H.B. No. 1971

	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.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 1971 was passed by the House on April
	26, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 147, Nays 0, 1 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 1971 was passed by the Senate on May
	16, 2023, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED:  _____________________
	Date
	_____________________
	Governor