Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB963 Compare Versions

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1	1	H.B. No. 963
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the eligibility of certain applicants for occupational
6	6	licenses.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Chapter 53, Occupations Code, is amended by
9	9	adding Subchapter D to read as follows:
10	10	SUBCHAPTER D. PRELIMINARY EVALUATION OF LICENSE ELIGIBILITY
11	11	Sec. 53.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
12	12	(1) "License" means a license, certificate,
13	13	registration, permit, or other authorization that:
14	14	(A) is issued by a licensing authority; and
15	15	(B) a person must obtain to practice or engage in
16	16	a particular business, occupation, or profession.
17	17	(2) "Licensing authority" means a department,
18	18	commission, board, office, or other agency of the state that issues
19	19	a license.
20	20	Sec. 53.102. REQUEST FOR CRIMINAL HISTORY EVALUATION
21	21	LETTER. (a) A person may request a licensing authority to issue a
22	22	criminal history evaluation letter regarding the person's
23	23	eligibility for a license issued by that authority if the person:
24	24	(1) is enrolled or planning to enroll in an
25	25	educational program that prepares a person for an initial license
26	26	or is planning to take an examination for an initial license; and
27	27	(2) has reason to believe that the person is
28	28	ineligible for the license due to a conviction or deferred
29	29	adjudication for a felony or misdemeanor offense.
30	30	(b) The request must state the basis for the person's
31	31	potential ineligibility.
32	32	Sec. 53.103. AUTHORITY TO INVESTIGATE. A licensing
33	33	authority has the same powers to investigate a request submitted
34	34	under this subchapter and the requestor's eligibility that the
35	35	authority has to investigate a person applying for a license.
36	36	Sec. 53.104. DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY; LETTER. (a) If
37	37	a licensing authority determines that a ground for ineligibility
38	38	does not exist, the authority shall notify the requestor in writing
39	39	of the authority's determination on each ground of potential
40	40	ineligibility.
41	41	(b) If a licensing authority determines that the requestor
42	42	is ineligible for a license, the licensing authority shall issue a
43	43	letter setting out each basis for potential ineligibility and the
44	44	authority's determination as to eligibility. In the absence of new
45	45	evidence known to but not disclosed by the requestor or not
46	46	reasonably available to the licensing authority at the time the
47	47	letter is issued, the authority's ruling on the request determines
48	48	the requestor's eligibility with respect to the grounds for
49	49	potential ineligibility set out in the letter.
50	50	(c) A licensing authority must provide notice under
51	51	Subsection (a) or issue a letter under Subsection (b) not later than
52	52	the 90th day after the date the authority receives the request.
53	53	Sec. 53.105. FEES. A licensing authority may charge a
54	54	person requesting an evaluation under this subchapter a fee adopted
55	55	by the authority. Fees adopted by a licensing authority under this
56	56	subchapter must be in an amount sufficient to cover the cost of
57	57	administering this subchapter.
58	58	SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2010, a department,
59	59	commission, board, office, or other agency of the state that issues
60	60	a license to practice or engage in a particular business,
61	61	profession, or occupation shall adopt rules necessary to administer
62	62	Subchapter D, Chapter 53, Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
63	63	SECTION 3. Section 53.021(a), Occupations Code, is amended
64	64	to read as follows:
65	65	(a) A licensing authority may suspend or revoke a license,
66	66	disqualify a person from receiving a license, or deny to a person
67	67	the opportunity to take a licensing examination on the grounds that
68	68	the person has been convicted of:
69	69	(1) an offense [a felony or misdemeanor] that directly
70	70	relates to the duties and responsibilities of the licensed
71	71	occupation;
72	72	(2) an offense that does not directly relate to the
73	73	duties and responsibilities of the licensed occupation and that was
74	74	committed less than five years before the date the person applies
75	75	for the license;
76	76	(3) an offense listed in Section 3g, Article 42.12,
77	77	Code of Criminal Procedure; or
78	78	(4) a sexually violent offense, as defined by Article
79	79	62.001, Code of Criminal Procedure.
80	80	SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 53, Occupations Code, is
81	81	amended by adding Section 53.0211 to read as follows:
82	82	Sec. 53.0211. LICENSING OF CERTAIN APPLICANTS WITH PRIOR
83	83	CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS. (a) This section does not apply to an
84	84	applicant for a license that would allow the applicant to provide:
85	85	(1) law enforcement services;
86	86	(2) public health, education, or safety services; or
87	87	(3) financial services in an industry regulated by the
88	88	securities commissioner, the banking commissioner, the savings and
89	89	mortgage lending commissioner, or the credit union commissioner.
90	90	(b) Notwithstanding any law other than Subsection (a) and
91	91	unless the applicant has been convicted of an offense described by
92	92	Section 53.021(a), a licensing authority shall issue to an
93	93	otherwise qualified applicant who has been convicted of an offense:
94	94	(1) the license for which the applicant applied; or
95	95	(2) a provisional license described by Subsection (c).
96	96	(c) A licensing authority may issue a provisional license
97	97	for a term of six months to an applicant who has been convicted of an
98	98	offense.
99	99	(d) The licensing authority shall revoke a provisional
100	100	license if the provisional license holder:
101	101	(1) commits a new offense;
102	102	(2) commits an act or omission that causes the person's
103	103	community supervision, mandatory supervision, or parole to be
104	104	revoked, if applicable; or
105	105	(3) violates the law or rules governing the practice
106	106	of the occupation for which the provisional license is issued.
107	107	(e) The licensing authority shall issue the license for
108	108	which the applicant originally applied to a provisional license
109	109	holder on the expiration of the provisional license term if the
110	110	provisional license holder does not engage in conduct described by
111	111	Subsection (d).
112	112	(f) If the licensing authority revokes a provisional
113	113	license under Subsection (d), the provisional license holder is
114	114	disqualified from receiving the license for which the applicant
115	115	originally applied.
116	116	(g) An applicant who is on community supervision, mandatory
117	117	supervision, or parole and who is issued a provisional license
118	118	under this section shall provide to the licensing authority the
119	119	name and contact information of the probation or parole department
120	120	to which the person reports. The licensing authority shall notify
121	121	the probation or parole department that a provisional license has
122	122	been issued. The probation or parole department shall notify the
123	123	licensing authority if the person's community supervision,
124	124	mandatory supervision, or parole supervision is revoked during the
125	125	term of the provisional license.
126	126	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act by the
127	127	amendment of Section 53.021(a), Occupations Code, and the addition
128	128	of Section 53.0211, Occupations Code, apply only to an application
129	129	for a license filed with a licensing authority, to which Chapter 53,
130	130	Occupations Code, applies, on or after the effective date of this
131	131	Act. An application filed before that date is governed by the law
132	132	in effect when the application is filed, and the former law is
133	133	continued in effect for that purpose.
134	134	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
135	135	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
136	136	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
137	137	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
138	138	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
139	139	______________________________ ______________________________
140	140	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
141	141	I certify that H.B. No. 963 was passed by the House on March
142	142	31, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 0, 2 present, not
143	143	voting; that the House refused to concur in Senate amendments to
144	144	H.B. No. 963 on May 29, 2009, and requested the appointment of a
145	145	conference committee to consider the differences between the two
146	146	houses; and that the House adopted the conference committee report
147	147	on H.B. No. 963 on May 31, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 145,
148	148	Nays 0, 2 present, not voting.
149	149	______________________________
150	150	Chief Clerk of the House
151	151	I certify that H.B. No. 963 was passed by the Senate, with
152	152	amendments, on May 25, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
153	153	0; at the request of the House, the Senate appointed a conference
154	154	committee to consider the differences between the two houses; and
155	155	that the Senate adopted the conference committee report on H.B. No.
156	156	963 on May 31, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
157	157	______________________________
158	158	Secretary of the Senate
159	159	APPROVED: __________________
160	160	Date
161	161	__________________
162	162	Governor