Tennessee § 62-27-107 - Qualifications for license.

§ 62-27-107. Qualifications for license.

In order to be eligible for a license as a polygraph examiner, an applicant must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the commission that the applicant: Is at least twenty-one (21) years of age; Is a citizen of the United States; Is of good moral character; Has not been convicted of any felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude; Holds a baccalaureate degree from a college or university accredited by a recognized regional or local accreditation committee or, in lieu of a baccalaureate degree, has at least two (2) years of college credits and has, for at least five (5) years immediately preceding the date of application, actively engaged in substantial criminal, counterintelligence or private investigative work; Has graduated from a school of polygraph approved by the American Polygraph Association or the commission; Has passed a licensing examination conducted by or under the supervision of the commission; and Has satisfactorily completed an internship of six (6) months or, in lieu of the completion of the internship, has provided satisfactory evidence the applicant is currently actively engaged in the polygraph examinations business in another state that may or may not have professional licensing requirements and has been principally engaged in the business of conducting polygraph examinations in that state for at least five (5) consecutive years. An applicant pursuant to this subdivision (a)(8) shall also submit evidence of a current business license, tax records and a minimum of two (2) letters of recommendation from either former clients or government agency officials. Each polygraph examining company organized for the purpose of employing two (2) or more polygraph examiners on a full-time salaried basis shall make application to the commission in writing under oath on forms prescribed by the commission. The application shall be accompanied by the required fee, which is not refundable. The application shall contain information that the commission deems necessary, including, but not limited to, the names of the corporate officers, the principal place of business, the business telephone number at the principal place of business and the specific name of the person to be contacted. Each company shall be required to certify that it employs only qualified licensed polygraph examiners who meet the qualifications required by this chapter. Acts 1978, ch. 900, § 8; T.C.A., § 62-2707; Acts 1982, ch. 720, § 10; 1986, ch. 739, § 2; 1999, ch. 252, §§ 4, 5, 6; 2007, ch. 249, § 1. Attorney General Opinions. The Eligibility Verification for Entitlements Act (EVEA) can be read in harmony with laws requiring licensure applicants to be U.S. citizens or U.S. citizens or resident aliens and therefore did not impliedly repeal those laws. State laws requiring licensure applicants to be U.S. citizens are preempted to the extent they conflict with a federal law that limits States’ authority to determine alien eligibility for state public benefits, including professional and commercial licenses. State laws requiring licensure applicants to be U.S. citizens also violate the Equal Protection Clause because they discriminate based on alienage and would not satisfy strict scrutiny. State laws requiring licensure applicants to be U.S. citizens or resident aliens are preempted to the extent they conflict with a federal law that limits States’ authority to determine alien eligibility for state public benefits, including professional and commercial licenses. Laws requiring licensure applicants to be U.S. citizens or resident aliens do not violate the Equal Protection Clause, however, because they discriminate only against unlawful aliens and lawful aliens who are not permanent residents. Those categories of aliens are not a suspect class, and the laws at issue would likely satisfy rational basis review. The Department of Commerce and Insurance is not required to enforce the requirements that an applicant for licensure, registration, or certification be a “citizen of the United States” or a “citizen of the United States or resident alien.” OAG 18-42, 2018 Tenn. AG LEXIS 42 (9/13/2018).