Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E. Line and page numbers may not match official copy. By: Ellis S.R. No. 920 SENATE RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, On November 16, 1992, the Senate Interim Committee 1-2 on Jurisprudence, on the prior request of Lieutenant Governor Bob 1-3 Bullock, held hearings, conducted studies, and submitted a "Report 1-4 on Alternative Dispute Resolution" which contained the following 1-5 recommendation; and 1-6 WHEREAS, In times of state government austerity, every 1-7 initiative that can contribute to expenditure reductions plays an 1-8 important role in the balancing of the Texas budget; and 1-9 WHEREAS, The cost of administrative hearings and litigation 1-10 involving regulatory and administrative agencies continues to 1-11 increase, causing a further strain on the state budget; and 1-12 WHEREAS, The use of alternative dispute resolution processes 1-13 such as mediation has proven to be successful in quicker, less 1-14 costly, more satisfying resolution of civil lawsuits; and 1-15 WHEREAS, The attorney general and several state regulatory 1-16 agencies have already successfully undertaken mediation and other 1-17 alternative means of resolving public disputes with success; and 1-18 WHEREAS, The attorney general is developing alternative 1-19 dispute resolution expertise within his offices and has voiced a 1-20 strong commitment to using alternative methods of dispute 1-21 resolution processes whenever appropriate and to actively exploring 1-22 areas of future possible use; and 1-23 WHEREAS, The State Bar of Texas has both a Committee and a 2-1 Section comprised of over 1,000 attorneys and others interested in 2-2 and possessing both experience and expertise in the appropriate use 2-3 of alternative dispute resolution processes; and 2-4 WHEREAS, The University of Texas School of Law, with the 2-5 participation of the LBJ School of Public Affairs, has established 2-6 the Center For Public Policy Dispute Resolution, which has as its 2-7 mission the promotion of appropriate use of alternatives to 2-8 litigation and adversarial administrative hearings in resolving 2-9 public disputes; and 2-10 WHEREAS, The State of Texas can only benefit from a more 2-11 efficient, less expensive means of regulating Texas industry and 2-12 resolving lawsuits involving the State; now, therefore, be it 2-13 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 73rd 2-14 Legislature, as public policy of the State, hereby encourage state 2-15 regulatory agencies to continue to develop systems and policies and 2-16 to adopt initiatives consistent with the Administrative Procedures 2-17 and Texas Register Act (Article 6252-13a, Vernon's Texas Civil 2-18 Statutes), addressing the use of alternative dispute resolution 2-19 processes in agency programs and agency disputes at all levels; 2-20 and, be it further 2-21 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 73rd 2-22 Legislature, hereby request that the State Bar of Texas, the Center 2-23 For Public Policy Dispute Resolution at The University of Texas 2-24 School of Law, The University of Texas LBJ School of Public 2-25 Affairs, and the Office of the Attorney General provide education, 3-1 training, information, and technical expertise to the agencies 3-2 and/or alternate dispute resolution specialists in assessing, 3-3 planning, researching, and implementing alternate dispute 3-4 resolution processes in agency programs, as appropriate; and, be it 3-5 further 3-6 RESOLVED, That all state regulatory agencies and alternate 3-7 dispute resolution specialists cooperate fully with each other and 3-8 with the above-named entities in implementing this suggested 3-9 initiative and that each state regulatory agency and its alternate 3-10 dispute resolution specialist prepare a study, assessing the 3-11 effectiveness of any existing agency uses of alternate dispute 3-12 resolution processes and outlining possible future uses of 3-13 alternate dispute resolution processes in the overall agency 3-14 operation; and, be it further 3-15 RESOLVED, That the alternate dispute resolution specialists 3-16 report their findings and recommendations to the 74th Legislature 3-17 when it convenes in January, 1995.