SECTION 218.7. Waiver of Legislatively Required Continuing Education

(a) The executive director may waive the legislatively required continuing education for a licensee, as required by the Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1701, if the licensee demonstrates the existence of mitigating circumstances justifying the licensee's failure to obtain the legislatively required continuing education.

(b) Mitigating circumstances are defined as:

(1) catastrophic illness or injury that prevents the licensee from performing active duty for longer than 12 months; or

(2) active duty with the armed forces of the United States, or a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States for a time period in excess of 12 months.

(c) A request for a waiver of the legislatively required continuing education due to mitigating circumstances shall be in writing, accompanied by verifying documentation, and shall be submitted to the executive director with a copy to the chief administrator of the licensee's appointing agency not less than 30 days prior to the end of the training unit.

(d) Absent mitigating circumstances, a request for a waiver under this section shall be submitted to the executive director not less than 90 days prior to the end of the training unit.

(e) The commission may waive the requirement for civil process training if not less than 90 days prior to the end of the training cycle:

(1) the constable requests a waiver for the deputy constable based on a representation that the deputy constable's duty assignment does not involve civil process responsibilities; or

(2) the constable or deputy constable requests a waiver because of hardship and the commission determines that a hardship exists.

(f) Within 20 days of receiving a request for a waiver under this section, the executive director shall notify the licensee and the chief administrator of the licensee's appointing agency, whether the request has been granted or denied.

(g) A licensee, whose request for a waiver under this section is denied, is entitled to a hearing in accordance with Texas Government Code, Chapter 2001. The licensee must request a hearing within 20 days of the waiver being denied. In a hearing pursuant to this subsection, the licensee is the petitioner and the executive director is the respondent. The burden of proof shall be on the licensee to show why he or she is entitled to a waiver of the legislatively required continuing education requirement.

(h) The effective date of this section is February 1, 2014.

Source Note: The provisions of this §218.7 adopted to be effective February 1, 2014, 38 TexReg 9616