37 Tex. Admin. Code § 651.220 - Laboratory License for De Minimis Texas Casework
(a) A laboratory may apply to the Commission
for a De Minimis Texas Casework License on behalf of its
laboratory personnel. The Licensing Advisory Committee and/or the Commission
Director or Designee shall review each application and make a determination
regarding whether to grant a license under this section based on the criteria
set forth in subsection (c) of this section. Any laboratory that is denied a
request for a license under this section may appeal the decision to the full
Commission.
(b) Laboratory
De Minimis Texas Casework License Term. A laboratory
De Minimis Texas Casework License and corresponding licenses
granted under this section shall expire two (2) years from the date of
issuance.
(c) Texas Casework
Threshold. The Commission may grant a De Minimis Texas
Casework License to a laboratory that demonstrates in an application published
by the Commission that the laboratory's Texas casework constitutes less than
10% of its overall volume of casework during the five calendar years preceding
the application (calculated as a rolling average for each individual laboratory
site or location) to be re-evaluated at each expiration of the two-year license
term. In the absence of historical data, the best available data shall be used
to determine whether a laboratory has exceeded or is expected to exceed the 10%
threshold.
(d)
De
Minimis License for Individual Non-Interpreting Analysts and
Technicians. With the exception of any "interpreting analysts" as defined in
subsection (g)(1) of this section, all analysts and technicians employed by a
laboratory determined by the Commission to meet the criteria for a De Minimis
Texas Casework License shall be licensed upon fulfillment of the following
requirements of the employing laboratory:
(1)
submit to Commission staff a list of the names of each individual analyst or
technician who is licensed under the De Minimis provision
indicating the forensic discipline(s) for which each analyst or technician is
qualified to perform independent casework; and
(2) certify on a form provided by the
Commission that each individual named:
(A)
works under the supervision of a fully licensed forensic analyst when
performing work for Texas criminal cases;
(B) has read and understands the Code of
Professional Responsibility in this subchapter;
(C) has completed all training materials
related to Brady v. Maryland discovery obligations and the
Michael Morton Act (Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 39.14) as provided by
the Commission; and
(D) has
participated in the Mandatory Legal and Professional Responsibility Training
described in §
651.208(e)(1) -
(2) of this subchapter (relating to Forensic
Analyst and Forensic Technician License Renewal).
(e) Disclosures Required
by De Minimis Texas Casework Licensed Laboratories.
Laboratories licensed under this section must comply with all disclosure
obligations required under this chapter.
(f) Change in Scope of De
Minimis Licensee Work. Where the scope of an individual licensed under
the De Minimis provision changes to include interpreting
analyst activities as defined in subsection (g)(1) of this section, the
employing laboratory must notify the Commission within seven (7) days of the
change, and the licensee must apply to become fully licensed before performing
interpreting analyst activities.
(g) Interpreting Analysts. Laboratories
granted a De Minimis Texas Casework License shall fully
license all "interpreting analysts" as defined in paragraph (1) of this
subsection pursuant to the components described in §
651.207 of this subchapter
(relating to Forensic Analyst Licensing Requirements, Including License Term,
Fee and Procedure for Denial of Application and Reconsideration).
(1) Interpreting Analyst Definition. However
named, an "interpreting analyst" uses his or her scientific expertise and
judgment to interpret data resulting from an expert examination or test and
provides information to the trier of fact either by signing a report or
testifying in a criminal action. Interpreting analysts have significant
decision-making authority regarding the progress, evaluation, and conclusion of
forensic analyses and are qualified to both perform independent casework and
technically review the work of other analysts. An interpreting analyst
exercises judgment in casework and may be called to testify regarding the
results of forensic analysis, including not only the steps involved in the
physical processing of the evidence, but also the potential significance of
information obtained from the examination or test.
(2) Technical Reviewers. Technical reviewers
who perform technical reviews of an interpreting analyst's casework are
considered interpreting analysts.
(3) Requirements for Interpreting Analysts
Previously Licensed under the Blanket Provision. An interpreting analyst
licensed prior to August 24, 2020, under the original out-of-state crime
laboratory blanket licensing program, must comply with the specific coursework
and minimum education requirements that were in effect prior to January 1,
2019.
(h) Licensee
Transfers to Laboratories Physically Located in Texas. An individual forensic
analyst or technician licensed prior to August 24, 2020, under the original
out-of-state crime laboratory blanket license program or the superseding
De Minimis Texas casework license program who transfers
employment to an accredited crime laboratory physically located in Texas within
one year of departing employment from the laboratory through which the licensee
originally obtained his or her blanket or De Minimis license
shall comply with the requirements in place at the time the analyst's initial
license was granted.
(i) Fees. A
laboratory with analysts and/or technicians licensed under the De
Minimis Texas casework program shall pay the requisite license fee for
each of the laboratory's forensic analysts and technicians licensed under the
De Minimis program and the full forensic analyst or technician
license fees for each of the laboratory's interpreting analysts as set forth in
this subchapter.
Notes
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