BILL ANALYSIS


                                                        S.B. 1660
                                                      By: Ratliff
                                                Natural Resources
                                                          4-28-95
                                     Committee Report (Unamended)
BACKGROUND

Historically, environmental enforcement cases were commonly settled
by the entry of agreed orders that only recited the allegations of
the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission.  A respondent
made no admission that the respondent had violated any commission
rule.

More recently, however, the commission has been insisting that
Texas law requires the commission to make substantive findings of
fact and conclusions of law in agreed orders.

A respondent who signs such an agreed order is vulnerable to tort
actions by private parties.  Texas considers a violation of
statutes or regulations to be negligence, and recognizes a cause of
action in negligence per se.  Thus, plaintiffs in tort litigation
may try to use the commission's recitation of adverse findings and
conclusions against a respondent.

PURPOSE

As proposed, S.B. 1660 authorizes the Texas Natural Resource
Conservation Commission to limit its findings of fact and
conclusions of law in agreed orders to jurisdictional findings. 
The bill also authorizes an agreed order to include a reservation
that the order is not an admission of wrongdoing or intended for
use in private litigation.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or
agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 26.136, Water Code, by adding Subsection
(p), as follows:

     (p) Declares that the Texas Natural Resource Conservation
     Commission (commission) is not required to make findings of
     fact or conclusions of law, other than an uncontested finding
     that the commission has jurisdiction, in an agreed order
     compromising or settling an alleged violation of this chapter. 
     Authorizes an agreed order to include a reservation that the
     order is not an admission of a violation of this chapter or a
     rule under this chapter, the occurrence of a violation is in
     dispute, the order is not intended for use in private
     litigation by a person that is not a party to the agreed
     order, and the order is not intended to become part of a
     party's or a facility's compliance history.
     
     SECTION 2.     Amends Section 361.251, Health and Safety Code, by
adding Subsection (v), to make a conforming change.

SECTION 3. Amends Section 361.252, Health and Safety Code, by
adding Subsection (r), to make a conforming change.

SECTION 4. Amends Section 382.088, Health and Safety Code, by
adding Subsection (k), to make a conforming change.

SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 1995.

SECTION 6. Emergency clause.