HOUSE AUTHOR: Christian et al. |
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EFFECTIVE: Vetoed |
SENATE SPONSOR: R. West |
House Bill 425 amends the Government Code, including the Administrative Procedure Act, to eliminate a statutory process by which state agencies' proposed rules are referred to legislative standing committees for review before adoption and to establish two different processes to help ensure that agencies consider legislative intent. For appropriations enactments, the bill authorizes the Legislative Budget Board to issue a letter clarifying or explaining such intent and provides that a state governmental entity may rely on the letter in interpreting a provision of law. For rulemaking purposes, the bill requires an agency to research and prepare a legislative history document, to undertake an internal review to ensure consistency of a proposed rule with that history, and to notify the legislator who authored or sponsored the related legislation at certain stages in the rule formulation process.
Reason Given for Veto: "House Bill No. 425 would disregard the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers. Set forth in Article II of the Texas Constitution, this doctrine establishes that there be three distinct departments of our government--legislative, executive and judicial--and that no department "shall exercise any power properly attached to either of the others." This bill would allow the Legislative branch to improperly infringe upon the powers and duties of the Executive branch, dictating to the Executive branch how it should exercise its powers and duties.
"The bill also would improperly allow the legal opinion of an unelected government staff employee to supercede the expressed will of the Legislature, by giving that unelected staff employee the ability to issue independent opinions on the legislative intent of bills already passed by the Legislature. House Bill No. 425 also would disregard numerous opinions issued by the courts, which have ruled clearly that post-enactment statements of individual legislators should be given little weight in the determination of legislative intent.
"Finally, the bill requires executive branch state agencies to determine legislative intent, a function constitutionally left to the courts."