair of air conditioning apparatus. Said bond shall be further conditioned that such person shall, without additional cost to the person for whom the work is done, remedy any defect therein due to faulty workmanship or incorrect construction due to faulty material furnished or used by such person, and that such person shall reconstruct or repair such work to the satisfaction of the inspector of the city at any time within one (1) year after the construction, repair or installation, and after forty-eight (48) hours notice from the inspector to reconstruct or repair the same, and the opinion of the inspector shall be binding on the parties thereto. The bond shall for such purchases be in force for one (1) year after the construction, repairs or air conditioning installation is done and one recovery shall not exhaust said bond, but said bond shall be a continuing obligation against the sureties thereon until the entire amount thereof shall have been exhausted. In case the bond herein provided for shall be decreased on account of any recovery which may be obtained, arising out of the violating of any condition of the same, the city inspector shall require, upon notice of such fact, an additional bond to be given by any such person in accordance with this section in any amount sufficient when added to the unexpired amount of the original bond to be at all times equal to the sum of $5,000.00. The city may, for itself, or for the use and benefit of any person injured or damaged by reason of failure to repair any defective construction, repairs or installation or for the failure or refusal by any person to pay any of the fees required by this article maintain suit on said bond in any court having jurisdiction thereof, or suit may be maintained thereon by any person injured or damaged by reason of the failure of any person who shall do any work of air conditioning construction, repairs or installation, to observe the conditions of said bond.
(g) 
Suspension or Revocation of Class I or Class III License.
The building inspector shall have the right and authority to suspend any Class I or Class III license upon the violation of any portion of this article and the building inspector shall, upon suspension, file with the city secretary a statement setting forth the reasons for such suspension. A copy of such report shall be given the license holder upon his request. If the license holder feels aggrieved by such suspension, then he may notify the city council in writing of his feelings and may appear and be heard by the city council. If upon full hearing before the city council it is determined by the council that such suspension is well founded, then the license holder’s license will be revoked. In the event the suspended license holder refuses or fails to appeal to the city council within ten (10) days, then the city secretary shall place before the city council the building inspector’s report. It shall then be the duty of the city council to revoke the suspension order or revoke the license.
(Ordinance 391, adopted 11/20/89, Section III)
(a) 
Any person, firm, corporation, association, partnership, trustee or their agents, servants or employees who shall violate any of the terms or provisions of any section or subsection of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined in accordance with the general penalty provision found in Section 1.106 of this code.
(b) 
Each and every day’s continuance of any violation of any terms or provisions of this article shall constitute and be deemed a separate offense. That in case of any such violation of any of the terms of provisions of this article by a corporation or company, the officers, agents, and person or persons responsible for directing, authorizing or permitting the violation shall be subject to the penalties herein provided. All remedies or penalties expressed herein shall not be exclusive but shall be accumulated.
(Ordinance 391, adopted 11/20/89, Section VI)