Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a) The executive director may deny an
initial or renewal application for the following reasons.
(1) Insufficiency. The executive director
shall notify the applicant of the executive director's intent to deny the
application and advise the applicant of the opportunity to file a motion to
overturn the executive director's decision under §
50.139 of this title (relating to
Motion to Overturn Executive Director's Decision). The executive director may
determine that an application is insufficient for the following reasons:
(A) failing to meet the licensing or
registration requirements of this chapter; or
(B) if an out-of-state licensing program does
not have requirements substantially equivalent to those of this
chapter.
(2) Cause.
After notice and opportunity for a hearing, the commission may deny an
application for a license or registration by an applicant who:
(A) provides fraudulent information or
falsifies the application;
(B) has
engaged in fraud or deceit in obtaining or applying for a license or
registration;
(C) has demonstrated
gross negligence, incompetence, or misconduct in the performance of activities
authorized by a license or registration;
(D) made an intentional misstatement or
misrepresentation of fact or information required to be maintained or submitted
to the commission by the applicant or by the license or registration
holder;
(E) failed to keep and
transmit records as required by a statute within the commission's jurisdiction
or a rule adopted under such a statute; or
(F) at the time the application is submitted,
is indebted to the state for a fee, penalty, or tax imposed by a statute within
the commission's jurisdiction or a rule adopted under such a statute.
(b) If an individual
causes, contributes to, or allows a violation of this chapter, the executive
director may issue a warning letter. The letter shall be placed in the
individual's permanent file maintained by the executive director. This letter
shall be a warning that further violations or offenses by the individual may be
grounds for suspension, revocation, enforcement action, or some combination. A
warning is not a prerequisite for initiation of suspension, revocation, or
enforcement proceedings.
(c) After
notice and hearing, the commission may suspend or revoke a license,
certificate, or registration on any of the grounds contained in Texas Water
Code, §
7.303(b).
(d) After notice and hearing a license or
registration may be suspended for a period of up to one year, depending upon
the seriousness of the violations. A license or registration shall be revoked
after notice and hearing upon a second suspension.
(e) The commission may revoke a license or
registration after notice and hearing for a designated term or permanently. If
a license or registration is revoked a second time, the revocation shall be
permanent.
(f) The following
procedures for renewal apply to individuals that have had their license or
registration suspended.
(1) If a license or
registration expiration date falls within the suspension period, an individual
may renew the license or registration during the suspension period according to
§
30.24 of this title (relating to
License and Registration Applications for Renewal) and the applicable
subchapters of this chapter.
(2) A
license or registration suspended in accordance with subsection (j) of this
section may not be renewed during the suspension period. The license or
registration may only be renewed if the court or the Title IV-D agency renders
an order vacating or staying an order suspending the license or registration
and the license or registration has not expired during the suspension
period.
(3) After the suspension
period has ended, the license or registration shall be automatically reinstated
unless the individual failed to renew the license or registration during the
suspension period.
(g)
Individuals that have had their license or registration revoked shall not have
their license or registration reinstated after the revocation period. After the
revocation period has ended, an individual may apply for a new license or
registration according to this chapter.
(h) Criminal Conviction.
(1) After notice and hearing, the commission
may deny, suspend, or revoke a license on the grounds that the individual has
been convicted of an offense, other than a Class C misdemeanor that:
(A) directly relates to the duties and
responsibilities of the licensed occupation;
(B) is listed in Texas Code of Criminal
Procedure, Article 42.12, Section 3g; or
(C) is a sexually violent offense, as defined
by Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 62.001.
(2) The commission shall revoke the license
or registration upon an individual's imprisonment following a felony
conviction, felony community supervision revocation, revocation of parole, or
revocation of mandatory supervision.
(3) Prohibited Employment.
(A) Individuals subject to registration under
the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 62 because of a reportable
conviction or adjudication for which an affirmative finding is entered under
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 42.015(b) or Section 5(e)(2), Article
45.12, and licensed after September 1, 2013, may not, for compensation, provide
or offer to provide any type of service in the residence of another person
unless the provision of service will be supervised.
(B) For purposes of this subsection:
(i) "Residence" means a structure primarily
used as a permanent dwelling and land that is contiguous to that permanent
dwelling.
(ii) "Supervision" means
direct, continuous visual observation of the individual at all times.
(4) Except as provided
by paragraph (5) of this subsection, notwithstanding any other law, the
executive director may not consider an individual to have been convicted of an
offense for purposes of this section if, regardless of the statutory
authorization:
(A) the individual entered a
plea of guilty or
nolo contendere;(B) the judge deferred further proceedings
without entering an adjudication of guilt and placed the individual under the
supervision of the court or an officer under the supervision of the court;
and
(C) at the end of the period of
supervision, the judge dismissed the proceedings and discharged the
individual.
(5) The
executive director may consider an individual to have been convicted of an
offense for purposes of this section regardless of whether the proceedings were
dismissed and the individual was discharged as described by paragraph (4) of
this subsection if:
(A) the individual was
charged with:
(i) any offense described by
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 62.001(5); or
(ii) an offense other than an offense
described by clause (i) of this subparagraph if:
(I) the individual has not completed the
period of supervision or the individual completed the period of supervision
less than five years before the date the individual applied for the license;
or
(II) a conviction for the
offense would make the individual ineligible for the license by operation of
law; and
(B)
after consideration of the factors described by Texas Occupations Code, §
53.022 and §
53.023(a),
the executive director determines that:
(i)
the individual may pose a continued threat to public safety; or
(ii) employment of the individual in the
licensed occupation would create a situation in which the individual has an
opportunity to repeat the prohibited conduct.
(i) After notice and hearing, the
commission may revoke a maintenance provider registration on any of the grounds
in Texas Health and Safety Code, §
366.0515(m).
(j) Failure to pay child support.
(1) The commission may suspend a license or
registration if a licensed or registered individual has been identified by the
Office of the Attorney General as being delinquent on child support payments
(upon receipt of a final order suspending a license or registration, the
executive director shall proceed as described in Texas Family Code, Chapter
232).
(2) The commission shall
refuse to accept an application for:
(A)
issuance of a new license or registration to an individual; or
(B) renewal of an existing license or
registration to an individual if:
(i) the
individual has failed to pay child support for six months or more;
(ii) the commission is notified by a child
support agency, as defined by Texas Family Code, §
101.004; and
(iii) the child support agency requests the
commission to refuse to accept the application.
(3) The commission shall not accept an
application for a license that was refused under paragraph (2) of this
subsection until notified by the child support agency that the individual has:
(A) paid all child support
arrearages;
(B) made an immediate
payment of not less than $200 toward child support arrearages owed and
established with the child support agency a satisfactory repayment schedule for
the remainder or is in compliance with a court order for payment of the
arrearages;
(C) been granted an
exemption from this subsection as part of a court-supervised plan to improve
the individual's earnings and child support payments; or
(D) successfully contested the child support
agency's request for the commission's denial of issuance or renewal of the
license or registration.
(4) The commission may charge a fee in an
amount sufficient to recover the administrative costs incurred for denying or
suspending that license.
(5) For
purposes of this subsection, the suspension period for a license or
registration shall be until:
(A) the court or
the Title IV-D agency renders an order vacating or staying an order suspending
the license or registration; or
(B)
the expiration of the license or registration.
(k) The commission shall follow the
notification requirements in §
30.36 of this title (relating to
Notice) prior to the denial of an initial license, the revocation of a license,
or renewal of a license based on the individual's prior conviction of an
offense.
