Sec. 101.305. POWERS AND DUTIES OF OFFICE

(a) The office shall:

(1) establish, in consultation with and on the approval of the council, protocols for interaction with licensing agencies;

(2) serve as the ombudsman for consumer complaints at the licensing agencies on the request of an individual consumer;

(3) assist consumers in obtaining information about the status of complaints; and

(4) review the Internet websites of licensing agencies and make recommendations to the agencies on making public information, including information relating to disciplinary actions, understandable to and easily accessible by the public.

(b) The office may:

(1) appear at or present information or testimony to a licensing agency on behalf of consumers as a class; and

(2) appeal the decisions of licensing agencies to the governing body of the appropriate licensing agency on behalf of consumers as a class but not for individual complainants.

(c) The office may not appeal an individual complainant's case before any agency.

(d) The office is entitled to access to:

(1) complaints received by a licensing agency, unless the access would jeopardize an ongoing investigation; and

(2) the public records of a licensing agency and the records of a licensing agency that are filed with the State Office of Administrative Hearings.

(e) The confidentiality requirements that apply to the records of a licensing agency and the sanctions for disclosure of confidential information apply to the office and to information obtained by the office under Subsection (d).

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 305, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.