Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 260 amends the Occupations Code to continue the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying until September 1, 2015, and to include and update standard sunset language. The bill reduces the board membership from 10 members to nine by removing one of the four positions held by a registered professional land surveyor. The bill amends the definition of "Texas trade association" to require such an organization to operate statewide and to allow it to be a for-profit association.

            The bill authorizes the board to create examination advisory committees to assist the board in developing examinations for the licenses the board issues. The board must adopt rules relating to the purpose, role, responsibility, and goals of a committee, its size and quorum requirements, the qualifications of its members, appointment procedures, terms of service, and training requirements. A board member is prohibited by the bill from serving as a voting member on an advisory committee, but is authorized to attend committee meetings as a liaison to the full board. The bill exempts an advisory committee from the statutory requirement to include consumers on state agency committees, but makes most of its meetings subject to the open meetings law.

            The bill requires the board to establish enforcement procedures for violations of certain statutes or rules. The bill authorizes a board employee to dismiss complaints without merit, determine violations, and recommend sanctions for final approval by the board. The bill prohibits the board from considering a previously dismissed complaint when deliberating on a current complaint, but authorizes the board to consider a license holder's previous history of violations when determining sanctions for a current violation. The bill provides that all complaints filed with the board are public information, but that any personal or identifying information about a license holder that is included in a frivolous complaint is not public information.

            Finally, the bill requires the board to adopt rules relating to consequences of criminal convictions, guidelines for informal conferences to settle complaints, and written procedures to ensure that probation is administered consistently. The bill authorizes the board to order a license holder or registrant to pay restitution as part of a settlement agreement instead of or in addition to an administrative penalty, with payment not to exceed the amount the consumer paid a surveyor and not to include any other damages. The board may not estimate harm in a restitution order. The bill requires the board to adopt a penalty schedule to ensure appropriate penalties are imposed. The bill removes set fees for licenses, certificates of registration, and examinations and authorizes the board to establish those fees at a level necessary to recover program costs.