Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Pursuant to
Chapter
53, Texas
Occupations Code and §
2005.052, Texas
Government Code, the Board may suspend or revoke an existing certificate of
registration, disqualify a person from receiving a certificate of registration,
issue a provisional license subject to the terms and limitations of §
1.27 of
this chapter (relating to Provisional Licensure), or deny to a person the
opportunity to be examined for a certificate of registration because of the
person's conviction for committing an offense if:
(1) the offense directly relates to the
duties and responsibilities of an Architect;
(2) the offense is listed in Article
42A.054,
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure; or
(3) the offense is a sexually violent
offense, as defined by Article
62.001,
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.
(b) The following procedures will apply in
the consideration of an application for registration as an Architect or in the
consideration of a Registrant's criminal history:
(1) Effective January 1, 2014, each Applicant
shall submit a complete and legible set of fingerprints to the Department of
Public Safety or a vendor under contract with the Department for the purpose of
obtaining criminal history record information from the Department and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Applicant shall pay the cost of conducting
the criminal history background check to the Department or the vendor on behalf
of the Department. An Applicant who does not submit fingerprints in accordance
with this subsection is ineligible for registration.
(2) Effective January 1, 2014, each
Registrant on active status or returning to active status who has not submitted
a set of fingerprints pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall submit
a complete and legible set of fingerprints to the Department of Public Safety
or a vendor under contract with the Department for the purpose of obtaining
criminal history record information from the Department and the Federal Bureau
of Investigation. The Registrant shall pay the cost of conducting the criminal
history background check to the Department or the vendor on behalf of the
Department. A Registrant who does not submit fingerprints in accordance with
this subsection is ineligible for renewal of, or returning to, active
registration. A Registrant is not required to submit fingerprints under this
paragraph for the renewal of, or returning to, active registration if the
Registrant previously submitted fingerprints under paragraph (1) of this
subsection for initial registration or under this paragraph for a previous
renewal of, or return to, active registration.
(3) The executive director may contact an
Applicant or Registrant regarding any information about a criminal conviction,
other than a minor traffic offense, disclosed in the Applicant's or
Registrant's criminal history record. If the executive director intends to
pursue revocation or suspension of a registration, or denial of a registration
or opportunity to be examined for a registration because of a person's prior
conviction of an offense, the executive director must:
(A) provide written notice to the person of
the reason for the intended denial; and
(B) allow the person not less than 30 days to
submit any relevant information to the Board.
(4) The notice provided by the executive
director under this subsection must contain:
(A) a statement that the person is
disqualified from being registered or being examined for registration because
of the person's prior conviction of an offense specified in the notice; or
(B) a statement that:
(i) the final decision of the Board to revoke
or suspend the registration or deny the person a registration or the
opportunity to be examined for the registration will be based on the factors
listed in subsection (d) of this section; and
(ii) it is the person's responsibility to
obtain and provide to the Board evidence regarding the factors listed in
subsection (d) of this section.
(5) If the executive director determines the
conviction might be directly related to the duties and responsibilities of an
Architect, the Board's staff will obtain sufficient details regarding the
conviction to allow the Board to determine the effect of the conviction on the
Applicant's eligibility for registration or on the Registrant's fitness for
continued registration.
(c) In determining whether a criminal
conviction is directly related to the duties and responsibilities of an
Architect, the executive director and the Board shall consider each of the
following factors:
(1) the nature and
seriousness of the crime;
(2) the
relationship of the crime to the purposes for requiring a license to practice
architecture;
(3) the extent to
which architectural registration might offer an opportunity to engage in
further criminal activity of the same type as that in which the Applicant or
Registrant had been involved; and
(4) the relationship of the crime to the
ability or capacity required to perform the duties and discharge the
responsibilities of an Architect; and
(5) any correlation between the elements of
the crime and the duties and responsibilities of an Architect.
(d) If the executive director or
the Board determines under subsection (c) of this section that a criminal
conviction directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of an Architect,
the executive director and the Board shall consider the following in
determining whether to suspend or revoke a registration, disqualify a person
from receiving a registration, or deny to a person the opportunity to take a
registration examination:
(1) the extent and
nature of the Applicant's or Registrant's past criminal activity;
(2) the age of the Applicant or Registrant at
the time the crime was committed;
(3) the amount of time that has elapsed since
the Applicant's or Registrant's last criminal activity;
(4) the conduct and work activity of the
Applicant or Registrant prior to and following the criminal activity;
(5) evidence of the Applicant's or
Registrant'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 Applicant's or Registrant's fitness to practice as an
Architect, including letters of recommendation.
(e) Crimes directly related to the duties and
responsibilities of a Registered Architect include any crime that reflects a
lack of fitness for professional licensure or a disregard of the standards
commonly upheld for the professional Practice of Architecture, such as the
following:
(1) criminal negligence;
(2) soliciting, offering, giving, or
receiving any form of bribe;
(3)
the unauthorized use of property, funds, or proprietary information belonging
to a client or employer;
(4) acts
relating to the malicious acquisition, use, or dissemination of confidential
information related to architecture; and
(5) any intentional violation as an
individual or as a consenting party of any provision of the Act.
(f) The Board shall revoke the
certificate of registration of any Registrant who is convicted of any felony if
the felony conviction results in incarceration. The Board also shall revoke the
certificate of registration of any Registrant whose felony probation, parole,
or mandatory supervision is revoked.
(g) If an Applicant is incarcerated as the
result of a felony conviction, the Board may not approve the Applicant for
registration during the period of incarceration. If an Applicant's felony
probation, parole, or mandatory supervision is revoked, the Board may not
approve the Applicant for registration until the Applicant successfully
completes the sentence imposed as a result of the revocation.
(h) If the Board takes action against any
Applicant or Registrant pursuant to this section, the Board shall provide the
Applicant or Registrant with the following information in writing:
(1) the reason for rejecting the application
or taking action against the Registrant's certificate of registration,
including any factor considered under subsections (c) or (d) of this section
that served as the basis for the action;
(2) notice that upon exhaustion of the
administrative remedies provided by the Administrative Procedure Act, Chapter
2001, Government
Code, an action may be filed in a district court of Travis County for review of
the evidence presented to the Board and its decision. The person must begin the
judicial review by filing a petition with the court within 30 days after the
Board's decision is final; and
(3)
the earliest date the person may appeal.
(i) All proceedings pursuant to this section
shall be governed by the Administrative Procedure Act, Chapter
2001, Government
Code.
