| (a) The following shall apply when renewing a license
annually.
(1) Each licensee shall be asked in their license renewal
application to affirm, under penalty of perjury, whether or not the
licensee has ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor of which
the board has not previously been informed.
(2) The board may consider an individual to have been
convicted of an offense regardless of having received deferred adjudication
and having the charges dismissed if the individual has not completed
the period of supervision or the individual completed the supervision
less than five years before the individual applied for license renewal.
(3) If the licensee has been convicted, as provided
in paragraph (2) of this subsection, of an offense listed in Article
42A.054 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, a sexually violent
offense as defined by Article 62.001 of the Texas Code of Criminal
Procedure, or a criminal offense which directly relates to the duties
and responsibilities of the practice of public accountancy, the licensee
may be subject to disciplinary action.
(4) In determining whether the felony or misdemeanor
conviction directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of
the practice of public accountancy, the board shall consider:
(A) the nature and seriousness of the crime;
(B) the relationship of the crime to the purposes for
requiring a licensee to engage in the practice of public accountancy;
(C) the extent to which a license to practice public
accountancy might offer an opportunity to engage in further criminal
activity of the same type as that in which the licensee was previously
involved;
(D) the relationship of the crime to the ability, capacity,
or fitness required to perform the duties and discharge the responsibilities
of a CPA or public accountant; and
(E) any correlation between the elements of the crime
and the duties and responsibilities of the practice of public accountancy.
(b) In determining the fitness to perform the duties
and discharge the responsibilities of the licensed occupation of a
licensee who has been convicted of a crime, the board shall consider,
in addition to the factors listed in subsection (a)(4) of this section:
(1) the extent and nature of the licensee's past criminal
activity;
(2) the age of the licensee when the crime was committed;
(3) the amount of time that has elapsed since the licensee's
last criminal activity;
(4) the conduct and work activity of the licensee before
and after the criminal activity;
(5) evidence of the licensee's rehabilitation or rehabilitative
effort while incarcerated or after release;
(6) evidence of the licensee's compliance with any
conditions of community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision;
and
(7) other evidence of the licensee's fitness, including
letters of recommendation from:
(A) prosecutors and law enforcement and correctional
officers who prosecuted, arrested, or had custodial responsibility
for the licensee;
(B) the sheriff or chief of police in the community
where the licensee resides; and
(C) any other person in contact with the convicted
licensee.
(c) It is the applicant's responsibility to obtain
and provide to the board evidence regarding the factors listed in
subsection (b) of this section.
(d) In addition to fulfilling the requirements of subsection
(c) of this section, the licensee shall furnish proof in the form
required by the board that the licensee has:
(1) maintained a record of steady employment;
(2) supported the licensee's dependents;
(3) maintained a record of good conduct; and
(4) paid all outstanding court costs, supervision fees,
fines and restitution ordered in any criminal case in which the licensee
has been convicted.
(e) As provided in §901.005(c) and (e)(3) of the
Act (relating to Findings; Public Policy; Purpose), the public including
the business community relies on the integrity of licensees and certificate
holders in providing professional accounting services or professional
accounting work. The board considers a conviction or placement on
deferred adjudication for a felony or conviction or placement on deferred
adjudication for the misdemeanor offenses listed in §519.7 of
this title (relating to Criminal Offenses that May Subject a Licensee
or Certificate Holder to Discipline or Disqualify a Person from Receiving
a License) to be evidence of an individual lacking the integrity necessary
to be trusted with confidential client information, client funds and
assets which directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of
a licensee in the practice of public accountancy. A licensee who is
convicted of a felony or repeatedly violates the law may lack the
integrity to enjoy the public's trust and the privilege of being a
CPA.
(f) The board shall require each licensee on a one-time
basis seeking renewal of their license to arrange to provide to the
Texas Department of Public Safety a complete and legible set of fingerprints
from a vendor approved by the Texas Department of Public Safety for
the purpose of obtaining the licensee's criminal history record information
unless fingerprints have been previously submitted for licensure on
or after September 1, 2014 by the licensee.
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §525.2 adopted to be effective February 17, 2008, 33 TexReg 1118; amended to be effective April 10, 2013, 38 TexReg 2226; amended to be effective October 11, 2017, 42 TexReg 5440; amended to be effective February 5, 2020, 45 TexReg 762 |
