By McClendon                                            H.B. No. 39
         77R1195 MI-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to removing the executive director as a party in hearings
 1-3     before the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Section 5.228, Water Code, is amended to read as
 1-6     follows:
 1-7           Sec. 5.228. APPEARANCES AT HEARINGS.             The position
 1-8     of and information developed by the commission shall be presented
 1-9     by the executive director or his designated representative at
1-10     hearings of the commission and the hearings held by federal, state,
1-11     and local agencies on matters affecting the public's interest in
1-12     the state's environment and natural resources, including matters
1-13     that have been determined to be policies of the state.  [The
1-14     executive director shall be named a party in hearings before the
1-15     commission.]
1-16           SECTION 2. (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
1-17           (b)  The change in law made by Section 5.228, Water Code, as
1-18     amended by this Act, applies to a hearing before the Texas Natural
1-19     Resource Conservation Commission held on or after September 1,
1-20     2001.