86R14526 JAM-F
By: Hughes S.B. No. 1088
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the procedure for acting on an application for a permit
for a surface coal mining and reclamation operation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 2003, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 2003.0465 to read as follows:
Sec. 2003.0465. HEARINGS FOR RAILROAD COMMISSION. (a) In
this section:
(1) "Commission" means the Railroad Commission of
Texas.
(2) "Division" means the Surface Mining and
Reclamation Division of the commission.
(b) This section applies only to a hearing conducted on
behalf of the commission under Section 134.062, Natural Resources
Code.
(c) Each issue considered in a hearing referred by the
commission must have been raised in a timely manner by an affected
person in a comment submitted by that affected person in response to
a permit application.
(d) In a contested case hearing, the filing with the hearing
examiner of the final technical assessment of the application, the
application, the recommendation for the issuance of the permit by
the division, and other sufficient supporting documentation in the
administrative record of the permit application establishes a prima
facie demonstration that:
(1) the application meets all state and federal legal
and technical requirements; and
(2) a permit, if issued consistent with the
application and the final technical assessment of the division,
would be eligible for the required findings under Section 134.066,
Natural Resources Code.
(e) A party may rebut a demonstration under Subsection (d)
by presenting evidence that:
(1) relates to an issue for which a hearing is
conducted by the commission under Section 134.062, Natural
Resources Code; and
(2) demonstrates that one or more provisions proposed
in the application violate a specifically applicable state or
federal requirement.
(f) A party rebutting under Subsection (e) a demonstration
made under Subsection (d) bears the burden of persuasion.
(g) If in accordance with Subsections (e) and (f) a party
rebuts a demonstration made under Subsection (d), the applicant or
the division may present additional evidence in rebuttal to support
the application.
SECTION 2. Section 134.062, Natural Resources Code, is
amended by adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
(c) For the purpose of a contested case hearing held by or
for the commission, "affected person," "person affected," or
"person who may be affected" means a person who has a personal
justiciable interest related to a legal right, duty, privilege,
power, or economic interest affected by the contested case hearing.
An interest common to members of the public does not qualify as a
personal justiciable interest.
(d) In determining whether a person has a personal
justiciable interest or whether an affected association is entitled
to standing in a contested case hearing within the commission's
jurisdiction, the commission:
(1) may consider:
(A) the merits of the underlying application,
including whether the application meets the requirements for permit
issuance;
(B) the likely effect of regulated activity on
the health and safety of the hearing requestor, and the use of the
hearing requestor's property;
(C) the administrative record, including the
permit application and any supporting documentation;
(D) the analysis and opinions of the Surface
Mining and Reclamation Division of the commission;
(E) whether the interest claimed is protected by
the law governing the permit that is the subject of the application;
(F) whether a reasonable relationship exists
between the interest claimed and the regulated activity;
(G) the likely effect of the regulated activity
on the use of the affected natural resource by the person;
(H) for a governmental entity, the entity's
statutory authority over issues relevant to the application; and
(I) any other expert reports, affidavits,
opinions, or information submitted on or before any applicable
deadline to the commission by the executive director, the
applicant, or a hearing requestor; and
(2) may not find that:
(A) a group or association is an affected person
unless the group or association identifies, by name and physical
address in a timely request for a contested case hearing, a member
of the group or association who would be an affected person in the
person's own right; or
(B) a hearing requestor is an affected person
unless the hearing requestor timely submitted comments on the
permit application.
SECTION 3. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
only to:
(1) a permit application that is filed with the
Railroad Commission of Texas on or after the effective date of this
Act; or
(2) a judicial proceeding initiated on or after the
effective date of this Act that challenges an act or decision of the
Railroad Commission of Texas made during a permit proceeding.
(b) A permit application filed or a judicial proceeding
initiated before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
law in effect when the permit application was filed or the judicial
proceeding was initiated, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.