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Staff reports: complaints spike, new enforcement database deployed, licensing and finance updates
Summary
Staff reported a record 938 complaints in fiscal 2025, rollout of an enforcement database used by investigators in the field, and fiscal-year licensing totals of 14,924 active licensees.
Agency staff provided several operational updates covering licensing, enforcement, legal caseloads, compliance and finance.
Executive Director Britney Sharkey said the agency launched parts of its new enforcement/inspection/investigation database; investigators have tablets in the field and staff can now track cases, investigations and inspection results in the system. Sharkey said staff are evaluating cloud vendors to store larger files (audio, video, photos) that the current database is not intended to host, and noted a new complainant-facing feature: members of the public can now check complaint status online.
Licensing: Staff reported that in the most recent quarter 277 new DVM licenses and 85 new LVT licenses were issued. For the fiscal year the agency issued 846 new DVM licenses, 359 new LVT licenses and 5 EDP licenses; total active license counts reported at fiscal year end were 11,870 DVMs, 2,987 LVTs and 67 EDPs for a grand total of 14,924 licensees.
Enforcement: Staff reported a record intake of 938 complaints for fiscal year 2025 (up from 607 the prior year). The enforcement team completed 820 investigations during the fiscal year and conducted 1,630 compliance inspections. As of the end of the reporting period the agency had roughly 412 active investigations under way. Staff said that after the 2023 legislative session the enforcement team doubled investigators from 5 to 11 to handle increased caseload.
Legal and case processing: Legal staff reported case counts across categories as of mid-September: 299 complaints in legal review, 103 pending board action, 40 pending board approval of orders, 11 on hold pending civil or criminal proceedings, 21 pending staff conference, 8 cases filed at SOA awaiting hearing, and an average case disposal time for fiscal year 2025 of 412 days. For fiscal year 2025 legal closed 467 cases and issued 142 orders.
Compliance and continuing education: Jared (compliance) reported CE-related calls and audits declined relative to the prior year but that the new database enables more robust CE auditing. Compliance reported 1,063 fingerprint reviews for applicants and an increase in audits of continuing education uploads; staff said missing opioid CE will be enforced as an automatic referral to legal if not corrected in a 14-day cure period, with first cases leading to $500 agreed orders and informal reprimands if not remedied.
Finance: Candace provided a year-end summary: the agency closed FY2025 with approximately $4.1 million in revenue and $2.5 million in expenditures, and an expected lapse of roughly $150,000. The FY2026 budget was listed in the packet as $2,940,000 in supplemental appropriation to fund the enforcement and legal modules of the database; staff said those supplemental funds must be expended by June 2027.
Board members asked questions about staffing capacity to handle the complaint increase; staff pointed to the investigator hiring and database efficiencies as key mitigations. The board discussed further education and public outreach to help the public understand standard-of-care complaints and the complaint process. The agency also confirmed an extern program with Texas A&M and Texas Tech to host student externs focused on regulatory work.
Staff asked the board to begin the strategic planning process in January to inform the next LAR (Legislative Appropriations Request) cycle and to identify further resource needs.
