Texas Occupations Code 51.4041 – Alternative Qualifications for License
(a) The commission, department, or executive director may adopt alternative means of determining or verifying a person‘s eligibility for a license issued by the department, including evaluating the person’s education, training, experience, and military service.
(a-1) Notwithstanding any other law, the alternative means adopted under Subsection (a) may include accepting as sufficient evidence of a person’s eligibility for a license relevant education, training, or experience obtained while the person was imprisoned if the person:
(1) previously held a license of the same type for which the person is applying and the license was revoked under § 53.021(b);
(2) has not been convicted of, placed on deferred adjudication for, or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to:
(A) an offense listed in Article 42A.054, Code of Criminal Procedure;
(B) a sexually violent offense, as defined by Article 62.001, Code of Criminal Procedure; or
(C) an offense under Chapter 21 or 43, Penal Code; and
(3) while imprisoned, maintained a record of good behavior and:
(A) successfully participated in a program acceptable to the department to prepare the person for reentry into the workforce in the occupation for which the person seeks a license; or
(B) performed work on a regular basis in the occupation for which the person seeks a license.
Terms Used In Texas Occupations Code 51.4041
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the commission or the executive director may waive any prerequisite for obtaining a license if the applicant currently holds a similar license issued by another jurisdiction that:
(1) has requirements for the license that are substantially equivalent to those of this state; or
(2) has a reciprocity agreement with this state for the license.
(c) The department, with approval of the governor, may enter into an agreement with another state to allow for licensing by reciprocity.