| (a) The licenses issued by the department create positions
of trust. License holders provide services to members of the public.
License holder services involve access to confidential information,
conveyance, titling, and registration of private property, possession
of monies belonging to or owed to private individuals, creditors,
and governmental entities, and compliance with federal and state environmental
and safety regulations. License holders are provided with opportunities
to engage in fraud, theft, money laundering, and related crimes and
to engage in environmental and safety violations that endanger the
public. In addition, licensure provides persons predisposed to commit
assaultive or sexual crimes with greater opportunities to engage in
such conduct.
(b) Under Occupations Code Chapter 53 the department
may suspend or revoke an existing license or disqualify an applicant
from receiving a license because of a person's conviction of a felony
or misdemeanor if the crime directly relates to the duties and responsibilities
of the licensed occupation. The department shall consider the factors
listed in the Occupations Code §53.022 in determining whether
a criminal conviction directly relates to the duties and responsibilities
of a license holder.
(c) The department has determined under the factors
listed in Occupations Code §53.022 that offenses detailed in
subsection (d) of this section directly relate to the duties and responsibilities
of license holders, either because the offense entails a violation
of the public trust; issuance of a license would provide an opportunity
to engage in further criminal activity of the same type; or the offense
demonstrates the person's inability to act with honesty, trustworthiness,
and integrity. Such offenses include crimes under the laws of another
state, the United States, or a foreign jurisdiction, if the offense
contains elements that are substantially similar to the elements of
an offense under the laws of this state. The list of offenses in subsection
(d) of this section is in addition to those that are independently
disqualifying under Occupations Code §53.021, including:
(1) an offense listed in Article 42A.054, Code of Criminal
Procedure; or
(2) a sexually violent offense, as defined by Article
62.001, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(d) The list of offenses in this subsection is intended
to provide guidance only and is not exhaustive of the offenses that
may relate to a particular regulated occupation. After due consideration
of the circumstances of the criminal act and its relationship to the
position of trust involved in the particular licensed occupation,
the department may find that an offense not described below also renders
a person unfit to hold a license based on the criteria listed in Occupations
Code §53.022. Paragraphs (1) - (8) of this subsection apply to
all license types. Paragraphs (9) - (15) of this subsection apply
only to retail license types. Paragraph (16) of this subsection applies
to offenses applicable to a license type.
(1) offenses involving fraud, theft, deceit, misrepresentation,
or that otherwise reflect poorly on the person's honesty or trustworthiness,
including an offense defined as moral turpitude;
(2) offenses involving forgery, falsification of records,
or perjury;
(3) offenses involving the offering, paying, or taking
of bribes, kickbacks, or other illegal compensation;
(4) felony offenses against public administration;
(5) felony offenses under a state or federal statute
or regulation involving the manufacture, sale, finance, distribution,
repair, salvage, or demolition, of motor vehicles;
(6) felony offenses under a state or federal statute
or regulation related to emissions standards, waste disposal, water
contamination, air pollution, or other environmental offenses;
(7) offenses committed while engaged in a licensed
activity or on licensed premises;
(8) felony offenses involving the possession, manufacture,
delivery, or intent to deliver controlled substances, simulated controlled
substances, dangerous drugs, or engaging in an organized criminal
activity;
(9) felony offenses against real or personal property
belonging to another;
(10) offenses involving the sale or disposition of
another person's real or personal property;
(11) a reportable felony offense conviction under Chapter
62, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure for which the person must register
as a sex offender;
(12) an offense against the family as described by
Penal Code §§25.02, 25.07, 25.072, or 25.11;
(13) felony offenses against the person;
(14) a felony stalking offense as described by Penal
Code §42.072;
(15) a felony offense against public order and decency
as described by Penal Code §§43.24, 43.25, 43.251, 43.26,
43.261, or 43.262; and
(16) offenses of attempting or conspiring to commit
any of the foregoing offenses applicable to the license type.
(e) When determining a person's present fitness for
a license, the department shall also consider the following evidence:
(1) the extent and nature of the person's past criminal
activity;
(2) the age of the person when the crime was committed;
(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 conditions
of community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision; and
(7) other evidence of the person's present fitness,
including letters of recommendation.
(f) It is the person's responsibility to obtain and
provide to the licensing authority evidence regarding the factors
listed in subsection (e) of this section.
|
