Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-1065 Page: 2 of 4
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Mr. J. Winston Krause - Page 2
renew a bingo license or to list or renew the listing of an individual
in the registry of approved bingo workers.
Id. 2001.0541 ("Rules on Consequences of Criminal Conviction"). Under subsection
53.021(a),
A licensing authority may suspend or revoke a license, [or]
disqualify a person from receiving a license ... on the grounds that
the person has been convicted of: (1) an offense that directly
relates to the duties and responsibilities of the licensed occupation;
(2) an offense that does not directly relate to the duties and
responsibilities of the licensed occupation and that was committed
less than five years before the date the person applies for the
license; [or certain other specified offenses].
Id. 53.021(a) (emphasis added). Your first question is "whether, under Chapter 53, [a non-
individual] entity's license may be denied or revoked if an officer, director, shareholder, or other
individual required to be listed in the entity's application has been convicted of an offense listed
in subsection 53.021(a)." Request Letter at 2.2
Chapter 53, entitled "Consequences of Criminal Conviction," applies broadly to
"licensing authorities" with some exceptions. TEX. Occ. CODE ANN. 53.001-.105 (West 2012
& Supp..2013). The chapter incorporates definitions from the Administrative Procedure Act
("APA"), chapter 2001 of the Government Code. Id. 53.001 (West 2012). The APA defines
the word "person" as "an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental
subdivision, or public or private organization that is not a state agency." TEX. GOv'T CODE ANN.
2001.003(5) (West 2008). Thus, "person" in chapter 53 may include legal entities other than
an individual.
A corporation or association may be convicted for its own offenses. See TEX. PENAL
CODE ANN. 7.22 (West 2011); Vaughan & Sons, Inc. v. State, 737 S.W.2d 805, 811 (Tex.
Crim. App. 1987). Consequently, subsection 53.021(a) of the Occupations Code is applicable
when a legal entity is a licensee or applicant that has been convicted of one of the specified
offenses, although a legal entity may not be capable of committing all of the offenses listed in
subsection 53.021(a). TEX. Occ. CODE ANN. 53.021(a) (West Supp. 2013) (concerning
licensing consequences when the "person" has been convicted for offenses related to the
occupation, or for fraud, or for various violent or sexual offenses).
2The Commission has recently adopted a rule stating that it "will not apply Chapter 53, Occupations Code,
to officers, directors, or shareholders of, or other individuals associated with, an applicant that is a nonindividual
business entity." 16 TEX. ADMIN. CODE 402.702(a) (2014). We limit our analysis to the statutory authority that
has been granted to the Commission under chapter 53.(GA-1065)
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: GA-1065, text, June 9, 2014; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1051003/m1/2/?rotate=270: accessed July 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.