| (a) The board may revoke or suspend an existing valid
license, disqualify a person from receiving or renewing a license,
or deny to a person the opportunity to be examined for a license because
of a person's conviction of a felony or misdemeanor if the crime directly
relates to the practice of physical therapy. Those crimes which the
board considers to be directly related to the duties and responsibilities
of a licensed physical therapist or physical therapist assistant shall
include, but are not limited to:
(1) any felony which involves an act of fraud, dishonesty,
or deceit;
(2) any criminal violation of the Act or other statutes
regulating or pertaining to physical therapy or the medical profession;
(3) any crime involving moral turpitude;
(4) murder;
(5) assault;
(6) burglary;
(7) robbery;
(8) theft;
(9) rape or sexual abuse;
(10) patient/client abuse;
(11) injury to an elderly person;
(12) child molestation, abuse, endangerment, or neglect;
(13) felony conviction for driving while intoxicated,
driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or driving while
ability is impaired;
(14) sale, distribution, or illegal possession of narcotics,
controlled substances, or dangerous drugs;
(15) tampering with a governmental record;
(16) offenses which include attempting or conspiring
to commit any of the offenses in this subsection.
(b) In determining whether a crime not listed previously
relates to physical therapy, the board will consider:
(1) the nature and seriousness of the crime;
(2) the relationship of the crime to the purposes for
requiring a license to practice physical therapy;
(3) the extent to which a license might offer opportunities
to engage in further criminal activity of the same type as that in
which the person was previously engaged;
(4) the relationship of the crime to the ability, capacity,
or fitness required to perform the duties and to discharge the responsibilities
of a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant; and
(5) any correlation between the elements of the crime
and the duties and responsibilities of a physical therapist or physical
therapist assistant.
(c) In review of a complaint alleging that the respondent/applicant
has been convicted of a crime which directly relates to the duties
and responsibilities of a physical therapist or physical therapist
assistant, the board shall consider the following evidence in determining
the respondent's/applicant's present fitness to practice physical
therapy:
(1) the extent and nature of the person's past criminal
activity;
(2) the age of the person at the time of commission
of the crime;
(3) the amount of time that has elapsed since the person's
last criminal activity;
(4) the conduct and work activity of the person before
and after the criminal activity;
(5) evidence of the person's rehabilitation or rehabilitative
effort while incarcerated or after release;
(6) evidence of the person's compliance with any condition
of community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision, including
letters of recommendation from prosecution, law enforcement, and correctional
officers who prosecuted, arrested, or had custodial responsibility
for the person; letters from the sheriff or chief of police where
the person resides; and other persons having contact with the convicted
person; and
(7) other evidence of the person's fitness, including
letters of recommendation, records of steady employment, provision
for dependents, payment of all court costs, supervision fees, fines,
and restitution if ordered as a result of the person's conviction.
(d) The burden and expense of providing and presenting
the foregoing documentation to the board shall be solely that of the
respondent/applicant.
(e) A licensee or applicant is required to report to
the board a felony of which he is convicted within 60 days after the
conviction occurs.
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §343.9 adopted to be effective January 7, 1992, 16 TexReg 7645; amended to be effective January 12, 1993, 18 TexReg 64; amended to be effective September 1, 2023, 48 TexReg 4256 |
