PUC of Texas Link Policy Disclaimer

Criteria

The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) provides this website in order to provide Texans with information regarding government services and the PUCT's functions and activities. The PUCT accepts link requests made by federal, state, and local governments that provide information and services that benefit Texas citizens and businesses. At its discretion, Public Utility Commission may link or accept link requests to non-governmental web sites that contain information and/or services that are within the agency's jurisdiction, that further the purpose of PUCT's website and/or that provide access to information regarding PUCT activities.

Every link request must undergo review to determine its relevance and appropriateness to the Public Utility Commission mission of providing access to government services. Links are approved based on the following criteria:

1. The external web site corresponds with the agency's mission of providing a point of access to information and services that is private, secure, convenient, efficient, customer service-oriented and accessible.
2. The site's content is appropriate with respect to the Public Utility Commission mission and is not a:
   • Site that exhibits hate, bias, discrimination, pornography; libelous or otherwise defamatory content;
   • Site belonging to or supporting a political affiliation; or
   • Site which furthers the agenda of a political organization or candidate running for office.

Requesting a Link to the PUCT Website

To give superior customer service to citizens and businesses accessing governmental information and services through Public Utility Commission, we require that external web sites request a link on the PUCT website by contacting the webmaster of this site. In order to link to the PUCT website, those requesting to link must meet the following requirements:

1. The linked site must provide the user with an email address and/or a customer service telephone number on every page of the site, in order for users to contact the site if there are problems with format, accuracy, timeliness, or payment processing.
2. When the user clicks on the external web site link, he/she must have easy access back to the PUCT website. One of two options can accomplish this: A link to Public Utility Commission can be established on the external web site's main page; or The "Back" button returns the user to the Public Utility Commission.
3. Linked sites must have a privacy and security policy accessible from their home page informing the user of what information is collected, how it is collected, how it is used, and how the user can review and correct the information.
4. Linked sites must comply with accepted standards as provided by the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) to ensure that persons with disabilities may access these sites. Texas state agencies must follow the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §206 State Web Sites.

Use of Information from the PUCT Website

Site owners may not capture PUCT pages within the site owner's frames, present PUCT web site content as that of the site owner, otherwise misrepresent the content of the PUCT web pages or misinform users about the origin or ownership of the content of the PUCT web site. Although the content of PUCT web sites is available to the public, certain information on the PUCT web sites may be trademarked, service marked, or otherwise protected as the PUCT's intellectual property, and all PUCT content is protected by federal copyright laws. Use of protected intellectual property must be in accordance with federal and state law and must reflect the copyright, trademark, service mark or other intellectual property ownership of the PUCT.

Site owners must not link to individual PUCT graphics or tables within the PUCT's site, especially in an effort to place the downloading burden on the PUCT's servers. Such an action may be considered a misuse of state resources. Site owners should contact the PUCT to request permission to use or copy content from the PUCT's website.

Removal Process

The PUCT reserves the right to deny or remove links to any website if it determines that a web site contains misleading or unsubstantiated claims or that it conflicts with the agency's mission.

Links from PUCT will be reviewed regularly and may be removed for the following reasons:

1. The link no longer points to the original information or resource to which it was intended to point;
2. The information pointed to by the link is inaccurate, misleading or otherwise violates the criteria and requirements set forth above in the sections entitled "Criteria" and "Requirements;"
3. Access to the information has become difficult due to non-standard formatting, lengthy download times, or intrusive advertising;
4. The link is permanently unreachable or remains unavailable for a lengthy period, especially if we are unable to contact the site manager about the site's status;
5. The external web site fails to comply with the linking agreement, if any;
6. Customers of the externally linked site excessively burden the PUCT customer support function;
7. The site owner failed to request permission to link to the PUCT site.

Disclaimer

The PUCT website live 'links' to other Internet addresses. Such external Internet addresses contain information created, published, maintained, or otherwise posted by individuals, institutions, or organizations independent of the PUCT. By selecting any of the external links, you will leave the PUCT web site. Use of any information obtained from such addresses is voluntary, and reliance on it should only be undertaken after an independent review. Reference on any external site to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, service mark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the PUCT. The PUCT makes every reasonable effort to assure that it does not link directly to web pages that contain obscene, scurrilous, or otherwise objectionable material. If you encounter objectionable material on this page or in any linked page, please notify the webmaster of this site immediately.

The State of Texas Link Policy can be found at: http://www.dir.state.tx.us/standards/srrpub11.htm

Last Updated: 03/18/09