Sec. 325.0115. CRITERIA FOR REVIEW OF CERTAIN AGENCIES. (a) In this section:
(1) "License" means a license, certificate, registration, permit, or other form of authorization required by law or a state agency rule that must be obtained by an individual to engage in a particular occupation or profession.
(2) "Public interest" means protection from a present and recognizable harm to public health, safety, or welfare. The term does not include speculative threats, or other non-demonstrable menaces to public health, safety, or welfare. For the purposes of this subdivision, the term "welfare" includes the financial health of the public when the absence of governmental regulation unreasonably increases risk and liability to broad classes of consumers.
(b) In an assessment of an agency that licenses an occupation or profession, the commission and its staff shall consider:
(1) whether the occupational licensing program:
(A) serves a meaningful, defined public interest; and
(B) provides the least restrictive form of regulation that will adequately protect the public interest;
(2) the extent to which the regulatory objective of the occupational licensing program may be achieved through market forces, private or industry certification and accreditation programs, or enforcement of other law;
(3) the extent to which licensing criteria, if applicable, ensure that applicants have occupational skill sets or competencies that correlate with a public interest and the impact that those criteria have on applicants, particularly those with moderate or low incomes, seeking to enter the occupation or profession; and
(4) the impact of the regulation, including the extent to which the program stimulates or restricts competition and affects consumer choice and the cost of services.
Added by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 222 (H.B. 86), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2013.
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