(a) Definitions. The following terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meaning:      
        (1) Initial training--Training, required by rule, to obtain an initial occupational license identified in Subchapters B - L of this chapter (relating to Backflow Prevention Assembly Testers; Customer Service Inspectors; Landscape Irrigators, Irrigation Technicians and Irrigation Inspectors; Leaking Petroleum Storage Tank Corrective Action Project Managers and Specialists; Municipal Solid Waste Facility Supervisors; On-Site Sewage Facilities Installers, Apprentices, Designated Representatives, Maintenance Providers, Maintenance Technicians, and Site Evaluators; Water Treatment Specialists; Underground Storage Tank On-Site Supervisor Licensing and Contractor Registration; Wastewater Operators and Operations Companies; Public Water System Operators and Operations Companies; Visible Emissions Evaluator Training and Certification).       
        (2) Student--An individual who is enrolled in an educational or instructional program that prepares the individual for an initial occupational license.       
        (3) Training provider--An administrative entity or individual that provides initial training.       
      (b) A training provider shall notify its students of:      
        (1) the potential ineligibility of an individual who has been convicted of an offense for issuance of an occupational license by the executive director upon completion by the individual of the initial training;       
        (2) the current guidelines adopted by the executive director;       
        (3) the circumstances described in §30.33 of this title (relating to License or Registration Denial, Warning, Suspension, or Revocation) under which the executive director may consider an individual to have been convicted of an offense, regardless of whether the proceedings were dismissed and the individual was discharged, for the purpose of denying, suspending, or revoking the license; and       
        (4) the right of an individual to request a criminal history evaluation letter from the agency under Texas Occupations Code, §53.102 as described in §30.13 of this title (relating to Eligibility of Certain Applicants for Occupational Licenses or Registrations).       
      (c) A training provider shall require each student to sign an acknowledgement that the training provider notified the student of the information described in subsection (b) of this section. This acknowledgement may be provided in an electronic form.     
      (d) A training provider shall retain records of the signed acknowledgment described in subsection (c) of this section for at least five years after the student confirms receipt of the information described in subsection (b) of this section.     
      (e) If the student's application for an initial occupational license is denied due to the student's criminal conviction history, and the training provider failed to provide the student the information described in subsection (b) of this section, the student may request that the commission order the training provider to:      
        (1) refund the student the amount of tuition paid to the training provider; and       
        (2) pay the student an amount equal to the total of:                  (A) the amount of any application fees paid by the student to the agency for the occupational license which the student was denied due to the student's conviction criminal history; and                   (B) the amount of any examination fees paid by the student to the agency or an examination provider approved by the executive director for the occupational license which the student was denied due to the student's criminal conviction history.         
      (f) To be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to subsection (e) of this section, the student must submit a written request for recovery of costs to the Office of the Chief Clerk, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Mail Code, 105, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087 and the training provider within:      
        (1) 60 days after the date the executive director mails the final notice of denial of the student's application for an initial occupational license; or       
        (2) if the final decision is contested, within 30 days of the final commission decision to deny the license, whichever is later.       
      (g) A student seeking reimbursement pursuant to subsection (e) of this section must provide documentation of the amount of tuition, application fees, and examination fees that were incurred by the student.     
      (h) A training provider may file a response to a student's request for reimbursement with the chief clerk within 30 days after the delivery of the student's written request for reimbursement.     
      (i) After the deadline for the training provider to file a response to a student's request, the commission may consider the student's request at a commission meeting.     
      (j) The chief clerk shall mail notice to the student, training provider, executive director, and public interest counsel at least 30 days before the first meeting at which the commission considers the student's request for reimbursement.     
     Source Note:        The provisions of this §30.29 adopted to be effective December 9, 2020, 45 TexReg 8775