ELIGIBILITY.

(a) To be eligible for a license under this chapter, an individual, including an agent designated by a corporation in an application, must:

(1) be a resident of this state and a citizen of the United States;

(2) be at least 18 years of age;

(3) possess the financial resources required to comply with Section 1704.160, unless the individual is acting only as agent for a corporation holding a license under this chapter; and

(4) submit documentary evidence that, in the two years preceding the date a license application is filed, the individual:

(A) has been continuously employed by a person licensed under this chapter for at least one year and for not less than 30 hours per week, excluding annual leave, and has performed duties that encompass all phases of the bonding business; and

(B) completed in person at least eight hours of continuing legal education in criminal law courses or bail bond law courses that are approved by the State Bar of Texas and that are offered by an accredited institution of higher education in the state.

(b) To be eligible for a license under this chapter, a corporation must be:

(1) chartered or admitted to do business in this state; and

(2) qualified to write fidelity, guaranty, and surety bonds under the Insurance Code.

(c) Subsection (a)(4) does not apply to the issuance of an original license:

(1) in a county before the first anniversary of the date a board is created in the county; or

(2) to an individual who applies to operate the bail bond business of a license holder who has died if the individual is related to the decedent within the first degree by consanguinity or is the decedent's surviving spouse.