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.

89(R) HB 3249 - House Committee Report version - Bill Text

89R14204 JRR-F

By: Darby

H.B. No. 3249

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.