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TDLR remands journeyman electrician case to enforcement for agreed restricted license after hearing
Summary
After a contested hearing the commission remanded Chad Rice's journeyman electrician renewal to enforcement to negotiate an agreed restricted license with reporting and rehabilitation terms, rather than adopt the prosecutor's proposed revocation.
After hearing testimony and argument in a contested renewal case, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation commission remanded the renewal application and existing journeyman electrician license of Chad Rice to enforcement with instructions to negotiate an agreed restricted license. The commission said enforcement should include reporting and rehabilitation terms; if staff cannot reach an agreed order, the proposed final decision (PFD) will be returned to the commission for a full hearing in December.
The enforcement division had recommended denial and revocation citing Rice's criminal history, including misdemeanor family-violence convictions and deferred community supervision for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Jessica Hurtado, a prosecutor in the enforcement division, told commissioners the department considered the offenses to be "guideline crimes for electricians" and said Rice had not provided evidence of rehabilitation at the contested hearing.
Rice and a supporter who identified herself as a former partner spoke at the hearing and described facts Rice said were defensive in nature; Rice told the commission he was unaware that the renewal application omitted his criminal history and said office staff usually prepare his paperwork. The commission discussed available remedies including a restricted license that would allow Rice to work under conditions limiting public-safety risk while requiring monitoring.
Doug Jennings, general counsel, explained the practical path: remand the matter to enforcement with direction to negotiate an agreed restricted license and return to the commission with either the agreed order for dismissal of the PFD or evidence that no agreement could be reached. The commission voted to remand the matter and instructed enforcement to bring the negotiated agreement back for the commission's review.
The action is procedural and does not adopt the PFD; it instead creates a path for a conditional license while preserving the commission's authority to revisit the PFD if negotiations fail.
