| 1 | 1 | | 88R8379 JXC-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Kuempel H.B. No. 3666 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to judicial review of certain permitting decisions made by |
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| 8 | 8 | | the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Section 5.354, Water Code, is amended to read as |
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| 11 | 11 | | follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 5.354. VENUE. (a) Except as provided by Subsection |
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| 13 | 13 | | (b), a [A] suit instituted under Section 5.351 or 5.352 [of this |
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| 14 | 14 | | code] must be brought in a district court in Travis County. |
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| 15 | 15 | | (b) A suit instituted under Section 5.351 that relates to |
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| 16 | 16 | | the issuance of a permit under Chapter 26 must be brought in a |
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| 17 | 17 | | county in which the permitted point of discharge of waste is located |
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| 18 | 18 | | or proposed to be located. |
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| 19 | 19 | | SECTION 2. Subchapter I, Chapter 5, Water Code, is amended |
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| 20 | 20 | | by adding Section 5.3541 to read as follows: |
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| 21 | 21 | | Sec. 5.3541. SCOPE OF JUDICIAL REVIEW OF CHAPTER 26 PERMIT. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (a) This section applies only to a suit instituted under Section |
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| 23 | 23 | | 5.351 that relates to the issuance of a permit under Chapter 26. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (b) The scope of review by the court is limited to: |
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| 25 | 25 | | (1) an argument brought before the commission during |
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| 26 | 26 | | consideration of the ruling, order, decision, or other act that is |
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| 27 | 27 | | the subject of the suit; and |
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| 28 | 28 | | (2) an allegation of the commission's violation of |
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| 29 | 29 | | this code or a commission rule committed during consideration of |
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| 30 | 30 | | the ruling, order, decision, or other act that is the subject of the |
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| 31 | 31 | | suit. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (c) The petition submitted under Section 5.351 must |
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| 33 | 33 | | include: |
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| 34 | 34 | | (1) a citation to each specific section of the |
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| 35 | 35 | | statutes and rules involved in the matter under review; and |
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| 36 | 36 | | (2) a citation to the administrative record to support |
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| 37 | 37 | | each allegation in the petition. |
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| 38 | 38 | | (d) The court shall give deference to the actions of the |
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| 39 | 39 | | commission consistent with applicable law and may find an action |
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| 40 | 40 | | unlawful only if: |
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| 41 | 41 | | (1) no evidence supports the commission's action; or |
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| 42 | 42 | | (2) the commission's action was not based on a |
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| 43 | 43 | | permissible construction of the statute. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (e) The court may not substitute its judgment for a judgment |
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| 45 | 45 | | of the commission on water quality degradation. |
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| 46 | 46 | | SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 47 | 47 | | a suit instituted under Section 5.351, Water Code, on or after the |
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| 48 | 48 | | effective date of this Act. A suit instituted under Section 5.351, |
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| 49 | 49 | | Water Code, before the effective date of this Act is governed by the |
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| 50 | 50 | | law in effect at the time the suit was instituted, and the former |
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| 51 | 51 | | law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 52 | 52 | | SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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