HB 1054

                                                          Introduced Version
           HOUSE BILL No. 1054
                 _____
              DIGEST OF INTRODUCED BILL
Citations Affected: IC 25-28.5-1.
Synopsis: Plumbing noncompete agreements. Defines "noncompete
agreement". Provides that a noncompete agreement entered into: (1) on
or after April 1, 2026; and (2) between an employer and certain persons
in the plumbing trade; is void and unenforceable.
Effective: Upon passage.
          Morris, Judy, Ledbetter
   December 5, 2025, read first time and referred to Committee on Employment, Labor and
Pensions.
2026  IN 1054—LS 6419/DI 153
                                                                                       Introduced
            Second Regular Session of the 124th General Assembly (2026)
 PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
 Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
 additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
   Additions: Whenever a new statutory provision is being enacted (or a new constitutional
 provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
 word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
 a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
  Conflict reconciliation: Text in a statute in this style type or this style type reconciles conflicts
 between statutes enacted by the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
                   HOUSE BILL No. 1054
    A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning
 professions and occupations.
     Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
1    SECTION 1. IC 25-28.5-1-2, AS AMENDED BY P.L.1-2006,
2 SECTION 469, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS
3 [EFFECTIVE UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 2. As used in this chapter:
4     (1) "Plumbing" means the practice of and the materials and
5     fixtures used in the installation, maintenance, extension, and
6     alteration of all piping, fixtures, appliances, and appurtenances in
7     connection with any of the following:
8(A) Sanitary drainage or storm drainage facilities, the venting
9system, and the public or private water supply systems, within
10or adjacent to any building or structure.
11(B) The practice and materials used in the installation,
12maintenance, extension, or alteration of the stormwater, liquid
13waste, or sewerage, and water supply systems of any premises
14to the private property line or to their connection with any
15point of public disposal or other acceptable terminal.
16     The term does not include the planning, designing, and
17     installation of sanitation and water systems in vehicles commonly
 2026  IN 1054—LS 6419/DI 153
                                      2
1known as mobile homes, the drilling of wells, the installation of
2pumps, pressure tanks, and piping incidental to the drilling or
3repair of a well system, the sale or installation of water softening
4equipment and apparatuses and services of the same, or the
5business of manufacturing or selling plumbing fixtures;
6appliances, equipment, or hardware; the installation of automatic
7sprinklers, the overhead or underground water supplies or
8standpipes when connected to an automatic sprinkler system or to
9their related devices or appurtenances connecting thereto; nor
10does the term include the work referred to in section 32(i) of this
11chapter; nor does the term include the planning or design of water
12supply or sewage systems which would ordinarily be performed
13as "the practice of engineering", as defined in IC 25-31-1, or the
14"practice of architecture", as defined in IC 25-4-1.
15(2) "Plumbing contractor" means any person who, for
16compensation, undertakes to, or submits a bid to, or does himself
17or herself or by others, construct, repair, alter, remodel, add to,
18subtract from, or improve plumbing and who is responsible for
19substantially all the plumbing within the entire project, or one
20who fabricates units or plumbing substantially completed and
21ready for installation.
22(3) "Journeyman plumber" means a person who engages or offers
23to engage in, as an occupation or trade, the construction,
24installation, alteration, maintenance, repair, remodeling, or
25removal and replacement of plumbing under the supervision,
26direction, and responsibility of a licensed plumbing contractor.
27(4) "Maintenance man" means a person who is employed on a
28permanent basis to keep the premises of a business establishment
29in good repair.
30(5) "Contracting" means, except as exempted in this chapter,
31engaging in a business as a contractor.
32(6) "Person" means a natural person, except in the case of a
33plumbing contractor, in which case it may mean the partners or
34members of a partnership, limited partnership, or any form of
35unincorporated enterprise, owned by two (2) or more persons, and
36as applied to "corporation" in addition to the corporate entity
37means the officers or directors and employees thereof.
38(7) "Commission" means the Indiana plumbing commission
39created by this chapter.
40(8) "License" means a certificate issued by the commission
41established by this chapter which confers upon the holder the
42privilege to act as a plumbing contractor or a journeyman plumber
 2026  IN 1054—LS 6419/DI 153
                                  3
1     as defined in this chapter.
2     (9) "Farmstead" means a farm dwelling together with other
3     buildings, structures, equipment, piping, and other plumbing
4     materials and supplies, located upon a parcel of real estate used
5     primarily for agricultural purposes located outside the corporate
6     limits of a municipality and not connected to a public water
7     supply.
8     (10) "Licensing agency" means the Indiana professional licensing
9     agency established under IC 25-1-5-3.
10     (11) "Apprentice plumber" means an individual who:
11(A) is learning the plumbing trade; and
12(B) is under the direction and immediate supervision of a
13licensed plumbing contractor or a licensed journeyman
14plumber.
15     (12) "Registration" means the granting of a certificate by the
16     commission that authorizes an individual to act as an apprentice
17     plumber.
18     (13) "Noncompete agreement" means a contract, or any part
19     of a contract, that has the purpose or effect of restricting or
20     penalizing a person's ability to engage in the plumbing trade
21     in any geographic area, for any period of time, after the
22     person's employment or contract with the employer has
23     ended. The term:
24(A) includes:
25(i) a nonsolicitation agreement; and
26(ii) a training reimbursement agreement for persons not
27in a registered apprentice program; and
28(B) does not include:
29(i) a nondislosure agreement protecting bona fide
30confidential business information; or
31(ii) a scholarship loan agreement for a person in a
32commission approved apprenticeship program.
33    SECTION 2. IC 25-28.5-1-40 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
34 CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
35 [EFFECTIVE UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 40. (a) A noncompete
36 agreement that is:
37     (1) entered into on or after April 1, 2026; and
38     (2) between:
39(A) an employer (including a plumbing contractor, as
40applicable); and
41(B) a journeyman plumber, an apprentice plumber, a
42pipefitter, a welder, an HVAC service technician, or any
 2026  IN 1054—LS 6419/DI 153
                                 4
1person performing work that requires a license under this
2article;
3 is void and unenforceable.
4     (b) This section shall be construed liberally to further the
5 policies of:
6(1) promoting the mobility of journeymen plumbers,
7apprentice plumbers, pipefitters, welders, HVAC service
8technicians, or any person performing plumbing;
9(2) fostering competition;
10(3) protecting consumers; and
11(4) ensuring that licensing does not become a barrier to
12employment or the free exercise of the plumbing trade.
13     SECTION 3. An emergency is declared for this act.
 2026  IN 1054—LS 6419/DI 153