1-1     By:  Duncan                                           S.B. No. 1636

 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 14, 1997; March 24, 1997, read

 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs;

 1-4     April 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 13,

 1-5     Nays 0; April 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-7                                   AN ACT

 1-8     relating to the requirements for state agency orders adopting rules

 1-9     and substantial compliance with those requirements.

1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 2001.030, Government Code, is repealed.

1-12           SECTION 2.  Section 2001.033, Government Code, is amended to

1-13     read as follows:

1-14           Sec. 2001.033.  State Agency Order Adopting Rule.  (a)  A

1-15     state agency order finally adopting a rule must include:

1-16                 (1)  a reasoned justification for [of] the rule as a

1-17     whole comprised solely of[, including]:

1-18                       (A)  a summary of comments received from parties

1-19     interested in the rule that shows the names of interested groups or

1-20     associations offering comment on the rule and whether they were for

1-21     or against its adoption;

1-22                       (B)  a summary [restatement] of the [rule's]

1-23     factual basis for the rule as adopted; and

1-24                       (C)  the reasons why the agency disagrees with

1-25     party submissions and proposals;

1-26                 (2)  a concise restatement of the particular statutory

1-27     provisions under which the rule is adopted and of how the agency

1-28     interprets the provisions as authorizing or requiring the rule; and

1-29                 (3)  a certification that the rule, as adopted, has

1-30     been reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of

1-31     the agency's legal authority.

1-32           (b)  Administrative convenience may be an appropriate

1-33     justification for a rule.

1-34           SECTION 3.  Section 2001.035, Government Code, is amended to

1-35     read as follows:

1-36           Sec. 2001.035.  Substantial Compliance Requirement; Time

1-37     Limit on Procedural Challenge.  (a)  A rule [adopted after January

1-38     1, 1976,] is voidable [not valid] unless a state agency adopts it

1-39     in substantial compliance with Sections 2001.023 through 2001.034.

1-40           (b)  A person must initiate a proceeding to contest a rule on

1-41     the ground of noncompliance with the procedural requirements of

1-42     Sections 2001.023 through 2001.034 not later than the second

1-43     anniversary of the effective date of the rule.

1-44           (c)  An agency substantially complies with the requirements

1-45     of Section 2001.033 if its reasoned justification demonstrates in a

1-46     relatively clear and logical fashion that the rule is a reasonable

1-47     means to a legitimate objective.

1-48           (d)  Mere technical defects which do not result in prejudice

1-49     to a party's rights or privileges are not grounds for invalidation

1-50     of a rule.

1-51           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

1-52     applies to all rules adopted on or after January 1, 1996.

1-53           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

1-54     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

1-55     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

1-56     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

1-57     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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