| (a) A laboratory may apply to the Commission for a De Minimis Texas Casework License on behalf
of its laboratory personnel. The Licensing Advisory Committee and/or
the Commission Director or Designee shall review each application
and make a determination regarding whether to grant a license under
this section based on the criteria set forth in subsection (c) of
this section. Any laboratory that is denied a request for a license
under this section may appeal the decision to the full Commission.
(b) Laboratory De Minimis Texas
Casework License Term. A laboratory De Minimis Texas
Casework License and corresponding licenses granted under this section
shall expire two (2) years from the date of issuance.
(c) Texas Casework Threshold. The Commission may grant
a De Minimis Texas Casework License
to a laboratory that demonstrates in an application published by the
Commission that the laboratory's Texas casework constitutes less than
10% of its overall volume of casework during the five calendar years
preceding the application (calculated as a rolling average for each
individual laboratory site or location) to be re-evaluated at each
expiration of the two-year license term. In the absence of historical
data, the best available data shall be used to determine whether a
laboratory has exceeded or is expected to exceed the 10% threshold.
(d) De Minimis License
for Individual Non-Interpreting Analysts and Technicians. With the
exception of any "interpreting analysts" as defined in subsection
(g)(1) of this section, all analysts and technicians employed by a
laboratory determined by the Commission to meet the criteria for a De Minimis Texas Casework License shall
be licensed upon fulfillment of the following requirements of the
employing laboratory:
(1) submit to Commission staff a list of the names
of each individual analyst or technician who is licensed under the De Minimis provision indicating the forensic
discipline(s) for which each analyst or technician is qualified to
perform independent casework; and
(2) certify on a form provided by the Commission that
each individual named:
(A) works under the supervision of a fully licensed
forensic analyst when performing work for Texas criminal cases;
(B) has read and understands the Code of Professional
Responsibility in this subchapter;
(C) has completed all training materials related to Brady v. Maryland discovery obligations
and the Michael Morton Act (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 39.14)
as provided by the Commission; and
(D) has participated in the Mandatory Legal and Professional
Responsibility Training described in §651.208(e)(1) - (2) of
this subchapter (relating to Forensic Analyst and Forensic Technician
License Renewal).
(e) Disclosures Required by De
Minimis Texas Casework Licensed Laboratories. Laboratories
licensed under this section must comply with all disclosure obligations
required under this chapter.
(f) Change in Scope of De
Minimis Licensee Work. Where the scope of an individual licensed
under the De Minimis provision changes
to include interpreting analyst activities as defined in subsection
(g)(1) of this section, the employing laboratory must notify the Commission
within seven (7) days of the change, and the licensee must apply to
become fully licensed before performing interpreting analyst activities.
(g) Interpreting Analysts. Laboratories granted a De Minimis Texas Casework License shall
fully license all "interpreting analysts" as defined in paragraph
(1) of this subsection pursuant to the components described in §651.207
of this subchapter (relating to Forensic Analyst Licensing Requirements,
Including License Term, Fee and Procedure for Denial of Application
and Reconsideration).
(1) Interpreting Analyst Definition. However named,
an "interpreting analyst" uses his or her scientific expertise and
judgment to interpret data resulting from an expert examination or
test and provides information to the trier of fact either by signing
a report or testifying in a criminal action. Interpreting analysts
have significant decision-making authority regarding the progress,
evaluation, and conclusion of forensic analyses and are qualified
to both perform independent casework and technically review the work
of other analysts. An interpreting analyst exercises judgment in casework
and may be called to testify regarding the results of forensic analysis,
including not only the steps involved in the physical processing of
the evidence, but also the potential significance of information obtained
from the examination or test.
(2) Technical Reviewers. Technical reviewers who perform
technical reviews of an interpreting analyst's casework are considered
interpreting analysts.
(3) Requirements for Interpreting Analysts Previously
Licensed under the Blanket Provision. An interpreting analyst licensed
prior to August 24, 2020, under the original out-of-state crime laboratory
blanket licensing program, must comply with the specific coursework
and minimum education requirements that were in effect prior to January
1, 2019.
(h) Licensee Transfers to Laboratories Physically Located
in Texas. An individual forensic analyst or technician licensed prior
to August 24, 2020, under the original out-of-state crime laboratory
blanket license program or the superseding De
Minimis Texas casework license program who transfers employment
to an accredited crime laboratory physically located in Texas within
one year of departing employment from the laboratory through which
the licensee originally obtained his or her blanket or De Minimis license shall comply with the
requirements in place at the time the analyst's initial license was
granted.
(i) Fees. A laboratory with analysts and/or technicians
licensed under the De Minimis Texas
casework program shall pay the requisite license fee for each of the
laboratory's forensic analysts and technicians licensed under the De Minimis program and the full forensic
analyst or technician license fees for each of the laboratory's interpreting
analysts as set forth in this subchapter.
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