SECTION 153.19. Licensing for Persons with Criminal History and Fitness Determination

(a) No currently incarcerated individual is eligible to obtain or renew a license. A person's license will be revoked upon the person's incarceration following a felony conviction, felony probation revocation, revocation of parole, or revocation of mandatory suspension.

(b) The Board may suspend or revoke an existing valid license, disqualify an individual from receiving a license, deny to a person the opportunity to be examined for a license or deny any application for a license, if the person has been convicted of a felony, had their felony probation revoked, had their parole revoked, or had their mandatory supervision revoked. Any such action may be taken after consideration of the required factors in Chapter 53, Occupations Code and this section.

(c) A license holder must conduct himself or herself with honesty, integrity, and trustworthiness. After considering the required factors in Chapter 53, Occupations Code, the Board determines that a conviction or deferred adjudication deemed a conviction under Chapter 53, Occupations Code, of the following crimes to be directly related to the duties and responsibilities of a certified general or certified residential appraiser, a licensed appraiser or appraiser trainee:

(1) offenses involving fraud or misrepresentation;

(2) offenses against real or personal property belonging to another;

(3) offenses against public administration, including tampering with a government record, witness tampering, perjury, bribery, and corruption;

(4) offenses involving the sale or other disposition of real or personal property belonging to another without authorization of law; and

(5) offenses of attempting or conspiring to commit any of the foregoing offenses.

(d) When determining whether a conviction of a criminal offense not listed in subsection (c) of this section directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of a licensed occupation regulated by the Board, the Board considers:

(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 occupation;

(3) the extent to which a license might offer an opportunity to engage in further criminal activity of the same type as that in which the person previously had been involved;

(4) the relationship of the crime to the ability or capacity required to perform the duties and discharge the responsibilities of the licensed occupation; and

(5) any correlation between the elements of the crime and the duties and responsibilities of the licensed occupation.

(e) When determining the present fitness of an applicant or license holder who has been convicted of a crime, the Board also considers:

(1) the extent and nature of the person's past criminal activity;

(2) the person's age at the time the crime was committed;

(3) the amount of time that has elapsed since the person's last criminal activity;

(4) the person's conduct and work activity before and after the criminal activity;

(5) evidence of the person's compliance with any conditions of community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision;

(6) evidence of the person's rehabilitation or rehabilitative effort while incarcerated or following release; and

(7) other evidence of the applicant's or license holder's present fitness including letters of recommendation.

(f) To the extent possible, it is the applicant's or license holder's responsibility to obtain and provide the recommendations described in subsection (e)(7) of this section.

(g) When determining a person's fitness to perform the duties and discharge the responsibilities of a licensed occupation regulated by the Board, the Board does not consider an arrest that did not result in a conviction or placement on deferred adjudication community supervision.

(h) Fitness Determination. Before applying for a license, a person may request the Board to determine if the prospective applicant's fitness satisfies the Board's requirements for licensing by submitting the request form approved by the Board and paying the required fee. Upon receiving such a request, the Board may request additional supporting materials. Requests will be processed under the same standards as applications for a license.

Source Note: The provisions of this §153.19 adopted to be effective March 2, 1992, 17 TexReg 1231; amended to be effective April 1, 1993, 18 TexReg 1680; amended to be effective November 10, 1993, 18 TexReg 7542; amended to be effective March 1, 1997, 22 TexReg 1717; amended to be effective April 1, 2001, 26 TexReg 2163; amended to be effective August 28, 2007, 32 TexReg 5368; amended to be effective November 12, 2009, 34 TexReg 7808; amended to be effective December 27, 2010, 35 TexReg 11660; amended to be effective September 7, 2014, 39 TexReg 6857; amended to beeffective March 2, 2017, 42 TexReg 764; amended to be effective December 8, 2019, 44 TexReg 7537; amended to be effective September 13, 2020, 45 TexReg 6235