Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) The following
shall apply when renewing a license annually.
(1) Each licensee shall be asked in their
license renewal application to affirm, under penalty of perjury, whether or not
the licensee has ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor of which the
board has not previously been informed.
(2) The board may consider an individual to
have been convicted of an 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 license
renewal.
(3) If the licensee has
been convicted, as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, 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 licensee may be subject to disciplinary
action.
(4) 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:
(A) the nature and seriousness of
the crime;
(B) the relationship of
the crime to the purposes for requiring a licensee to engage in the practice of
public accountancy;
(C) 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
licensee was previously involved;
(D) 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
(E) any correlation between the elements of
the crime and the duties and responsibilities of the practice of public
accountancy.
(b) In determining the fitness to perform the
duties and discharge the responsibilities of the licensed occupation of a
licensee who has been convicted of a crime, the board shall consider, in
addition to the factors listed in subsection (a)(4) of this section:
(1) the extent and nature of the licensee's
past criminal activity;
(2) the age
of the licensee when the crime was committed;
(3) the amount of time that has elapsed since
the licensee's last criminal activity;
(4) the conduct and work activity of the
licensee before and after the criminal activity;
(5) evidence of the licensee's rehabilitation
or rehabilitative effort while incarcerated or after release;
(6) evidence of the licensee's compliance
with any conditions of community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision;
and
(7) other evidence of the
licensee's fitness, including letters of recommendation from:
(A) prosecutors and law enforcement and
correctional officers who prosecuted, arrested, or had custodial responsibility
for the licensee;
(B) the sheriff
or chief of police in the community where the licensee resides; and
(C) any other person in contact with the
convicted licensee.
(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 licensee shall furnish proof in the form required by the board that the
licensee has:
(1) maintained a record of
steady employment;
(2) supported
the licensee'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 licensee 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. A licensee 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 shall require each licensee on
a one-time basis seeking renewal of their license 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 licensee's criminal history record information unless
fingerprints have been previously submitted for licensure on or after September
1, 2014 by the licensee.
