Current through Reg. 49, No. 52; December 27, 2024
(a) The board may
prohibit an individual from taking the UCPAE, and may not issue the CPA
certificate, or an initial license, for up to five years from the date of the
application, if the board finds that the applicant has been convicted 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 board may consider an individual to have been convicted
of a criminal 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 the license. 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:
(1) the nature and seriousness of
the crime;
(2) the relationship of
the crime to the purposes for requiring a license to engage in the practice of
public accountancy;
(3) 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
applicant was previously involved;
(4) 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
(5) any correlation between the elements of
the crime and the duties and responsibilities of the practice of public
accountancy.
(b) In
addition to the factors stated in subsection (a) of this section, the board
shall consider:
(1) the extent and nature of
the applicant's past criminal activity;
(2) the age of the applicant when the crime
was committed;
(3) the amount of
time that has elapsed since the applicant's last criminal activity;
(4) the conduct and work activity of the
applicant before and after the criminal activity;
(5) evidence of the applicant's
rehabilitation or rehabilitative effort while incarcerated or after
release;
(6) evidence of the
applicant's compliance with any conditions of community supervision, parole, or
mandatory supervision; and
(7)
other evidence of the applicant's fitness, including letters of recommendation
from:
(A) prosecutors and law enforcement and
correctional officers who prosecuted, arrested, or had custodial responsibility
for the applicant;
(B) the sheriff
or chief of police in the community where the applicant resides; and
(C) any other person in contact with the
convicted applicant.
(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 applicant shall furnish proof in the form required by the board that the
applicant has:
(1) maintained a record of
steady employment;
(2) supported
the applicant'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 applicant 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. An applicant 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 will not deny an applicant a
license or the opportunity to be examined for a license because of the
applicant's prior conviction of an offense until the board has:
(1) provided written notice to the applicant
of the reason for the intended denial; and
(2) allowed the applicant 30 days to submit
any relevant information to the board for its consideration.
(g) The notice required under
subsection (f) of this section will contain as applicable:
(1) a statement that the applicant is
disqualified from receiving the license or being examined for the license
because of the applicant's prior conviction of the offense specified in the
notice; and
(2) a statement that:
(A) the final decision of the board to deny
the applicant a license or the opportunity to be examined for the license will
be based on the factors listed in subsection (b) of this section; and
(B) it is the applicant's responsibility to
obtain and provide to the board evidence regarding the factors listed in
subsection (b) of this section.
(h) The following procedures shall apply in
the processing of an application to take the UCPAE.
(1) The applicant will be asked to affirm,
under penalty of perjury, to the question of whether or not the applicant has
ever been convicted, as provided in subsection (a) of this section, of a felony
or misdemeanor.
(2) The board shall
require the applicant 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 applicant's
criminal history record information unless fingerprints have been previously
submitted for licensure on or after September 1, 2014.
(3) The board will review the criminal
history record information and will approve or disapprove applications as the
evidence warrants. If the requested information is not provided at least 10
days prior to the examination, an applicant may be permitted to take the UCPAE,
with his or her scores subject to being voided.
(4) The examination eligibility fee of an
applicant whose application to take the UCPAE has been denied under this
section or §
511.70
of this title (relating to Grounds for Disciplinary Action of Applicants) and
who has not taken any portion of the examination shall be
refunded.
(i) Unless an
applicant has been convicted of an offense as described in subsection (a) of
this section, the board will issue the license for which the applicant applied
or a provisional license described in subsection (j) of this section.
(j) The board may issue a provisional license
for a term of six months to an applicant who has been convicted of an offense
described in subsection (a) of this section.
(k) The board shall revoke a provisional
license if the provisional license holder:
(1) commits a new offense;
(2) commits an act or omission that causes
the applicant's community supervision, mandatory supervision, or parole to be
revoked, if applicable; or
(3)
violates the law or rules governing the practice of public
accountancy.
