| (a) Purpose and Applicability. This section establishes
the procedures by which an individual may seek a preliminary review
of his or her eligibility to be licensed by the Department with respect
to his or her criminal history prior to formally applying with the
Department for licensure, as authorized by Occupations Code Chapter
53. Pursuant to Tex. Occ. Code §53.102, the evaluation contemplated
by this section is available to an individual who has reason to believe
he or she is ineligible to be licensed by the Department due to a
conviction or deferred adjudication for a felony or misdemeanor offense,
and who is enrolled or is planning to enroll in an educational program
that prepares an individual to be licensed by the Department. The
Commissioner will not offer advisory opinions concerning criminal
convictions or sentences that have not actually occurred.
(b) Request for Preliminary Eligibility Determination;
Supporting Documentation. The request must be made on the form prescribed
by the Commissioner and published on the Department's website. The
fee to make a request under this section is $75.
(c) Review of Request for Preliminary Evaluation. A
request made under this section will be reviewed by the Commissioner
and Department staff to determine the requestor's eligibility utilizing
the same procedures for review of an individual's criminal history
when making an application for licensure, and is subject to the Department's
criminal conviction guidelines set forth in §81.110 of this title
(relating to Criminal Conviction Guidelines). As a result, the requestor,
in making the request, must list all offenses that actually resulted
in a criminal conviction, or that otherwise constitute a criminal
conviction for purposes of Tex. Fin. Code. §157.0131 and §81.110
of this title (relating to Criminal Conviction Guidelines). The requestor's
incarcerated status that would render the individual ineligible for
licensure pursuant to Tex. Occ. Code §53.021(b) will be disregarded;
however, the Department will consider the implications of the requestor's
anticipated release from incarceration in making its determination.
(d) Determination of Eligibility. Within 90 days of
receipt of the fully-completed request, the Department will notify
the requestor of his or her eligibility to receive a license issued
under Finance Code Chapters 157 and 180.
(e) Effect of Determination. In the absence of new
evidence known but not disclosed by the requestor, or not reasonably
available to the Department in consideration of the disclosures made
by the requestor, the Commissioner's decision regarding eligibility
of the requestor concerning his or her criminal history will be determinative
for purposes of reviewing a subsequent application for licensure from
the requestor. However, the Commissioner's decision regarding eligibility
will not be determinative to the extent the request for preliminary
eligibility determination contained fraudulent or misleading information
or supporting documentation or otherwise failed to list a criminal
conviction of the requestor that was not otherwise discovered by the
Department in investigating the request, regardless of whether or
not the requestor was aware of the conviction at the time of the request,
and including any subsequent conviction received by the requestor.
A decision that the requestor is eligible will not be determinative
if the requestor is determined to be ineligible for licensure by operation
of law as provided by Tex. Fin. Code §180.055(a) and §81.110
of this title (relating to Criminal Conviction Guidelines).
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