H.B. No. 2080
 
 
 
 
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), (e-3), and (e-4) 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.
         (e-4)  Subsections (e-2) and (e-3) do not prohibit a member
  of the review panel from using the member's own technical
  consultant or legal counsel.
         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.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2080 was passed by the House on May
  16, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 118, Nays 1, 2 present, not
  voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
  No. 2080 on May 28, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 123, Nays 12,
  1 present, not voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 2080 was passed by the Senate, with
  amendments, on May 26, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 28, Nays
  3.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate   
  APPROVED: __________________
                  Date       
   
           __________________
                Governor