By: Smith (Senate Sponsor - Eltife) H.B. No. 3742
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2015;
May 4, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Business
and Commerce; May 15, 2015, reported favorably by the following
vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 15, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of the Texas Department of Licensing and
Regulation to determine applicant eligibility for a license.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter H, Chapter 51, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.4041 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.4041. ALTERNATIVE QUALIFICATIONS FOR LICENSE. (a)
The commission, department, or executive director may adopt
alternative means of determining or verifying a person's
eligibility for a license issued by the department, including
evaluating the person's education, training, experience, and
military service.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the commission or the
executive director may waive any prerequisite for obtaining a
license if the applicant currently holds a similar license issued
by another jurisdiction that:
(1) has requirements for the license that are
substantially equivalent to those of this state; or
(2) has a reciprocity agreement with this state for
the license.
(c) The department, with approval of the governor, may enter
into an agreement with another state to allow for licensing by
reciprocity.
SECTION 2. Section 469.004, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 469.004. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAW. Section 51.4041
[51.404], Occupations Code, does not apply to this chapter.
SECTION 3. Section 754.025, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 754.025. APPLICATION OF CERTAIN LAW. Sections 51.401
and 51.4041 [51.404], Occupations Code, do not apply to this
chapter, except those sections do apply to Sections 754.017 and
754.0171.
SECTION 4. Section 55.004(c), Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The executive director of a state agency may issue a
license by endorsement in the same manner as the Texas Commission of
Licensing and Regulation under Section 51.4041(b) [51.404] to an
applicant described by Subsection (a).
SECTION 5. Section 1202.106, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1202.106. APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAW. Sections 51.401
and 51.4041 [51.404] do not apply to this chapter.
SECTION 6. Section 51.404, Occupations Code, is repealed.
SECTION 7. Section 51.4041, Occupations Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to an application for a license submitted to
the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application for a license submitted
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect on the date the application was submitted, and the former law
is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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