By:  Henderson                                        S.B. No. 1613
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                        AN ACT
    1-1  relating to a clarification of the authority for denial, amendment,
    1-2  suspension, or revocation of permits under the Solid Waste Disposal
    1-3  Act.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Section 361.089, Health and Safety Code, is
    1-6  amended to read as follows:
    1-7        Sec. 361.089.  PERMIT DENIAL, AMENDMENT, SUSPENSION, OR
    1-8  REVOCATION; NOTICE AND HEARING.  (a)  The department or commission
    1-9  may, for good cause, deny, amend, or revoke a permit it issues or
   1-10  has authority to issue for reasons pertaining to public health, air
   1-11  or water pollution, or land use, or for a violation of this chapter
   1-12  or other applicable laws or rules controlling the management of
   1-13  solid waste.
   1-14        (b)  Except as provided by Section 361.110, the department or
   1-15  commission shall notify each governmental entity listed under
   1-16  Section 361.067 and provide an opportunity for a hearing to the
   1-17  permit holder or applicant and persons affected.  The department or
   1-18  commission may also hold a hearing on its own motion.
   1-19        (c)  The board of health and the commission by rule shall
   1-20  establish procedures for public notice and any public hearing under
   1-21  this section.
   1-22        (d)  Hearings under this section shall be conducted in
   1-23  accordance with the hearing rules adopted by the department or
    2-1  commission and the applicable provisions of the Administrative
    2-2  Procedure and Texas Register Act (Article 6252-13a, Vernon's Texas
    2-3  Civil Statutes).
    2-4        (e)  In addition to the authority provided in Subsection (a),
    2-5  the <The> department or commission may deny, suspend for not more
    2-6  than 90 days, or revoke an original or renewal permit if it is
    2-7  found, after notice and hearing, that:
    2-8              (1)  the permit holder has a record of environmental
    2-9  violations in the preceding five years at the permitted site;
   2-10              (2)  the applicant has a record of environmental
   2-11  violations in the preceding five years at any site owned, operated,
   2-12  or controlled by the applicant;
   2-13              (3)  the permit holder or applicant made a false or
   2-14  misleading statement in connection with an original or renewal
   2-15  application, either in the formal application or in any other
   2-16  written instrument relating to the application submitted to the
   2-17  agency, its officers, or its employees;
   2-18              (4)  the permit holder or applicant is indebted to the
   2-19  state for fees, payment of penalties, or taxes imposed by this
   2-20  title or by a rule of the agency; or
   2-21              (5)  the permit holder or applicant is unable to ensure
   2-22  that the management of the hazardous waste management facility
   2-23  conforms or will conform to this title and the rules of the agency.
   2-24        (f)  Before denying, suspending, or revoking a permit under
   2-25  Subsection (e) <this section>, the department or commission must
    3-1  find:
    3-2              (1)  that a violation or violations are significant and
    3-3  that the permit holder or applicant has not made a substantial
    3-4  attempt to correct the violations; or
    3-5              (2)  that the permit holder or applicant is indebted to
    3-6  the state for fees, payment of penalties, or taxes imposed by this
    3-7  title or by a rule of the agency.
    3-8        (g)  For purposes of this section, the terms "permit holder"
    3-9  and "applicant" include each member of a partnership or association
   3-10  and, with respect to a corporation, each officer and the owner or
   3-11  owners of a majority of the corporate stock, provided such partner
   3-12  or owner controls at least 20 percent of the permit holder or
   3-13  applicant and at least 20 percent of another business which
   3-14  operates a solid waste management facility.
   3-15        SECTION 2.  The change made by this Act shall apply to
   3-16  permits issued prior to and following the effective date of this
   3-17  Act.
   3-18        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   3-19  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   3-20  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   3-21  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   3-22  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
   3-23  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   3-24  passage, and it is so enacted.