Bills › 88th General Assembly
Relating to investigations of licensing boards
Topics:State government
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedFebruary 27, 2019
- Stopped: SubcommitteeDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: House committee
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: Senate committee
- Next: Passes the Senate
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The 2020 session adjourned on June 14, 2020, the General Assembly’s last regular session. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
This bill relates to investigations by professional licensing boards. The bill grants the ombudsman access to agency records, hearings, and proceedings that are the work product of an attorney or are privileged communications. The bill also strikes a provision granting witnesses providing testimony to the ombudsman the same privileges and immunities granted to witnesses in court. The bill allows a board’s determination that an investigation of a complaint is not warranted or that an investigation should be closed without disciplinary proceedings to be subject to judicial review.
Read the full explanation
The bill also requires a board that determines that no probable cause exists for a complaint to return the complaint to the complainant with a statement specifying the reasons for rejection. The bill also instructs the ombudsman to conduct a three-year investigation of the complaint-handling procedures of professional licensing boards regulated under Code chapters 272 and 272C. The review shall include an assessment of the processes of investigating, responding to, and ruling on complaints against regulated persons. The bill grants access to investigative files and closed session records to the ombudsman. The bill requires each licensing board or department or agency staffing the board to reimburse the ombudsman for the cost of the investigation. The bill requests the legislative council to authorize the ombudsman to hire an additional person to execute the investigations. The bill requires the ombudsman to submit a report to the general assembly by October 1, 2021.