Texas Administrative Code › Title 7 - BANKING AND SECURITIES › Part 4 - DEPARTMENT OF SAVINGS AND MORTGAGE LENDING › Chapter 81 - MORTGAGE BANKERS AND RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LOAN ORIGINATORS › Subchapter B - LICENSING OF INDIVIDUAL ORIGINATORS › Section 81.111 - Request for Criminal History Eligibility Determination

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Purpose and Applicability. This section
				  establishes the procedures by which an individual may seek a preliminary review
				  of his or her eligibility to be licensed by the Department with respect to his
				  or her criminal history prior to formally applying with the Department for
				  licensure, as authorized by Occupations Code Chapter 53. Pursuant to Tex. Occ.
				  Code §53.102, the evaluation contemplated by this section is available to
				  an individual who has reason to believe he or she is ineligible to be licensed
				  by the Department due to a conviction or deferred adjudication for a felony or
				  misdemeanor offense, and who is enrolled or is planning to enroll in an
				  educational program that prepares an individual to be licensed by the
				  Department. The Commissioner will not offer advisory opinions concerning
				  criminal convictions or sentences that have not actually occurred.
(b) Request for Preliminary Eligibility
				  Determination; Supporting Documentation. The request must be made on the form
				  prescribed by the Commissioner and published on the Department's website. The
				  fee to make a request under this section is $75.
(c) Review of Request for Preliminary
				  Evaluation. A request made under this section will be reviewed by the
				  Commissioner and Department staff to determine the requestor's eligibility
				  utilizing the same procedures for review of an individual's criminal history
				  when making an application for licensure, and is subject to the Department's
				  criminal conviction guidelines set forth in §
										RSA
				  81.110 of this title (relating to Criminal
				  Conviction Guidelines). As a result, the requestor, in making the request, must
				  list all offenses that actually resulted in a criminal conviction, or that
				  otherwise constitute a criminal conviction for purposes of Tex. Fin. Code.
				  § 157.0131 and §
										RSA
				  81.110 of this title (relating to Criminal
				  Conviction Guidelines). The requestor's incarcerated status that would render
				  the individual ineligible for licensure pursuant to Tex. Occ. Code
				  §53.021(b) will be disregarded; however, the Department will consider the
				  implications of the requestor's anticipated release from incarceration in
				  making its determination.
(d)
				  Determination of Eligibility. Within 90 days of receipt of the fully-completed
				  request, the Department will notify the requestor of his or her eligibility to
				  receive a license issued under Finance Code Chapters 157 and 180.
(e) Effect of Determination. In the absence
				  of new evidence known but not disclosed by the requestor, or not reasonably
				  available to the Department in consideration of the disclosures made by the
				  requestor, the Commissioner's decision regarding eligibility of the requestor
				  concerning his or her criminal history will be determinative for purposes of
				  reviewing a subsequent application for licensure from the requestor. However,
				  the Commissioner's decision regarding eligibility will not be determinative to
				  the extent the request for preliminary eligibility determination contained
				  fraudulent or misleading information or supporting documentation or otherwise
				  failed to list a criminal conviction of the requestor that was not otherwise
				  discovered by the Department in investigating the request, regardless of
				  whether or not the requestor was aware of the conviction at the time of the
				  request, and including any subsequent conviction received by the requestor. A
				  decision that the requestor is eligible will not be determinative if the
				  requestor is determined to be ineligible for licensure by operation of law as
				  provided by Tex. Fin. Code § 180.055(a) and §
										RSA
				  81.110 of this title (relating to Criminal
				  Conviction Guidelines).