This section lets the department compel witnesses, issue subpoenas, and punish noncompliance, while setting witness fees and mileage and limited exceptions.
Sec. 111.055. WITNESSES. (a) This section applies only to the extent that it does not conflict with Chapter 2001, Government Code. (b) In an examination or investigation under this chapter, the department may compel the attendance of witnesses and may issue subpoenas for witnesses in accordance with rules prescribed by the department. The officer to whom process is directed shall serve it. (c) A witness who appears before the department by order of the department at a place outside the county where the witness resides is entitled to receive for the witness's attendance: (1) $1 for each day; and (2) three cents for each mile the witness travels, by the nearest practical route, in going to and returning from that place. (d) On the presentation of proper vouchers, sworn to by the witness and approved by the department, the comptroller shall pay the witness the amount to which the witness is entitled. (e) A witness is not entitled to fees or mileage if, when summoned at the request of a railroad, the witness: (1) is directly or indirectly interested in the railroad; (2) is in any way interested in stock, a bond, a mortgage, or a security, or the earnings of the railroad; or (3) was an officer, agent, or employee of the railroad. (f) A witness furnished with free transportation may not receive pay for the distance the witness travels on the free transportation. (g) The department may issue an attachment as in civil cases for a witness who fails or refuses to obey a subpoena and may compel the witness to appear before the department and testify on a matter as the department requires. (h) If a witness, after being summoned, fails or refuses to attend or to answer a question asked of the witness that the witness would be required to answer if in court, the department may fine and imprison the witness for contempt in the same manner that a judge of the district court might do under similar circumstances. (i) The claim that testimony might tend to incriminate the person giving the testimony does not excuse a witness from testifying, but the evidence or testimony may not be used against the witness in a criminal trial. Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 85 (S.B. 1540), Sec. 2.03, eff. April 1, 2011.