| 1 | 1 | | 89R14204 JRR-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Birdwell S.B. No. 2203 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to rules providing for certification of issues to the |
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| 10 | 10 | | Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in contested cases |
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| 11 | 11 | | referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings by the |
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| 12 | 12 | | commission. |
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| 13 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 14 | 14 | | SECTION 1. Section 2003.047(i), Government Code, is amended |
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| 15 | 15 | | to read as follows: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (i) The office and the commission jointly shall adopt rules |
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| 17 | 17 | | providing for certification to the commission of an issue that |
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| 18 | 18 | | involves an ultimate finding of compliance with or satisfaction of |
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| 19 | 19 | | a statutory standard the determination of which is committed to the |
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| 20 | 20 | | discretion or judgment of the commission by law. Each agency shall |
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| 21 | 21 | | publish the jointly adopted rules. The rules must: |
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| 22 | 22 | | (1) address, at a minimum, the issues that are |
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| 23 | 23 | | appropriate for certification and the procedure to be used in |
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| 24 | 24 | | certifying the issue; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | (2) provide that any issue raised by a party relating |
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| 26 | 26 | | to the scope of discovery under Subsection (g) shall be promptly |
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| 27 | 27 | | certified by the administrative law judge to the commission. [Each |
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| 28 | 28 | | agency shall publish the jointly adopted rules.] |
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| 29 | 29 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 30 | 30 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 31 | 31 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 32 | 32 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 33 | 33 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |
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