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Senate Bill 138 |
Senate Author: Zaffirini |
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Effective: 9-1-13 |
House Sponsor: Guillen |
Senate Bill 138 amends the Occupations Code to require the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists to maintain on its Internet website information regarding the procedure for filing a complaint with the board and a means by which a person may electronically file a complaint with the board. The bill specifies that a complaint from a member of the public may be filed electronically through the board's Internet website as an alternative to being filed with the secretary-treasurer and requires the board to accept a complaint regardless of whether the complaint is notarized.
Senate Bill 138 requires the board to work with each state agency that uses the services of a person licensed under the Texas Geoscience Practice Act and other appropriate state agencies as determined by the board to educate the agency's employees regarding the procedures by which complaints are filed with and resolved by the board.
Senate Bill 138 requires a state agency that becomes aware of a potential violation of the Texas Geoscience Practice Act or a rule adopted under that act to forward any information relating to the potential violation and any subsequently obtained information to the board and sets out provisions establishing the confidentiality of such information. The bill specifies that a state agency's provision of information or failure to provide information under the bill's provisions does not give rise to a cause of action against the agency.
Senate Bill 138 requires the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists to adopt rules necessary to implement the bill's provisions.