85R7825 EES-D
By: Giddings H.B. No. 1508
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to notice to applicants to and enrollees in certain
educational programs regarding the consequences of a criminal
conviction on eligibility for an occupational license.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 53, Occupations Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. NOTICE OF POTENTIAL INELIGIBILITY FOR LICENSE
Sec. 53.151. DEFINITIONS. Notwithstanding Section 53.001,
in this subchapter, "licensing authority" and "occupational
license" have the meanings assigned to those terms by Section
58.001.
Sec. 53.152. NOTICE BY ENTITIES PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL
PROGRAMS. (a) An entity that provides an educational program to
prepare an individual for issuance of an initial occupational
license shall notify each applicant to and enrollee in the
educational program of:
(1) the potential ineligibility of an individual who
has been convicted of an offense for issuance of an occupational
license on completion of the educational program;
(2) the current guidelines issued under Section 53.025
by any licensing authority that may issue an occupational license
to an individual who completes the educational program;
(3) any other state or local restriction or guideline
used by a licensing authority described by Subdivision (2) to
determine the eligibility of an individual who has been convicted
of an offense for an occupational license issued by the licensing
authority; and
(4) the right of an individual enrolled or planning to
enroll in the educational program to request a criminal history
evaluation letter under Section 53.102.
(b) The entity shall provide the notice required under
Subsection (a) to each applicant and enrollee regardless of whether
the applicant or enrollee has been convicted of an offense.
Sec. 53.153. CIVIL LIABILITY. (a) An entity that fails to
provide the notice required by Section 53.152 to an individual
entitled to receive the notice and whose application for an
occupational license for which the educational program prepares the
individual is denied because the individual has been convicted of
an offense is liable to the individual for:
(1) the amount of any tuition paid by the individual to
the entity;
(2) the amount of any application fees paid by the
individual to the licensing authority; and
(3) reasonable attorney's fees and court costs.
(b) It is not a defense to liability under this section that
an individual had actual knowledge of the information for which the
entity is required to give notice under Section 53.152.
SECTION 2. Section 53.152, Occupations Code, as added by
this Act, applies only with respect to:
(1) an individual who is enrolled in an educational
program subject to that section on or after the effective date of
this Act; and
(2) an applicant for enrollment in an educational
program subject to that section who applies for enrollment in the
program on or after that date.
SECTION 3. Section 53.153, Occupations Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to a cause of action brought by an individual
entitled to notice under Section 53.152, Occupations Code, as added
by this Act, that accrues on or after the effective date of this
Act. A cause of action that accrued before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law applicable to the cause of action
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.