H.B. No. 1774

	AN ACT
	relating to the continuation and functions of the office of injured
	employee counsel under the workers' compensation program.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 404.003, Labor Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	Sec. 404.003.  SUNSET PROVISION.  The office of injured
	employee counsel is subject to Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas
	Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by that
	chapter, the office is abolished and this chapter expires September
	1, 2017 [2011].
	SECTION 2.  Subchapter A, Chapter 404, Labor Code, is
	amended by adding Sections 404.007 and 404.008 to read as follows:
	Sec. 404.007.  NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING; ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE
	RESOLUTION.  (a)  The office shall develop and implement a policy to
	encourage the use of:
	(1)  negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter
	2008, Government Code, for the adoption of office rules; and
	(2)  appropriate alternative dispute resolution
	procedures under Chapter 2009, Government Code, to assist in the
	resolution of internal and external disputes under the office's
	jurisdiction.
	(b)  The office's procedures relating to alternative dispute
	resolution must conform, to the extent possible, to any model
	guidelines issued by the State Office of Administrative Hearings
	for the use of alternative dispute resolution by state agencies.
	(c)  The office shall:
	(1)  coordinate the implementation of the policy
	adopted under Subsection (a);
	(2)  provide training as needed to implement the
	procedures for negotiated rulemaking or alternative dispute
	resolution; and
	(3)  collect data concerning the effectiveness of those
	procedures.
	(d)  The office's alternative dispute resolution policy does
	not affect the manner in which the office participates in the
	division's administrative dispute resolution process or the
	department's alternative dispute resolution process through the
	office's administrative attachment to the department.
	Sec. 404.008.  COMPLAINTS. (a)  The office shall maintain a
	system to promptly and efficiently act on complaints filed with the
	office. The office shall maintain information about parties to the
	complaint, the subject matter of the complaint, a summary of the
	results of the review or investigation of the complaint, and its
	disposition.
	(b)  The office shall make information available describing
	its procedures for complaint investigation and resolution.
	(c)  The office shall periodically notify the complaint
	parties of the status of the complaint until final disposition.
	SECTION 3.  Section 404.101, Labor Code, is amended by
	adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
	(b-1)  The office may seek and accept grant funding to enable
	the office to perform its duties under this subtitle. This
	subsection does not authorize the office to seek or accept payment
	from an injured employee.
	SECTION 4.  Section 404.111(a), Labor Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  When assisting an injured employee, the office is
	entitled to the same access to information related to the
	employee's injury and workers' compensation claim as the employee
	or any other party to the claim. [Except as otherwise provided by
	this section, the office may access information from an executive
	agency that is otherwise confidential under a law of this state if
	that information is necessary for the performance of the duties of
	the office, including information made confidential under Section
	402.091.]
	SECTION 5.  Section 402.082(b), Labor Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b)  On request from the office of injured employee counsel,
	the [The] division shall provide [information maintained under
	Subsection (a)] to the office the identity, claim number, and
	contact information of claimants receiving assistance from the
	office [of injured employee counsel].  [The confidentiality
	requirements imposed under Section 402.083 apply to injury
	information maintained by the division.]
	SECTION 6.  Section 402.085(a), Labor Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  The division shall release information on a claim to:
	(1)  the Texas Department of Insurance for any
	statutory or regulatory purpose, including a research purpose under
	Chapter 405;
	(2)  a legislative committee for legislative purposes;
	(3)  a state or federal elected official requested in
	writing to provide assistance by a constituent who qualifies to
	obtain injury information under Section 402.084(b), if the request
	for assistance is provided to the division;
	(4)  the attorney general or another entity that
	provides child support services under Part D, Title IV, Social
	Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 651 et seq.), relating to:
	(A)  establishing, modifying, or enforcing a
	child support or medical support obligation; or
	(B)  locating an absent parent; or
	(5)  the office of injured employee counsel for any
	statutory or regulatory purpose that relates to a duty of that
	office as provided by Section 404.111(a).
	SECTION 7.  Section 404.106(a), Labor Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  The office shall report to the governor, lieutenant
	governor, speaker of the house of representatives, and the chairs
	of the legislative committees with appropriate jurisdiction not
	later than January 1 [December 1] of each odd-numbered
	[even-numbered] year.  The report must include:
	(1)  a description of the activities of the office;
	(2)  identification of any problems in the workers'
	compensation system from the perspective of injured employees as a
	class, as considered by the public counsel, with recommendations
	for regulatory and legislative action; and
	(3)  an analysis of the ability of the workers'
	compensation system to provide adequate, equitable, and timely
	benefits to injured employees at a reasonable cost to employers.
	SECTION 8.  Section 404.111(d), Labor Code, is repealed.
	SECTION 9.  The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
	402.082(b), 402.085(a), and 404.111, Labor Code, apply to a claim
	for workers' compensation benefits based on a compensable injury
	regardless of whether the injury occurred before, on, or after the
	effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 10.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 1774 was passed by the House on April
	18, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 144, Nays 1, 1 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 1774 was passed by the Senate on May
	19, 2011, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED:  _____________________
	Date
	_____________________
	Governor