SECTION 1.174. Complaint Process

(a) A person may file a complaint by submitting the following information to the Board:

(1) the name of and contact information for the complainant unless evidence regarding a possible violation was submitted anonymously;

(2) the name of the person against whom the complaint is filed;

(3) the address, telephone number, Web site, or other contact information for the person against whom the complaint is filed, if available;

(4) the date and location of the alleged violation that is the subject of the complaint;

(5) a description of each alleged violation; and

(6) the name, address, and telephone number for any known witness who can provide information regarding the alleged violation.

(b) A complaint should be submitted on the complaint form that may be obtained by accessing the form on the Board's Web site or by contacting the Board's staff. If a completed complaint form is not submitted, the Board's staff will not be able to initiate an investigation unless the Board's staff receives information sufficient to establish probable cause to believe an actionable violation might have occurred.

(c) Once a complaint has been received, the Board's enforcement staff shall:

(1) conduct a preliminary evaluation of the complaint within thirty (30) days to determine:

(A) Jurisdiction: whether the complaint provides information sufficient to establish probable cause for the Board's staff to believe an actionable violation might have occurred;

(B) Disciplinary History: whether there has been previous enforcement activity involving the person against whom the complaint has been filed; and

(C) Priority Level: the seriousness of the complaint relative to other pending enforcement matters;

(2) provide the complainant and respondent with information which will permit review of the Board's policies and procedures from the Board's web site regarding complaint investigation and resolution. If the complainant or respondent requests a copy of the policies and procedures in written format a copy shall be mailed upon request.

(3) notify the complainant and respondent of the status of the investigation at least quarterly unless providing notice would jeopardize an investigation; and

(4) maintain a complaint file that includes at least:

(A) the name of the person who filed the complaint unless the complaint was filed anonymously;

(B) the date the complaint was received by the Board's staff;

(C) a description of the subject matter of the complaint;

(D) the name of each person contacted in relation to the complaint;

(E) a summary of the results of the review and investigation of the complaint; and

(F) an explanation for the reason the complaint was dismissed if the complaint was dismissed without action other than the investigation of the complaint.

(d) After the preliminary evaluation period, the Board's staff may contact the complainant, the respondent, and any known witness concerning the complaint.

(e) After the preliminary evaluation period, the Board's staff shall take steps to dismiss the complaint or proceed with an investigation of the allegation(s) against the respondent. A complaint may be referred to another government agency if it appears that the other agency might have jurisdiction over the issue(s) raised in the complaint.

(f) If the Board's staff proceeds with an investigation, the staff shall:

(1) investigate the complaint according to the priority level assigned to the complaint;

(2) notify the complainant and respondent that, as a result of the staff's preliminary evaluation of the complaint, the staff has determined that the Board has jurisdiction over the allegations(s) described in the complaint and has decided to proceed with an investigation of the allegation(s) against the respondent; and

(3) gather sufficient information and evidence to determine whether there is probable cause to believe that a violation of a statutory provision or rule enforced by the Board has occurred.

(g) The Board's staff may conduct an investigation regardless of whether a complaint form was received as described in subsection (a) of this section.

(h) If the information and evidence gathered during an investigation are insufficient to establish probable cause to believe that a violation has occurred, the Board's staff shall:

(1) dismiss the complaint;

(2) send notices to the complainant and respondent regarding the dismissal;

(3) if warranted, include in the respondent's notice a recommendation or warning regarding the respondent's future conduct; and

(4) if a complaint is determined to be unfounded, state in the respondent's notice that no violation was found.

(i) If the information and evidence gathered during an investigation are sufficient to establish probable cause to believe that a violation has occurred, the Board's staff shall:

(1) seek to resolve the matter pursuant to §§1.165, 1.166 or 1.173 of this subchapter; or

(2) issue a warning in accordance with Subsection (j).

(j) A warning may be issued by the Executive Director only as follows:

(1) the violation is the Respondent’s only violation of the Board’s laws and rules;

(2) the Respondent has not previously been subject to a Board warning or order;

(3) the Respondent has provided a satisfactory remedy which has eliminated any harm or threat to the health or safety of the public; and

(4) The Respondent has committed one of the following violations:

(A) failure to provide or timely provide plans and specifications to TDLR under the requirements of Govt. Code Chap. 469 (Elimination of Architectural Barriers);

(B) Unauthorized use of term "architect" or "architecture";

(C) Failure to respond to a Board inquiry;

(D) Failure to provide a statement of jurisdiction;

(E) Use of a non-compliant seal by registrant;

(F) Failure to register or annually renew the registration of a business; or

(G) Creation of misleading impression by an architect advertising for services.

(k) The decision to issue a warning is at the sole discretion of the Executive Director and not available as a result of a contested case proceeding conducted pursuant to the Government Code Chapter 2001.

(l) Before a proposed settlement agreement may be approved by the Board, the terms of the agreement must be reviewed by legal counsel for the Board to ensure that all legal requirements have been satisfied.

(m) If a complaint is dismissed, the complainant may submit to the Executive Director a written request for reconsideration. The written request must explain why the complaint should not have been dismissed. The Executive Director may, but is not required to, respond to the request for reconsideration.

Source Note: The provisions of this §1.174 adopted to be effective July 5, 2004, 29 TexReg 6277; amended to be effective October 18, 2009, 34 TexReg 7070; amended to be effective September 11, 2016, 41 TexReg 6689