By: Springer  S.B. No. 638
         (In the Senate - Filed January 26, 2023; February 17, 2023,
  read first time and referred to Committee on Water, Agriculture &
  Rural Affairs; April 17, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable
  Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0;
  April 17, 2023, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 638 By:  Springer
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the procedures for acting on a permit or permit
  amendment application by a groundwater conservation district and
  the disqualification of board members of groundwater conservation
  districts.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 36.053, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 36.053.  QUORUM. (a)  Except as provided by Subsection
  (b), a [A] majority of the membership of the board constitutes a
  quorum for any meeting, and a concurrence of a majority of the
  entire membership of the board is sufficient for transacting any
  business of the district.
         (b)  For the purposes of making a final decision on a permit
  or permit amendment application by a board composed of 10 or more
  directors, a concurrence of a majority of the directors eligible to
  vote is sufficient for taking an action on the application.
         SECTION 2.  Section 36.058, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 36.058.  CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.  (a)  A director of a
  district is subject to the provisions of Chapters 171 and 176, Local
  Government Code, relating to the regulation of conflicts of
  officers of local governments.
         (b)  If a director is required to file an affidavit under
  Section 171.004(a), Local Government Code, the director may not:
               (1)  attend a closed meeting related to the matter for
  which the director is required to file the affidavit; and
               (2)  vote on a matter for which the director is required
  to file the affidavit unless a majority of the directors are also
  required to file an affidavit related to a similar interest on the
  same official action.
         SECTION 3.  Section 36.409, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 36.409.  CONTINUANCE. (a) The presiding officer may
  continue a hearing from time to time and from place to place without
  providing notice under Section 36.404.
         (b)  If the presiding officer continues a hearing without
  announcing at the hearing the time, date, and location of the
  continued hearing, the presiding officer must provide notice of the
  continued hearing by regular mail to the parties.
         (c)  A continuance may not exceed the time limit for the
  issuance of a final decision under Section 36.4165.
         SECTION 4.  Section 36.411, Water Code, is amended to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 36.411.  BOARD ACTION.  (a) The board shall act on a
  permit or permit amendment application not later than the 60th day
  after the date the final hearing on the application is concluded.
         (b)  The board shall ensure a decision on a permit or permit
  amendment application is timely rendered in accordance with the
  provisions set forth in this chapter.
         SECTION 5.  The heading to Section 36.412, Water Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 36.412.  REQUEST FOR REHEARING OR FINDINGS OF FACT AND
  CONCLUSIONS OF LAW.
         SECTION 6.  Section 36.412, Water Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (a-1),
  (b-1), and (f) to read as follows:
         (a)  An applicant in a contested or uncontested hearing on an
  application or a party to a contested hearing may administratively
  appeal a decision of the board on a permit or permit amendment
  application by making a request in writing to the board.
         (a-1)  A party seeking to appeal a decision by the board must
  request [by requesting] written findings of fact and conclusions of
  law not later than the 20th day after the date of the board's
  decision unless the board issued findings of fact and conclusions
  of law as part of the final decision.
         (b)  On receipt of a timely written request under Subsection
  (a-1), the board shall make written findings of fact and
  conclusions of law regarding a decision of the board on a permit or
  permit amendment application. The board shall provide certified
  copies of the findings of fact and conclusions of law to the person
  who requested them, and to each designated party, not later than the
  35th day after the date the board receives the request.
         (b-1)  A party to a contested hearing may request a rehearing
  not later than the 20th day after the date the board issues the
  findings of fact and conclusions of law.
         (f)  The board shall consolidate requests for rehearing
  filed by multiple parties to the contested case hearing, but only
  one rehearing may be considered per matter.
         SECTION 7.  Section 36.4165, Water Code, is amended by
  adding Subsections (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) to read as follows:
         (c)  A final decision issued by the board under this section
  must be in writing and must either adopt the proposed findings of
  fact and conclusions of law as proposed by the administrative law
  judge or include revised findings of fact and conclusions of law
  consistent with Subsection (b).
         (d)  Notwithstanding any other law, a board shall issue a
  final decision under this section not later than the 180th day after
  the date of receipt of the final proposal for decision from the
  State Office of Administrative Hearings. The deadline may be
  extended if all parties agree to the extension.
         (e)  Notwithstanding any other law, if a motion for rehearing
  is filed and granted by a board under Section 36.412, the board
  shall make a final decision on the application not later than the
  90th day after the date of the decision by the board that was
  subject to the motion for rehearing.
         (f)  A board is considered to have adopted a final proposal
  for decision of the administrative law judge as a final order on the
  181st day after the date the administrative law judge issued the
  final proposal for decision if the board has not issued a final
  decision by:
               (1)  adopting the findings of fact and conclusions of
  law as proposed by the administrative law judge; or
               (2)  issuing revised findings of fact and conclusions
  of law as provided by Subsection (b).
         (g)  A proposal for decision adopted under Subsection (f) is
  final, immediately appealable, and not subject to a request for
  rehearing.
         SECTION 8.  The changes in law made by this Act apply to an
  application for a permit or permit amendment submitted on or after
  the effective date of this Act. An application for a permit or
  permit amendment submitted before the effective date of this Act is
  governed by the law in effect at the time the application was
  submitted, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
 
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