Steve Bruno, deputy executive director of the Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), said the legislature wants them to protect public safety with common sense, using fines instead of immediate license revocation and lowering fees when possible. Bruno was a guest on a recent episode of the Texas Talks Podcast.

“The legislature has told us: here's a program and how we want you to regulate it; basically, we want you to protect the public, safeguard health and safety, but also use common sense," said Bruno on a recent edition of the Texas Talks Podcast. “You'll see one great example. You'll see that our commission works to lower the fees that we have to charge to licensees, though also they may get into a case where someone has accused a licensee of doing something. We've made an investigation and made our determination.”

“When someone is penalized, we might not go for revoking a license right away," said Bruno. “We'll go for a monetary penalty to make sure that someone gets the message and corrects their action up front. But you'll see a philosophy at our commission of protecting the public while balancing that out with fair common sense because we are a state that's open for business."

Bruno serves as the deputy executive director overseeing the Licensing, Education, and Examination Divisions, and Customer Service at the TDLR. The Licensing Division is responsible for processing and reviewing applications and issuing licenses to eligible individuals and businesses in compliance with statutory regulations.

Texas Talks podcast is hosted by Brad Swail. The weekly show is focused on public policy in the state of Texas, with insights from the people and organizations that influence it.

The podcast is available on Simple Cast and YouTube.