37 Tex. Admin. Code § 651.220 – Blanket License for Out-of-State Laboratories for Purpose of Ensuring the Availability of Uncommon Forensic Analyses, Timeliness of Forensic Analyses, and/or Service to Counties with Limited Access to Forensic Analysis

(a) A laboratory located outside the State of Texas may apply to the Commission for a blanket license on behalf of its laboratory personnel who perform forensic analyses primarily outside of Texas but whose Texas cases fall within one of the following categories:
1. (1) The Texas customer requests a type of forensic analysis that is not widely available in accredited forensic laboratories; or
2. (2) The request is necessary to ensure the availability of timely forensic analyses in counties for which access to forensic analyses is limited; and
3. (3) The laboratory's workflow process is organized in such a manner that the temporary license criteria are impractical or inapplicable to the forensic analysts performing the analyses in question; and
4. (4) Obtaining a forensic analyst license for the individuals engaged in the testing in question would be so burdensome as to restrict the out-of-state laboratory's ability to offer forensic analyses in Texas.
(b) A blanket license granted under this section shall apply to all forensic analyses performed by up to 10 (ten) forensic analysts in the laboratory per year.
(c) The laboratory shall submit an application for a blanket license to the Commission, pay the requisite blanket license fee as set forth in this subchapter, and submit a certification on a form provided by the Commission, stating laboratory employees performing forensic analyses for Texas cases have:
1. (1) reviewed the Code of Professional Responsibility in this subchapter; and
2. (2) completed all training materials related to Brady v. Maryland discovery obligations and the Michael Morton Act (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 39.14) as provided by the Commission.
(d) A blanket license granted under this section shall expire one (1) year from the date of issuance.
(e) The Licensing Advisory Committee and/or the Commission Director or Designee shall review each blanket license application and make a determination regarding whether to grant a license under this section based on the criteria set forth in (a)(1) - (4) of this section. Any laboratory that is denied a request for blanket license may appeal the decision to the full Commission.

Source Note:The provisions of this §651.220 adopted to be effective December 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 7911.