Texas Administrative Code › Title 25 - HEALTH SERVICES › Part 1 - DEPARTMENT OF STATE HEALTH SERVICES › Chapter 229 - FOOD AND DRUG › Subchapter V - MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR LICENSURE OF TATTOO AND CERTAIN BODY PIERCING STUDIOS › Section 229.412 - Enforcement, Administrative Penalties, Refusal, Revocation, or Suspension of License, and Emergency Orders

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
				  Basis. The department may, after providing notice and opportunity for hearing,
				  refuse to license a studio or temporary location, or may revoke or suspend the
				  license for violations of the requirements in these sections or for any reasons
				  described in the Tattoo and Certain Body Piercing Studio Act, or in the Texas
				  Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, Health and Safety Code, Chapter 431.
(b) Hearing. All hearings for the refusal,
				  revocation or suspension of a license are governed by §§
										1.21,
				  1.23,
				  1.25, and
				  1.27 of
				  this title (relating to Formal Hearing Procedures).
(c) Enforcement and penalties.
(1) Administrative penalty. The department
				  may, after providing notice and opportunity for hearing, assess an
				  administrative penalty as provided in §146.019 of the Tattoo and Certain
				  Body Piercing Studio Act, the Health and Safety Code, Chapter 431, and §
											229.261
				  of this title (relating to Assessment of Administrative), for violations of
				  these sections. All hearings for the assessment of an administrative penalty
				  are governed by the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
(2) Civil penalty; Injunction. If it appears
				  that a person has violated or is violating Health and Safety Code, Chapter 146,
				  or an order issued or a rule adopted under Health and Safety Code, Chapter 146,
				  the commissioner may request the attorney general or the district attorney,
				  county attorney, or municipal attorney in the jurisdiction where the violation
				  is alleged to have occurred, is occurring, or may occur to institute a civil
				  suit for:
(A) an order enjoining the
				  violation;
(B) a permanent or
				  temporary injunction, a temporary restraining order, or other appropriate
				  remedy, if the department shows that the person has engaged in or is engaging
				  in a violation;
(C) the assessment
				  and recovery of a civil penalty; or
(D) both injunctive relief and a civil
				  penalty.
(3) Criminal
				  penalty. A person commits an offense if the person violates the Act or rules
				  adopted under the Act. An offense under the Act or rules is a Class A
				  misdemeanor except as indicated in §
											229.406(l)
				  of this title (relating to Client Qualifications, Disclosure, and
				  Records).
(4) Re-issuance of a
				  license. If a license issued under these sections has been revoked or denied
				  for violation of these rules, the license holder named in the revocation or
				  denial is not eligible for licensing under these sections for a period of two
				  years.
(5) Revocation or Suspension
				  of License.
(A) License holder includes sole
				  proprietors, each member of a partnership or association and, with respect to a
				  corporation, each officer and the owner or owners of a majority of the
				  corporate stock.
(B) The department
				  may suspend for not more than 60 days or revoke an original or renewal tattoo
				  studio or body piercing studio license if it is found, after notice and
				  hearing, that any of the following is true:
(i) the license holder has been convicted of
				  violating this chapter or a rule adopted under this chapter;
(ii) the license holder violated a provision
				  of this chapter or a rule adopted or order issued under this chapter;
(iii) the license holder made a false or
				  misleading statement in connection with the original or renewal application,
				  either in the formal application itself or in any other written instrument
				  relating to the application submitted to the department;
(iv) the license holder is indebted to the
				  state for fees or payment of penalties imposed by this chapter or by a rule of
				  the department adopted under this chapter;
(v) the license holder knowingly
				  misrepresented to a customer or the public any tattoo or body piercing jewelry
				  sold by the license holder; or
(vi)
				  the license holder was intoxicated on the licensed premises.
(C) The department may refuse to
				  renew or, after notice and hearing, suspend for not more than 60 days or revoke
				  a tattoo studio or body piercing studio license if the department finds that
				  the license holder is shown on the records of the comptroller as being subject
				  to a final determination of taxes due and payable under Chapter 151, Tax Code,
				  or is shown on the records of the comptroller as being subject to a final
				  determination of taxes due and payable under Chapter 321, Tax Code.
(D) If a license holder cannot be located for
				  any notice required under this section, the department shall provide notice by
				  posting a copy of the order on the front door of the licensed
				  premises.
(6) Refusal of
				  License. The department may refuse to issue an original or renewal tattoo
				  studio or body piercing studio license if it has reasonable grounds to believe
				  and finds that any of the following circumstances exist:
(A) the applicant has been convicted of a
				  violation of this chapter during the two years immediately preceding the filing
				  of the application;
(B) three years
				  have not elapsed since the termination, by pardon or otherwise, of a sentence
				  imposed on the applicant for a conviction associated with tattooing or body
				  piercing;
(C) the applicant
				  violated or caused to be violated a provision of this chapter or a rule of the
				  department adopted under this chapter involving moral turpitude during the six
				  months immediately preceding the filing of the application;
(D) the applicant failed to answer or falsely
				  or incorrectly answered a question in an original or renewal
				  application;
(E) the applicant is
				  indebted to the state for a fee or penalty imposed by this chapter or by rule
				  of the department adopted under this chapter;
(F) the applicant is a minor; or
(G) the applicant does not provide an
				  adequate building available at the address for which the license is sought
				  before conducting any activity authorized by the license.
(7) The department may refuse to issue or
				  renew, for a period of one year from the date of application for the initial or
				  renewal license, a tattoo studio or body piercing studio license for a premises
				  where a shooting, stabbing, or other violent act or an offense involving drugs
				  occurred that involved a license applicant, license holder, or registrant under
				  this chapter or a patron or employee of the studio.