89R14204 JRR-F
By: Birdwell S.B. No. 2203
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to rules providing for certification of issues to the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in contested cases
referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings by the
commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2003.047(i), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(i) The office and the commission jointly shall adopt rules
providing for certification to the commission of an issue that
involves an ultimate finding of compliance with or satisfaction of
a statutory standard the determination of which is committed to the
discretion or judgment of the commission by law. Each agency shall
publish the jointly adopted rules. The rules must:
(1) address, at a minimum, the issues that are
appropriate for certification and the procedure to be used in
certifying the issue; and
(2) provide that any issue raised by a party relating
to the scope of discovery under Subsection (g) shall be promptly
certified by the administrative law judge to the commission. [Each
agency shall publish the jointly adopted rules.]
SECTION 2. 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.