By: Madla S.B. No. 424 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1-1 relating to the payment in periodic installments of certain 1-2 penalties owed by certain businesses for violations of law under 1-3 the jurisdiction of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation 1-4 Commission. 1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-6 SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 5, Water Code, is amended 1-7 by adding Section 5.1175 to read as follows: 1-8 Sec. 5.1175. PAYMENT OF PENALTY BY INSTALLMENT. (a) The 1-9 commission by rule shall allow a small business that owes a 1-10 monetary civil or administrative penalty imposed for a violation of 1-11 law within the commission's jurisdiction or for a violation of a 1-12 license, permit, or order issued or rule adopted by the commission 1-13 to pay the penalty in periodic installments. The rule must provide 1-14 a procedure for a qualified small business to apply for permission 1-15 to pay the penalty over time. 1-16 (b) The rule must classify small businesses by their net 1-17 annual receipts and number of employees. A business that is a 1-18 wholly owned subsidiary of a corporation may not qualify as a small 1-19 business under this section. 1-20 (c) The rule may vary the period over which the penalty may 1-21 be paid or the amount of the periodic installments according to the 1-22 amount of the penalty owed and the size of the business that owes 1-23 the penalty. The period over which the penalty may be paid may not 1-24 exceed 12 months. 2-1 SECTION 2. The Texas Natural Resource Conservation 2-2 Commission shall adopt the rule required by Section 5.1175, Water 2-3 Code, as added by this Act, to take effect as soon as is 2-4 practicable but not later than January 1, 1996. 2-5 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 2-6 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-7 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-8 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-9 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 2-10 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 2-11 passage, and it is so enacted.