Legislative Changes to Licensing Requirements

Extending License Renewal Period

HB 1237 allows licensed individuals additional time to renew any license or registration up to 180 days past expiration, for licenses that expire on or after September 1, 2025. The bill allows TCEQ to charge up to 1.5 times the normal fee to renew a license or registration that is up to 90 days past expiration and up to two times the normal renewal fee to renew a license or registration that is more than 90 days but not more than 180 days past expiration. Previously, the statute only allowed an individual to renew their license up to 30 days past the expiration date and allowed a licensing agency to charge up to 1.5 times the normal fee. TCEQ proposes to set the renewal fees for 1.5 times the normal fee and 2 times the normal fee for license and registration applications that are submitted up to 90 and 180 days past expiration respectively. For 3-year licenses, this would equate to $166.50 and $222 respectively.

The statute also allows for an individual who submits a renewal application within 90 days after license expiration date to continue performing duties that require a license.

Military Reciprocity

HB 5629 and SB 1818 amend the process for military service members, veterans, and military spouses applying for a reciprocal license.
HB 5629 amends the reciprocal process for military service members, veterans, and military spouses with an occupational license from another state seeking an occupational license in Texas on or after September 1, 2025. The review process for reciprocal licenses will be based on whether the license in the other state is similar in scope of practice to a license in Texas, regardless of whether the requirements are substantially equivalent to Texas or how the license was obtained. A military member, veteran, or military spouse, applying for a reciprocal license in Texas, would need to provide supporting documentation to prove that he or she is in good standing with the state from which he or she holds a license by submitting a notarized affidavit. HB 5629 gives TCEQ 10 days to respond to an applicant as to 1) whether they qualify for the reciprocal license, 2) the application is incomplete, or 3) the agency is unable to recognize the applicant’s out-of-state license. HB 5629 also requires TCEQ to waive the application fee for all applications for a new license submitted by a military service member, veteran, or military spouse. Additionally, HB 5629 requires TCEQ to maintain a record of complaints made against military service members, veterans, or military spouses with reciprocal licenses and publish these complaints quarterly on the agency’s website.

SB 1818 requires state licensing authorities to promptly issue a provisional license or license to military members, veterans, and military spouses who apply for a reciprocal license. The provisional license would expire when the agency approves or denies the application for a reciprocal license or 180 days after the provisional license is issued, whichever comes first.

Automatic Revocation

SB 1080 amended the automatic revocation of licenses following a felony conviction. It continues to require TCEQ to automatically revoke a license for a felony conviction that results in imprisonment for an offense that directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the licensed occupation, an offense listed in Article 42A.054, Code of Criminal Procedure, or a sexually violent offense, as defined by Article 62.001, Code of Criminal Procedures. However, while it allows it, it no longer requires automatic revocation for all other felony convictions that resulted in imprisonment. Previously, the statute required automatic revocation for all licensees that received any felony conviction that resulted in imprisonment.

The bill did not affect the requirement to revoke a license on the license holder’s imprisonment following a felony community supervision revocation, revocation of parole, or revocation of mandatory supervision.

Other Changes

The statute allows for an individual who submits a renewal application within 90 days after the license expiration date to continue performing duties that require the license. Although the statute does not expressly address completion of required training during this 90-day period, the proposed rulemaking would allow an individual who submits a renewal application during that period to complete the required training within that 90-day period.

Other minor updates to 30 TAC Chapter 30 will be made, as necessary, to provide consistency with other licensing requirements and rules.

Stakeholder Engagement

TCEQ will hold a hybrid virtual and in-person public hearing on this proposal in Austin on September 9, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. in building E, room 201S at the commission's central office located at 12100 Park 35 Circle.

Individuals who plan to attend the hearing virtually and want to provide oral comments and/or want their attendance on record must register by September 7, 2026. To register for the hearing, please email Rules@tceq.texas.gov and provide the following information: your name, your affiliation, your email address, your phone number, and whether or not you plan to provide oral comments during the hearing. Instructions for participating in the hearing will be sent on September 8, 2026, to those who register for the hearing.

For the public who do not wish to provide oral comments but would like to view the hearing may do so at no cost at: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/3e5e0072-0b2a-4c8f-b7aa-c7597329a161@871a83a4-a1ce-4b7a-8156-3bcd93a08fba

TCEQ held a stakeholder meeting on October 20, 2025, and sent a follow-up survey on October 21, 2025, to approximately 45,500 licensees for which the TCEQ had an email address on file. Stakeholder meetings are an opportunity for the public to provide informal comments to staff prior to the start of formal rulemaking.

Rulemaking Petitions

On September 25, 2024, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality received rulemaking petitions from the Water Environment Association of Texas and the Texas Section of the American Water Works Association. The petitioners requested that ethics training be included in the continuing education requirements for renewal of all levels of public water system and wastewater operator licenses.

TCEQ evaluated this request, including soliciting stakeholder feedback through the meeting and a survey mentioned above. After evaluation, TCEQ does not plan to require ethics training through rulemaking. Licensees may take ethics training to count toward the continuing education required to renew a license. TCEQ acknowledges the benefits of ethics training and is open to exploring ways to encourage ethics training and explore opportunities for expanding course offerings in the future.

A copy of the petitions can be found here: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/downloads/rules/current/25005pet.pdf