83R9919 CJC-D
By: Harper-Brown H.B. No. 2948
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the review of certain rules of state agencies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 2001, Government Code, is
amended by adding Sections 2001.0321 and 2001.0401 to read as
follows:
Sec. 2001.0321. FINANCIAL ANALYSIS. (a) In this section:
(1) "Board" means the Legislative Budget Board.
(2) "Interested party" means:
(A) a person subject to regulation under a
proposed rule; or
(B) a nonprofit corporation whose members may be
affected by a proposed rule.
(b) A state agency shall file, on the same day it files
notice with the secretary of state as required by Section 2001.023,
a copy of each proposed rule other than an emergency rule with the
board and, if applicable, a copy of the statement required under
Subsection (e).
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the board shall
perform a cost-benefit analysis of each proposed rule submitted to
the board. The board shall submit the analysis:
(1) to the governor and to the legislature not later
than the 180th day after the effective date of the proposed rule as
provided by Section 2001.036; and
(2) to an interested party at least 30 days before
submitting the analysis to the governor and the legislature under
Subdivision (1).
(d) In performing the analysis under Subsection (c), the
board may use available statistical data to estimate the costs and
benefits of a proposed rule and shall consider any verifiable data
available that relates to the proposed rule, including data
submitted for the board's consideration by an interested party.
The board may not:
(1) disclose any material submitted by an interested
party to any person other than an employee of the board; and
(2) compel an interested party or any other person to
produce documents or other materials for the purpose of performing
the analysis required under this section.
(e) If a rule proposed by a state agency is a technical
amendment that does not substantively affect the rule it amends,
the state agency shall file a statement to that effect with the
proposed rule at the time the rule is submitted to the board for
consideration. The board:
(1) shall adopt criteria to determine when a rule is a
technical amendment that does not substantively affect the rule it
amends; and
(2) may not perform the analysis required under
Subsection (c) for a rule that meets the criteria developed under
Subdivision (1).
Sec. 2001.0401. REVIEW AND CONTINUATION OF EXISTING RULES.
(a) In this section:
(1) "Board" means the Legislative Budget Board.
(2) "Rule" means a rule for which notice was filed with
the secretary of state as required by Section 2001.023 and includes
an amendment to a rule.
(b) Not later than the 180th day after the date of the third
anniversary of a rule's effective date, the board shall file a
report on the financial effect of the rule with the governor and the
legislature.
(c) The report required under Subsection (b) must:
(1) cover a period beginning on the rule's effective
date and ending on the third anniversary of that date;
(2) include an analysis of the primary effect of the
rule, as appropriate, on:
(A) consumer protection;
(B) worker safety;
(C) the environment;
(D) the rate of employment in this state;
(E) the reliability of energy transmission in
this state; and
(F) the competitiveness of businesses in this
state;
(3) estimate any secondary effects of the rule on
Subdivisions (2)(A)-(F);
(4) determine:
(A) the cost savings, expressed in a dollar
amount, realized from adoption of the rule, if any; and
(B) the number of persons subject to the rule,
classified by industry sector; and
(5) compare the financial analysis of the rule
required under Section 2001.0321 to the analysis performed under
this section.
(d) The governor is authorized to and may by official action
rescind a rule if the report required under Subsection (b)
indicates that:
(1) the costs of the rule exceed any benefit provided
by the rule; or
(2) the rule had an adverse effect on employment in
this state during the period covered by the report.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a proposed state agency rule or amendment to a rule for which
notice of the rule as proposed is first published in the Texas
Register under Section 2001.023, Government Code, on or after the
effective date of this Act. A rule or amendment to a rule for which
notice is published before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect when the notice was published, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.