84R5526 SLB-F
By: Smith H.B. No. 1247
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to presumptions in contested case hearings regarding
certain environmental permit applications.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2003.047, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (i-1), (i-2), and (i-3) to read as follows:
(i-1) In a contested case regarding a permit application,
the filing with the office of the draft permit prepared by the
executive director of the commission, the preliminary decision
issued by the executive director, and other supporting
documentation in the administrative record of the permit
application establishes a prima facie presumption that:
(1) the permit application meets all state and federal
legal and technical requirements; and
(2) a permit, if issued consistent with the draft
permit, would protect human health and safety and the environment.
(i-2) A party may rebut a presumption established under
Subsection (i-1) by establishing by a preponderance of the evidence
that:
(1) the draft permit violates a specific state or
federal legal or technical requirement; or
(2) the applicant, before the issuance of the draft
permit, intentionally withheld or misrepresented information
relevant to the permit application that, if known, would likely
have resulted in the denial of the application.
(i-3) If in accordance with Subsection (i-2) a party rebuts
a presumption established under Subsection (i-1), the applicant may
present additional evidence to support the draft permit.
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an administrative hearing that is set by the State Office of
Administrative Hearings on or after the effective date of this Act.
A hearing set before the effective date of this Act, or any decision
issued or appeal from the hearing, is governed by the law in effect
when the hearing was set, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.