The licensing boards, commissions, and agencies of Texas are endowed by the legislature with extensive power to regulate the behavior of those to whom they grant licenses. While there are small differences between the procedures some of the licensing boards take—since each regulatory agency or licensing Board has its own process of complaint investigation and resolution—all of their powers are enumerated in the Texas Administrative Code and in the statutes that define their operations.
Most important for the licensee to note is that due process is built in quite intentionally. This means that licensees are afforded the right to an attorney at every stage—and they should choose an experienced professional license defense attorney to stand by their side.
The Complaint Process
Despite the small differences between the boards and agencies, they tend to follow a sort of template for the complaint process:
When a given Board receives a complaint, it examines it to determine whether it has jurisdiction over the allegations in it. If it decides it does, it launches a formal investigation and sends the licensee a letter providing notice of the complaint and coming investigation. This is when the licensee should contact an experienced professional license attorney, so that we can help to craft an effective response to this letter. This is the first step in a winning defense strategy. If the response letter does not result in dismissal of the case, then the proceedings move on to an informal settlement stage. If the parties cannot come to an agreement on the discipline to be applied, then the licensee may appeal to SOAH. At SOAH, the Administrative Law Judge gives an opinion on the case and makes a recommendation to the Board, which often listens to the advice of the judge—but they generally are under no obligation to hew to those recommendations completely.
Our law firm helps professionals keep their licenses when those licenses are under attack by the state.
BERTOLINO LLP proudly represents professionals and professional facilities across the entire State of Texas. To best serve our clients, we have offices in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. If you are facing disciplinary action, contact us today or call (512) 476-5757 and schedule a case evaluation.
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