Sec. 246.022.  APPLICATION FOR AND ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY.  (a)  The commissioner shall adopt rules stating the information an applicant for a certificate of authority must submit.
(b)  On receiving an application for a certificate of authority, the commissioner shall conduct a hearing on the application.
(c)  The commissioner shall grant an application for a certificate of authority if the commissioner finds that:
(1)  the applicant or the facility is financially sound; 
(2)  the competence, experience, and integrity of the applicant, its board of directors, its officers, or its management make it in the public interest to issue the certificate;  and
(3)  the applicant is capable of complying with this chapter.
(d)  The commissioner shall issue an order approving or disapproving an application not later than the 180th day after the date on which the application is filed.
(e)  The commissioner may limit issuance of certificates of authority to incorporated entities only.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989.