By:  Rosson                                           S.B. No. 1001
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                        AN ACT
    1-1  relating to the powers and authority of the State Office of
    1-2  Administrative Hearings.
    1-3        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-4        SECTION 1.  Section 2, Chapter 591, Acts of the 72nd
    1-5  Legislature, Regular Session, 1991 (Article 6252-13f, Vernon's
    1-6  Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
    1-7        Sec. 2.  State office of administrative hearings; chief
    1-8  administrative law judge.  (a)  The State Office of Administrative
    1-9  Hearings is a state agency under the direction of a chief
   1-10  administrative law judge appointed by the governor for a two-year
   1-11  term.  To be eligible for appointment as chief administrative law
   1-12  judge, a person must be licensed to practice law in this state,
   1-13  must be board-certified in administrative law, and must have at
   1-14  least five years' experience in conducting administrative hearings
   1-15  under the Administrative Procedure and Texas Register Act (Article
   1-16  6252-13a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
   1-17        (b)  The office shall conduct all administrative hearings in
   1-18  contested cases under the Administrative Procedure and Texas
   1-19  Register Act (Article 6252-13a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes)
   1-20  <that are before an agency that does not employ a person whose only
   1-21  duty is to preside as a hearings officer over matters related to
   1-22  contested cases before the agency>.
   1-23        (c)  Hearings shall be conducted at a site to be designated
   1-24  by the office, except when the site is specified by law or rule.
    2-1        (d)  The office may promulgate procedural rules to govern
    2-2  hearings conducted by the office.
    2-3        (e)  The office may conduct hearings not governed by the
    2-4  Administrative Procedure and Texas Register Act (Article 6252-13a,
    2-5  Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) at the request of other agencies.
    2-6        (f)  The office may provide nonbinding alternative means to
    2-7  resolve disputes that are before it for administrative
    2-8  adjudication.
    2-9        (g)  The office may contract to provide other agencies
   2-10  training relating to the conduct of administrative hearings.
   2-11        (h)  The office may not conduct hearings in cases coming
   2-12  before the Central Education Agency, the Comptroller of Public
   2-13  Accounts, the Department of Agriculture, the General Land Office,
   2-14  the Railroad Commission of Texas, the School Land Board, the Texas
   2-15  Lottery Commission, and the Texas Youth Commission, except by
   2-16  interagency contract.
   2-17        SECTION 2.  (a)  By September 1, 1995, all personnel,
   2-18  including hearings examiners and administrative law judges,
   2-19  equipment, data, facilities, and other items of the hearings
   2-20  divisions of other state agencies, except the Central Education
   2-21  Agency, the Comptroller of Public Accounts, the Department of
   2-22  Agriculture, the General Land Office, the Railroad Commission of
   2-23  Texas, the School Land Board, the Texas Lottery Commission, and the
   2-24  Texas Youth Commission, other than the personnel, equipment, data,
   2-25  facilities, and other items of an agency's central records office,
   2-26  shall have been transferred to the State Office of Administrative
   2-27  Hearings.  Until one year after the date of his or her transfer, an
    3-1  employee transferred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings
    3-2  may be terminated or subject to salary reduction only for cause and
    3-3  only in relation to poor performance or unacceptable conduct.
    3-4        (b)  A hearings examiner or administrative law judge
    3-5  transferred from a state agency to the State Office of
    3-6  Administrative Hearings shall continue to hear any case assigned to
    3-7  the person as if the transfer had not occurred.
    3-8        (c)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1993, and all
    3-9  administrative hearings in contested cases conducted under the
   3-10  Administrative Procedure and Texas Register Act (Article 6252-13a,
   3-11  Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) before other state agencies, except
   3-12  the Central Education Agency, the Comptroller of Public Accounts,
   3-13  the Department of Agriculture, the General Land Office, the
   3-14  Railroad Commission of Texas, the School Land Board, the Texas
   3-15  Lottery Commission, and the Texas Youth Commission, shall be
   3-16  transferred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings by
   3-17  September 1, 1995.
   3-18        (d)  Prior to September 1, 1995, the State Office of
   3-19  Administrative Hearings may by interagency contract arrange to
   3-20  conduct hearings on contested cases for any other state agency that
   3-21  requests the office to conduct its hearings.
   3-22        (e)  Nothing in this Act shall be construed to impede the
   3-23  transfer of any federal funds to a state agency.  A state agency
   3-24  that administers federally funded programs retains the
   3-25  administration of those programs but, with the exception of any
   3-26  agency named in Subsection (c) of this section, shall arrange by
   3-27  interagency contract to have the State Office of Administrative
    4-1  Hearings conduct hearings on contested cases that come before the
    4-2  state agency.
    4-3        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
    4-4  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
    4-5  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
    4-6  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
    4-7  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.