By: Springer S.B. No. 638
(In the Senate - Filed January 26, 2023; February 17, 2023,
read first time and referred to Committee on Water, Agriculture &
Rural Affairs; April 17, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0;
April 17, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 638 By: Springer
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the procedures for acting on a permit or permit
amendment application by a groundwater conservation district and
the disqualification of board members of groundwater conservation
districts.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.053, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 36.053. QUORUM. (a) Except as provided by Subsection
(b), a [A] majority of the membership of the board constitutes a
quorum for any meeting, and a concurrence of a majority of the
entire membership of the board is sufficient for transacting any
business of the district.
(b) For the purposes of making a final decision on a permit
or permit amendment application by a board composed of 10 or more
directors, a concurrence of a majority of the directors eligible to
vote is sufficient for taking an action on the application.
SECTION 2. Section 36.058, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 36.058. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. (a) A director of a
district is subject to the provisions of Chapters 171 and 176, Local
Government Code, relating to the regulation of conflicts of
officers of local governments.
(b) If a director is required to file an affidavit under
Section 171.004(a), Local Government Code, the director may not:
(1) attend a closed meeting related to the matter for
which the director is required to file the affidavit; and
(2) vote on a matter for which the director is required
to file the affidavit unless a majority of the directors are also
required to file an affidavit related to a similar interest on the
same official action.
SECTION 3. Section 36.409, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 36.409. CONTINUANCE. (a) The presiding officer may
continue a hearing from time to time and from place to place without
providing notice under Section 36.404.
(b) If the presiding officer continues a hearing without
announcing at the hearing the time, date, and location of the
continued hearing, the presiding officer must provide notice of the
continued hearing by regular mail to the parties.
(c) A continuance may not exceed the time limit for the
issuance of a final decision under Section 36.4165.
SECTION 4. Section 36.411, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 36.411. BOARD ACTION. (a) The board shall act on a
permit or permit amendment application not later than the 60th day
after the date the final hearing on the application is concluded.
(b) The board shall ensure a decision on a permit or permit
amendment application is timely rendered in accordance with the
provisions set forth in this chapter.
SECTION 5. The heading to Section 36.412, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 36.412. REQUEST FOR REHEARING OR FINDINGS OF FACT AND
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW.
SECTION 6. Section 36.412, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (a-1),
(b-1), and (f) to read as follows:
(a) An applicant in a contested or uncontested hearing on an
application or a party to a contested hearing may administratively
appeal a decision of the board on a permit or permit amendment
application by making a request in writing to the board.
(a-1) A party seeking to appeal a decision by the board must
request [by requesting] written findings of fact and conclusions of
law not later than the 20th day after the date of the board's
decision unless the board issued findings of fact and conclusions
of law as part of the final decision.
(b) On receipt of a timely written request under Subsection
(a-1), the board shall make written findings of fact and
conclusions of law regarding a decision of the board on a permit or
permit amendment application. The board shall provide certified
copies of the findings of fact and conclusions of law to the person
who requested them, and to each designated party, not later than the
35th day after the date the board receives the request.
(b-1) A party to a contested hearing may request a rehearing
not later than the 20th day after the date the board issues the
findings of fact and conclusions of law.
(f) The board shall consolidate requests for rehearing
filed by multiple parties to the contested case hearing, but only
one rehearing may be considered per matter.
SECTION 7. Section 36.4165, Water Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) to read as follows:
(c) A final decision issued by the board under this section
must be in writing and must either adopt the proposed findings of
fact and conclusions of law as proposed by the administrative law
judge or include revised findings of fact and conclusions of law
consistent with Subsection (b).
(d) Notwithstanding any other law, a board shall issue a
final decision under this section not later than the 180th day after
the date of receipt of the final proposal for decision from the
State Office of Administrative Hearings. The deadline may be
extended if all parties agree to the extension.
(e) Notwithstanding any other law, if a motion for rehearing
is filed and granted by a board under Section 36.412, the board
shall make a final decision on the application not later than the
90th day after the date of the decision by the board that was
subject to the motion for rehearing.
(f) A board is considered to have adopted a final proposal
for decision of the administrative law judge as a final order on the
181st day after the date the administrative law judge issued the
final proposal for decision if the board has not issued a final
decision by:
(1) adopting the findings of fact and conclusions of
law as proposed by the administrative law judge; or
(2) issuing revised findings of fact and conclusions
of law as provided by Subsection (b).
(g) A proposal for decision adopted under Subsection (f) is
final, immediately appealable, and not subject to a request for
rehearing.
SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
application for a permit or permit amendment submitted on or after
the effective date of this Act. An application for a permit or
permit amendment submitted before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect at the time the application was
submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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