The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

1. (1) Accredited laboratory - Includes a public or private laboratory or other entity that conducts forensic analysis as defined in Article 38.35, Code of Criminal Procedure, and is accredited by a national accrediting body recognized by the Commission and listed in §651.4 of this title (relating to List of Recognized Accrediting Bodies).
2. (2) Accredited university - A college or university accredited by a national accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education or a foreign university with a degree program(s) recognized as equivalent by the Commission
3. (3) Crime scene investigation - Includes locating, documenting, and preserving evidence at a crime scene as well as analysis of selected evidence for purposes of assessing suitability for additional forensic testing. It does not include the application of the scientific method to evaluate information regarding a scene, which would be considered crime scene reconstruction.
4. (4) Crime scene processing - Includes locating, documenting, and preserving evidence at a crime scene, but does not include any analytical activities with respect to the evidence.
5. (5) Crime scene reconstruction - The application of the scientific method to evaluate information regarding a crime scene from all reasonably available sources such as scene documentation, investigative reports, physical evidence, laboratory reports, autopsy documentation, photographs, video, and witness statements. Crime Scene Reconstruction--as distinguished from crime scene processing or crime scene investigation--includes the application of analytical methods beyond general observations or opinions about the scene to identify and test hypotheses.
6. (6) Document Examination - Includes the scientific examinations, analyses, and comparisons of documents in order to determine the origin, authenticity, and authorship.
7. (7) Forensic analysis - Has the meaning assigned by Article 38.35, Code of Criminal Procedure.
8. (8) Forensic analyst - A person who on behalf of a crime laboratory accredited under Article 38.01 §4-d, Code of Criminal Procedure, technically reviews or performs a forensic analysis or draws conclusions from or interprets a forensic analysis for a court or crime laboratory. The term does not include a medical examiner or other forensic pathologist who is a licensed physician.
9. (9) Forensic anthropology - Includes the application of anthropological methods and theory, particularly those relating to the recovery and analysis of human remains.
10. (10) Forensic pathology - Includes that portion of an autopsy conducted by a medical examiner or other forensic pathologist who is a licensed physician.

11. (11) Inactive- A forensic analyst or forensic technician license issued by the Commission is designated inactive when a person licensed by the Commission:

    1. (A) departs employment, experiences a gap in employment, is not actively performing casework, or temporarily assumes non-forensic analysis administrative duties for an accredited laboratory; or
    2. (B) is within the period of ninety (90) days permitted to reinstate an expired license pursuant to §651.209(a) of this subchapter (relating to Forensic Analyst and Forensic Technician License Expiration).
12. (12) Interpretation for toxicology - Interpretation is the consideration of dose-response relationships between drugs, alcohol, or other compounds of interest and the resulting behavioral or physical changes to human performance, including the evaluation of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics parameters. Examples include but are not limited to: calculation of dose or other pharmacokinetic calculations; determination of drug/drug interactions; determination (or reporting) of therapeutic, toxic, or lethal drug ranges; evaluation of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, or excretion; and determination of the effects (mental or physical).
13. (13) Latent print examination - Includes the forensic examination of friction ridge detail from the hands and feet.
14. (14) Latent Print Processing -Includes identifying and preserving latent prints from items obtained at a crime scene utilizing appropriate visual, physical, and/or chemical techniques with sequential processing to develop latent, patent, and/or plastic prints from a substrate.
15. (15) Physical evidence - Has the meaning assigned by Article 38.35, Code of Criminal Procedure.
16. (16) Professional Misconduct - The forensic analyst or crime laboratory, through a material act or omission, deliberately failed to follow the standard of practice that an ordinary forensic analyst or crime laboratory would have followed, and the deliberate act or omission would substantially affect the integrity of the results of a forensic analysis. An act or omission was deliberate if the forensic analyst or crime laboratory was aware of and consciously disregarded an accepted standard of practice required for a forensic analysis.
17. (17) Forensic Technician - An individual who performs basic analytical functions under the supervision of a qualified analyst, but does not evaluate data, reach conclusions, or sign any report for court or investigative purposes, shall be considered a technician under the disciplines set forth in this section, with the exception of a Firearms/Toolmarks Technician who may issue a report provided it is limited to a representation that a firearm was test-fired and/or cartridge cases were entered into the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network

Source Note:The provisions of this §651.202 adopted to be effective May 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 3106; amended to be effective September 15, 2019, 44 TexReg 4874; amended to be effective April 5, 2020, 45 TexReg 2318; amended to be effective August 22, 2024, 49 TexReg 6250; amended to be effective March 6, 2025, 50 TexReg 1695.