No state agency currently takes complaints about bad gas or price gouging, state senator disagrees

"I'll just tell you the consumers are screwed they are getting the bad end of this deal," said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.

Miller says he takes some of the blame for going after businesses that sell bad gas or are dishonest about the price of gas.

When he took over as Agriculture Commissioner, Miller says out of more than 200,000 fuel pumps in Texas, only about 82 percent were in compliance.

"When I took over as Agriculture Commissioner, it took over 10 years to check all the fuel pumps," Miller said. "We changed that I got it down to every 12 months."

If someone complained about bad motor fuel, Miller says he would have an inspector out within an hour to test it.

If the gas was indeed bad, he says the station would be shut down immediately.

Food and fuel lobbyists were able to get lawmakers to move gas related complaints away from the Texas Department of Agriculture to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

That's the same agency that oversees nail salons and massage parlors.

The transfer won't happen until September of 2020.

Until then, the Texas Department of Agriculture will no longer take complaints regarding fuel pumps, quality, or pricing.

There will no longer be any fuel quality testing or sampling.

"If you get water in your fuel or dirty fuel and the engine quits running, you're just out of luck and you're probably not going to be able to go after the station that sold it to you because you don't have a third party test anymore," Miller said.

"I think he's just a disgruntled commissioner," said Alvarado.

The state senator says consumers can make motor fuel complaints to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation right now.

But there's no mention at all on the state agency's website about motor fuel complaints.

All we could find is a generic complaint form.

Miller told us Alvarado is "misinformed."

He says the Department of Licensing and Regulation can't respond to motor fuel complaints because they have no inspectors, trucks equipment or hot line number and the agency won't have those things for at least a year.         

The Agriculture Commissioner says there is a possibility the Department of Licensing and Regulation can work out a contract with his agency so they can continue to respond to complaints but so far that hasn't happened.

Let your elected lawmakers know what you think about this new law.