89R13788 DRS-F

By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 2214

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the permitting by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality of solid waste facilities; authorizing the imposition of civil and administrative penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Sections 361.0642 and 361.0643 to read as follows:

Sec. 361.0642. PENALTY FOR FALSE OR MISLEADING STATEMENT. A person is subject to an administrative or civil penalty under Chapter 7, Water Code, if the commission finds after notice and hearing that the person knowingly made a materially false or misleading statement in connection with an original or renewal application, either in the formal application or in any other written instrument relating to the application submitted to the commission, its officers, or its employees.

Sec. 361.0643. INFLATION ADJUSTMENT OF AMOUNT OF PERMIT APPLICATION FEE. (a) The commission shall annually:

(1) adjust for inflation the amount of an application fee imposed on an applicant for a permit under this chapter; and

(2) publish the amount of a fee described by Subdivision (1) as adjusted for inflation.

(b) In making adjustments under Subsection (a), the commission shall use the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics or its successor in function.

(c) Adjustments under Subsection (a) take effect on September 1 of each year.

(d) The commission may adopt rules as necessary to administer this section.

SECTION 2. Section 361.089, Health and Safety Code, is amended by amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsection (e-1) to read as follows:

(e) The commission may deny an original or renewal permit if it is found, after notice and hearing, that:

(1) the applicant or permit holder has a compliance history that is classified as unsatisfactory according to commission standards under Sections 5.753 and 5.754, Water Code, and rules adopted and procedures developed under those sections;

(2) [the permit holder or applicant made a false or misleading statement in connection with an original or renewal application, either in the formal application or in any other written instrument relating to the application submitted to the commission, its officers, or its employees;

[(3)] the permit holder or applicant is indebted to the state for fees, payment of penalties, or taxes imposed by this title or by a rule of the commission; or

(3) [(4)] the permit holder or applicant is unable to ensure that the management of the hazardous waste management facility conforms or will conform to this title and the rules of the commission.

(e-1) The commission shall deny an original or renewal permit if it is found, after notice and hearing, that the permit holder or applicant knowingly made a materially false or misleading statement in connection with an original or renewal application, either in the formal application or in any other written instrument relating to the application submitted to the commission, its officers, or its employees.

SECTION 3. Section 361.089(f), Health and Safety Code, is repealed.

SECTION 4. Sections 361.0642 and 361.0643, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a permit application submitted on or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 5. Section 361.089, Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to the denial of an original or renewal permit for which the permit holder or applicant submitted an application on or after the effective date of this Act. The denial of an original or renewal permit for which the permit holder or applicant submitted an application before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.