89R2803 ANG-F
By: Gerdes H.B. No. 2080
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the review of the duties of a groundwater conservation
district by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 36.3011, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (d-1), (d-2), (d-3),
(e-1), (e-2), and (e-3) to read as follows:
(d) If the petition is not dismissed under Subsection (c),
the commission shall appoint a review panel consisting of a
chairperson and four other members. A director or general manager
of a district located outside the management area that is the
subject of the petition may be appointed to the review panel. The
commission may not appoint more than two members of the review panel
from any one district. The commission also shall appoint a
disinterested person to serve as a nonvoting recording secretary
for the review panel. The recording secretary must [may] be an
employee of the commission. The recording secretary shall record
and document the proceedings of the panel.
(d-1) A review panel established under Subsection (d) is an
advisory body to the commission and not a governmental body under
Chapter 551 or 552, Government Code.
(d-2) The commission shall reimburse a member appointed to
the review panel for actual expenses incurred while engaging in
activities on behalf of the review panel. To be eligible for
reimbursement, the member must file with the executive director a
verified statement, including any relevant receipts, describing
the expenses incurred. A member appointed to the review panel is
not entitled to a fee of office or other compensation for serving on
the review panel.
(d-3) The records and documents of the recording secretary
of the proceedings of the review panel must be provided to the
executive director and are public information under Chapter 552,
Government Code.
(e-1) Not later than the seventh day before the date of a
public meeting or public hearing of the review panel under
Subsection (e), the executive director shall provide notice of any
public meeting or public hearing the review panel is directed to
conduct by:
(1) posting notice on the commission's Internet
website; and
(2) delivering notice by regular mail to:
(A) the district that is the subject of the
petition;
(B) the petitioner; and
(C) the county clerk of each county in the
district that is the subject of the petition.
(e-2) The commission or the review panel may submit a
written request to the executive administrator for assistance on a
technical issue related to the petition. The executive
administrator shall provide the technical assistance not later than
the 120th day after the date the executive administrator receives
the request. A deadline under Subsection (c), (e), or (h) is
extended by 120 days if a request for technical assistance is
submitted to the executive administrator during a review phase
under that subsection.
(e-3) On request from a member of the review panel, the
office of public interest counsel of the commission shall provide
legal advice and assistance to the review panel. Notwithstanding
Section 5.273, the office of public interest counsel:
(1) may not participate as a party in an inquiry under
this section; and
(2) has no duty or responsibility to represent the
public interest or otherwise in an inquiry except as provided by
this subsection.
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply to a
petition requesting an inquiry regarding the duties of a
groundwater conservation district filed with the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality on or after the effective date of this Act.
A petition filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect on the date the petition was filed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. 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, 2025.