(a) The licenses issued by the department create positions of trust. License holders provide services to members of the public. License holder services involve access to confidential information, conveyance, titling, and registration of private property, possession of monies belonging to or owed to private individuals, creditors, and governmental entities, and compliance with federal and state environmental and safety regulations. License holders are provided with opportunities to engage in fraud, theft, money laundering, and related crimes and to engage in environmental and safety violations that endanger the public. In addition, licensure provides persons predisposed to commit assaultive or sexual crimes with greater opportunities to engage in such conduct.
(b) Under Occupations Code Chapter 53 the department may suspend or revoke an existing license or disqualify an applicant from receiving a license because of a person's conviction of a felony or misdemeanor if the crime directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the licensed occupation. The department shall consider the factors listed in the Occupations Code §53.022 in determining whether a criminal conviction directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of a license holder.
(c) The department has determined under the factors listed in Occupations Code §53.022 that offenses detailed in subsection (d) of this section directly relate to the duties and responsibilities of license holders, either because the offense entails a violation of the public trust; issuance of a license would provide an opportunity to engage in further criminal activity of the same type; or the offense demonstrates the person's inability to act with honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity. Such offenses include crimes under the laws of another state, the United States, or a foreign jurisdiction, if the offense contains elements that are substantially similar to the elements of an offense under the laws of this state. The list of offenses in subsection (d) of this section is in addition to those that are independently disqualifying under Occupations Code §53.021, including:
  (1) an offense listed in Article 42A.054, Code of Criminal Procedure; or
  (2) a sexually violent offense, as defined by Article 62.001, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(d) The list of offenses in this subsection is intended to provide guidance only and is not exhaustive of the offenses that may relate to a particular regulated occupation. After due consideration of the circumstances of the criminal act and its relationship to the position of trust involved in the particular licensed occupation, the department may find that an offense not described below also renders a person unfit to hold a license based on the criteria listed in Occupations Code §53.022. Paragraphs (1) - (8) of this subsection apply to all license types. Paragraphs (9) - (15) of this subsection apply only to retail license types. Paragraph (16) of this subsection applies to offenses applicable to a license type.
  (1) offenses involving fraud, theft, deceit, misrepresentation, or that otherwise reflect poorly on the person's honesty or trustworthiness, including an offense defined as moral turpitude;
  (2) offenses involving forgery, falsification of records, or perjury;
  (3) offenses involving the offering, paying, or taking of bribes, kickbacks, or other illegal compensation;
  (4) felony offenses against public administration;
  (5) felony offenses under a state or federal statute or regulation involving the manufacture, sale, finance, distribution, repair, salvage, or demolition, of motor vehicles;
  (6) felony offenses under a state or federal statute or regulation related to emissions standards, waste disposal, water contamination, air pollution, or other environmental offenses;
  (7) offenses committed while engaged in a licensed activity or on licensed premises;
  (8) felony offenses involving the possession, manufacture, delivery, or intent to deliver controlled substances, simulated controlled substances, dangerous drugs, or engaging in an organized criminal activity;
  (9) felony offenses against real or personal property belonging to another;
  (10) offenses involving the sale or disposition of another person's real or personal property;
  (11) a reportable felony offense conviction under Chapter 62, Texas Code of Criminal Procedure for which the person must register as a sex offender;
  (12) an offense against the family as described by Penal Code §§25.02, 25.07, 25.072, or 25.11;
  (13) felony offenses against the person;
  (14) a felony stalking offense as described by Penal Code §42.072;
  (15) a felony offense against public order and decency as described by Penal Code §§43.24, 43.25, 43.251, 43.26, 43.261, or 43.262; and
  (16) offenses of attempting or conspiring to commit any of the foregoing offenses applicable to the license type.
(e) When determining a person's present fitness for a license, the department shall also consider the following evidence:
  (1) the extent and nature of the person's past criminal activity;
  (2) the age of the person when the crime was committed;
  (3) the amount of time that has elapsed since the person's last criminal activity;
  (4) the conduct and work activity of the person before and after the criminal activity;
  (5) evidence of the person's rehabilitation or rehabilitative effort while incarcerated or after release;
  (6) evidence of the person's compliance with any conditions of community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision; and
  (7) other evidence of the person's present fitness, including letters of recommendation.
(f) It is the person's responsibility to obtain and provide to the licensing authority evidence regarding the factors listed in subsection (e) of this section.

Source Note: The provisions of this §211.3 adopted to be effective October 31, 2020, 45 TexReg 7435